After opening the day on a positive note, the Indian share market extended gains as the session progressed and ended on a firm footing.

The rally was aided by a rebound in metal stocks after a sharp slide last week. However, a rise in crude oil prices and concerns over a prolonged high-rate regime in the US capped gains.

Investors today chose to overlook the grim Covid situation in China and bargain-hunted for undervalued stocks.

Most of the sectors made handsome gains with the PSU bank index gaining 7%.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 721 points (up 1.2%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 208 points (up 1.2%).

IndusInd Bank, SBI, and Hindalco were among the top gainers today.

Cipla, Divis Laboratories, and Dr Reddy's Laboratories, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 18,013, up by 149 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Midcap index ended higher by 2.3% while the BSE SmallCap index ended higher by 3.1%.

Barring the healthcare sector, all sectoral indices ended in the green with stocks in the financial sector, metal sector, telecom sector, and power sector witnessing most of the buying.

Among the best banking stocks, IndusInd Bank and SBI inched 4% higher.

Shares of Bank of India, Bharat Dynamics, and Trident hit their 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note. The Nikkei ended the day higher by 0.7%, while the Hang Seng fell 0.4%. The Shanghai Composite ended 0.6% higher.

The rupee is trading at 82.6 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 54,632 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading higher by 0.1% at Rs 69,090 per 1 kg.
 

4 Reasons Why Indian Share Markets Surged Today

#1 FII & DII buying: In December so far, FIIs have poured in around US$1 billion (bn) (Rs 82 bn) of funds.

Meanwhile, DIIs have also consistently bought the dip in recent months. On Friday, DII were net buyers to the tune of Rs 33 bn.

#2 Upbeat global cues: Following the conclusion of the tech bloodbath, Wall Street indices kicked off Friday on a high note, with Nasdaq inching higher by 0.2%.

Asian stock markets followed suit. The Nikkei index ended higher by 0.7% today.

Upbeat global cues had an impact on Indian markets and the sentiment somehow improved.

#3 Rupee edges higher: The rupee appreciated by nine paise from its previous close to 82.77 vs the US dollar amid a fall in the value greenback against six peers.

#4 Bargain hunting: After a massive sell-off witnessed last week, especially on Friday, investors were back looking for undervalued stocks to buy.
 

L&T bags prestigious orders for its water treatment business

In the news from the engineering sector, shares of Larsen and Toubro jumped 1.2% today.

The company today bagged a significant order from the Tumakuru Industrial Township Limited (TITL) under the Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.

It has also bagged repeat orders from the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board, funded by the Asian Development Bank.

The company did not disclose the exact value of the orders. However, the value of the project is between Rs 10 bn to Rs 25 bn.

The order from TITL is to construct, operate and maintain infrastructure works at the Tumakuru Node, Karnataka, on an EPC basis.

This project is part of the Union government's flagship program, Development of Industrial Corridors, the apex body overseeing the integrated development of all industrial corridors across the country.

The program envisages developing land to promote industries, residential areas, commercial complexes, and logistic hubs, covering a total area of 1750 acres.

It also includes green cover development of 80 acres at Tumakuru.

Larsen & Toubro is an Indian multinational engaged in EPC projects, hi-tech manufacturing, and services. It operates in over 50 countries worldwide.

The company has rewarded investors with 10 bonuses over the last 7 decades and the CAGR over the last 20 years stands at an impressive 25.6%.

L&T has been an investor's favorite stock for a long time and also a stock that makes it to the top 5 infrastructure stocks.
 

Alembic Pharma gets USFDA nod for generic drug

Moving on to the news from the pharma sector, shares of Alembic Pharma climbed 1.6% today.

Alembic Pharmaceuticals today received final approval from the US health regulator for its generic Fulvestrant injection used in the treatment of breast cancer.

The approval was granted by the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for the abbreviated new drug application single-dose prefilled syringe.

The approved injection is therapeutically equivalent to the reference-listed drug product.

For 12 months ended September 2022, Fulvestrant injection had an estimated market size of USD 71 m.

Alembic Pharma is one of India's leading pharmaceutical companies.

The company is vertically integrated with the ability to develop, manufacture, and market pharmaceutical products, pharmaceutical substances, and intermediates.

The company is the market leader in the Macrolides segment of anti-infective drugs in India.

Speaking of pharma stocks, amid the outbreak in China, pharma stocks have started to rise. Select stocks have gained 5-15% in recent sessions.
 

GPT InfraProjects hits the upper circuit

Moving on to the news from the real estate sector, shares of GPT Infra rallied 20%.

The small-cap stock rallied as the company announced on Monday that its subsidiary in Ghana won an order worth Rs 1.2 bn from a Ghanaian company partly owned by the Government of Ghana.

A subsidiary of the GPT Infra project has bagged a contract from RMS Concrete Limited, Ghana, with a size of Euro 13.9 m, to approximately Rs 1.2 bn.

The order includes manufacturing and supply of 1,30,000 sets of standard gauge pre-stressed railway concrete sleepers by RMS Concrete.

The company is engaged in executing civil infrastructure projects on one hand and manufactures railway concrete sleepers.

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