News Overview

Brokerage firms noted last month that all eyes would be on the number of orders that BEL secures in the second half of the current fiscal year.

Jindal Steel & Power surged 2.3% to an intraday high of Rs 929, while shares of JSW Steel surged 3.2% to their day's high of Rs 947.95.

On the BSE, UltraTech Cement's shares rose 1.4% to reach their day's high of Rs 11,585.40.

The only hope for a bounce in markets next week is a bout of year-end short covering, which is quite common

The near 5% correction in the indices this week was the worst weekly fall in the markets in the last 2 years

FPIs net sold just $(114) Million in Indian equities in the week; although the market correction was very intense

The fact that Congress passed budget legislation early on Saturday, preventing a U.S. government shutdown, further improved investor optimism.

Gold fell to its lowest level since Nov. 18 last week due to the Fed's 25 basis point drop on Dec. 18, its cautious economic projections

Brent crude futures were up 26 cents, or 0.4%, to $73.20 a barrel. At $69.77 a barrel, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased 31 cents, or 0.5%.

On December 20, the indices ended lower. The Sensex closed near the 78,000 mark, falling 1.5% from the previous close. Nifty closed below 23,600.