Sensex Ends 454 Points Higher, Nifty Near 23,350; Zomato Tanks 8%

SOURCE : NEW18 NEWS

Last Updated:January 20, 2025, 15:46 IST

Sensex Today: Indian benchmark indices BSE Sensex and Nifty50 opened on a positive note on Monday, supported by mixed global cues.

Sensex Today: Indian markets ended on a positive note on Monday, with the 30-share Sensex gaining 454 points, or 0.59%, to close at 77,073.44. The index traded within a range of 76,584.84 to 77,318.94 during the day.

The NSE Nifty50 also finished in the green, rising by 141 points, or 0.61%, to settle at 23,344.75. The index reached a high of 23,391.10 and a low of 23,170.65.

Out of the 50 stocks in the Nifty50 index, 29 ended in the positive territory, led by Kotak Mahindra Bank, Wipro, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, SBI, Adani Enterprises, Bharat Electronics, and BPCL. On the downside, SBI Life, Trent, Shriram Finance, and Adani Ports were among the 21 stocks that closed in the red, while one stock remained unchanged.

In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap100 rose 0.91% to 55,106.20, while the Nifty Smallcap100 gained 1.09% to end at 17,864.65.

The sectoral indices showed a mixed performance, with Nifty Private Bank leading the gains at 2.38%, followed by Nifty PSU Bank (1.99%) and Nifty Bank (1.67%). Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Metal also posted gains, up 1.41% and 1.08%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the IT and realty sectors saw modest gains, while Nifty Auto and Nifty FMCG ended lower by 0.52% and 0.11%, respectively.

Zomato Ltd reported a significant decline in its Q3 FY25 net profit, which dropped by over 66% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 59 crore, as its total expenditures outpaced revenue growth. For the October-December 2024 quarter, the food delivery company’s revenue increased by 13% from the previous quarter, reaching Rs 5,405 crore.

Following the results announcement, Zomato’s share price fell sharply by 8%, despite trading in the green for most of the day. The stock was last seen trading at Rs 231 on the NSE, down by 7%.

Global Cues

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region traded higher on Monday ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, with investors waiting for more clarity on the policies of the incoming US administration.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.31%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.24%, and the Topix added 1.33%. South Korea’s Kospi was marginally up by 0.04%, while the Kosdaq edged 0.01% lower.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.39%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 inched up 1.15% as the People’s Bank of China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Monday. The 1-year loan prime rate (LPR) was held at 3.1%, and the 5-year LPR remained at 3.6%.

Meanwhile, MSCI’s global equities index rose on Friday, and US Treasury yields increased as the dollar strengthened. Positive economic data and earnings reports helped investors overlook any jitters ahead of the US presidential inauguration.

The US dollar strengthened against major currencies after a four-day decline, and benchmark US Treasury yields, following a three-session drop, hit a two-week low before reversing direction.

Federal Reserve data on Friday showed US manufacturing output rose 0.6% in the previous month, following a revised 0.4% increase in November, likely due to a factory worker strike ending. Additionally, US single-family homebuilding increased to a 10-month high in December, signaling that construction activity was gaining momentum, although rising mortgage rates and a glut of new homes could slow recovery.

All three of Wall Street’s major indices finished higher, with the S&P 500 and the Dow marking their largest weekly gains since the week of the US presidential election. The Nasdaq recorded its biggest weekly advance since early December.

On Wednesday, softer-than-expected core inflation data had pushed the US 10-year yield lower, providing support to stocks. More encouragement came on Thursday from comments by Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who signaled that three or four rate cuts are still possible in 2025 if data weakens.

Despite these positive developments, Orlando expressed caution about how the market will perform after Monday’s White House handover from Democratic President Joe Biden to Republican President-elect Donald Trump.

Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise, noted that while strong economic data and bank earnings had improved investor confidence, he, like Orlando, remained cautious about potential volatility after the inauguration. “I wouldn’t put a ton of faith in this holding until tariffs and immigration policy are clearer,” he said.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 334.70 points (0.78%) at 43,487.83, the S&P 500 added 59.32 points (1%) to 5,996.66, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 291.91 points (1.51%) to 19,630.20.

MSCI’s global stock index rose by 6.60 points (0.78%) to 855.23.

In Europe, the STOXX 600 index closed up 0.69% for the day, marking a 1.7% weekly gain, its strongest since the week starting December 2.

In US Treasuries, yields increased in a choppy session, with upbeat housing and industrial production data supporting expectations that the Fed may slow the pace of rate cuts. The yield on the 10-year note rose by 1.5 basis points to 4.621%, while the 30-year bond yield climbed to 4.8535% from 4.845%.

The two-year note yield, which typically tracks Fed interest-rate expectations, rose 4.5 basis points to 4.283%, up from 4.238%.

In currencies, the dollar index rose on the day but showed a weekly decline after a six-week winning streak, as investors awaited further policy clarity from the incoming administration. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, including the yen and euro, increased by 0.37% to 109.37.

In commodities, oil prices closed lower on Friday but strengthened for the fourth consecutive week, driven by concerns over potential disruptions in oil supply due to US sanctions on Russian energy. US crude settled down by 1% at $77.88 per barrel, while Brent crude settled at $80.79 per barrel, down by 0.62%.

Gold stocks in COMEX-approved warehouses surged by one-third over the past six weeks, as market players sought deliveries to hedge against potential import tariffs from the incoming US president. Gold prices fell on Friday but were on track for a weekly gain, driven by uncertainties surrounding Trump’s policies and expectations of further interest rate cuts, pushing prices above the key $2,700 level. Spot gold dropped 0.43% to $2,702.06 per ounce, while US gold futures rose 0.19% to $2,751.60 per ounce.