Market Closing: Sensex Gains 224 Points Led By IT, Nifty Ends At 23,213

SOURCE : NEW18 NEWS

Last Updated:January 15, 2025, 15:52 IST

Indian benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and Nifty50, opened higher on Wednesday, defying muted global cues.

Benchmark equity indices, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50, closed higher for the second consecutive session on Wednesday. The 30-share Sensex gained 224.45 points, or 0.29%, ending at 76,724.08. The index fluctuated between 76,991.05 and 76,479.70 during the day.

The NSE Nifty50 also finished in the green, rising 37.15 points, or 0.16%, to close at 23,213.20. The index reached a high of 23,293.65 and a low of 23,146.45 during the session.

Out of the 50 Nifty50 stocks, 27 closed higher, with top performers including Trent, NTPC, Power Grid, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Maruti Suzuki, which saw gains up to 4.01%. On the flip side, 23 stocks, including Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Shriram Finance, ended in the red, with losses extending up to 2.90%.

The India VIX, a measure of market volatility, rose 1.37%, settling at 15.26 points.

In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap100 and Nifty Smallcap100 indices rose by 0.41% and 0.56%, respectively.

Sectoral indices showed a mixed performance, with Nifty IT and Realty leading the gains, up to 1.39%, while Nifty Auto, FMCG, Media, and Healthcare indices experienced declines, with losses extending up to 1.78%.

View by: Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services

With only five more days to go for Trump’s inauguration as US president, soon there will be clarity on Trump’s actions and its likely impact on the markets. It appears that the dollar and US bond yields have peaked for now.

There are reports that Trump will begin with low tariff hikes putting pressure on major exporters to the US, even while leaving room for negotiations. If this scenario plays out, further rise in dollar and US bond yields will be arrested. Till then, the FII selling will continue, preempting any rally in the market.

Market will witness lots of stock-specific action in response to the Q3 results. Market has been rewarding performers delivering better-than-expected results and punishing those delivering worse-than-expected results. Therefore, look out for performers.

Global Cues

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mostly higher on Wednesday, mirroring a similar trend on Wall Street the previous night.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up by 0.03%, while mainland China’s CSI300, which tracks the 300 most traded stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, declined by 0.57%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.38%, and the broad-based Topix rose by 0.66%.

South Korea’s Kospi increased by 0.13%, while the small-cap Kosdaq Index fell 0.51%. Local reports indicated that South Korean investigators have arrested impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for a second time.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.11%.

In the US, Treasury yields dipped, and the S&P 500 ended slightly higher on Tuesday after data revealed that US producer prices rose less than expected in December. However, investors remained cautious ahead of US consumer price data on Wednesday and the upcoming earnings reports.

The US producer price index (PPI) climbed by 0.2% month-on-month in December, lower than the expected 0.3% rise and down from 0.4% in November.

Concerns over persistent inflation in the US persist. The PPI report did little to change the outlook that the Federal Reserve will likely hold off on cutting interest rates until the second half of this year, with investors awaiting the more critical US consumer price index (CPI) report.

The CPI data is expected to show month-on-month inflation of 0.3% in December, while the year-on-year inflation could rise to 2.9%, up from 2.7% in November.

Investors are also anticipating earnings reports for Q4 2024, with major US banks set to report starting Wednesday. Lenders are expected to post stronger earnings driven by robust dealmaking and trading.

The S&P 500 fluctuated throughout the session before ending 0.1% higher. The Dow ended the day in the green, while the Nasdaq closed lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 221.16 points, or 0.52%, to 42,518.28. The S&P 500 gained 6.69 points, or 0.11%, to 5,842.91, while the Nasdaq Composite fell by 43.71 points, or 0.23%, to 19,044.39.

MSCI’s global stock index increased by 2.62 points, or 0.31%, to 834.41, while the STOXX 600 index fell 0.08%.