Market Wrap, Dec 24: Here's all that happened in the markets today

Frontline indices ended the session near record highs on Thursday as investors went on Christmas holiday in a festive mood. Reports that Britain and the European Union have closed in on a free-trade deal, while short covering in banking counters back home lifted the indices.

That apart, the Reserve Bank of India's monthly bulletin's findings that Indian economy is recovering faster than expected and may post minor positive growth in the third quarter also supported sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 529 points, or 1.14 per cent, to settle the day at fresh record closing peak of 46,973.5 levels. Sun Pharmaceuticals, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, HDFC, and Bajaj Finance, up between 2 per cent and 3 per cent, closed the day as top gainers on the Sensex. On the downside, profit-booking in IT and FMCG stocks resulted in Infosys, Nestle, and HCL Tech ending the day as top drags.

NSE's Nifty50 closed at 13,749-mark, up 148 points or 1 per cent.

The broader markets, however, underperformed the benchmarks with the S&P BSE MidCap index settling 0.06 per cent up at 17,677 levels. The SmallCap counterpart, meanwhile, ended half a per cent higher at 17,675.

On a weekly basis, the Sensex and the Nifty remained flat.

Among individual stocks, Mrs Bectors Food made a stellar debut at the bourses today, listing at Rs 501 on the BSE, a 74-per cent premium against the issue price of Rs 288. At close, the stock wad quoting Rs 595 apiece, a 106% premium over the issue price.

That apart, shares of Firstsource Solutions rose nearly 18 per cent and hit an 12-year high of Rs 94 on the BSE on Thursday, surging 31 per cent in the past three days, after the firm acquired PatientMatters, a healthcare Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) solutions provider. The stock closed 15% higher at Rs 92 on the BSE.

Global markets

Investors cheered news that Britain and the European Union were on the cusp of striking a narrow trade deal on Thursday that would help them avoid a turbulent economic rupture on New Year’s Day. According to a BBC report, UK PM Boris Johnson could shortly announce the Brexit trade deal after finalising the details of a deal that will come into force when the UK leaves EU trading rules next week.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.45 per cent, Australian stocks ended 0.33 per cent higher, while Tokyo shares rose 0.45 per cent.

Chinese stocks, however, fell 0.28 per cent dragged by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd whose shares slumped 8.13 per cent, their biggest daily drop in six weeks, after China's market regulator said it will investigate the tech giant for suspected monopolistic behaviour.

In Europe, FTSE 100 rose 0.07 per cent while the more domestically-focused British mid-cap FTSE 250 index hit its highest levels since February, and UK small caps a record high. The STOXX 50 added 0.17 per cent while Germany's DAX gained 1.26 per cent.

Domestic markets will remain shut on Friday on account of Christmas.