Indian benchmark equity indices closed higher on Thursday after a two-session drop on Thursday, led by financials on strong business updates and energy stocks on investment plans. Realty extended gains on robust sales volumes.
The BSE Sensex advanced 491 points or 0.69% to settle at 71,847. The broader NSE Nifty surged 141 points or 0.66% to end at 21,658.
High weightage Nifty Financials rose 1.22%, after shedding 1.29% over the last four sessions. Nifty Realty index surged 6.76% to a new record high, led by Sobha, Macrotech Developers, Godrej Properties, and DLF.
Bajaj Finance closed 4.4% higher and was among the top Sensex gainers. The non-bank lender reported a 26% year-on-year increase in new loans and a 35% jump in assets under management in the December quarter, according to a business update.
While investors still expect three US interest rate cuts after the Federal Reserve minutes, a likely delay in the onset of rate cuts could trigger consolidation across global markets, said Narendra Solanki, head of fundamental research of investment services at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.
Among individual stocks, Torrent Power closed 7.5% higher after announcing Rs 47,400 crore of investments in solar power projects, green hydrogen and ammonia manufacturing plants in Gujarat.
Meanwhile, the market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE surged by Rs 3.35 lakh crore to Rs 368.43 lakh crore. The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bulls. About 2,568 stocks gained, 1,262 declined, and 111 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Expert Views
“The realty sector was the highest gainer in anticipation of robust demand in the residential category, which was supported by healthy housing loans disbursement data announced by banks,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, said, “The present sentiment suggests a promising trajectory towards 21,800-21,850 for the Nifty. If it surpasses 21,850, we might anticipate a further climb toward 22,000. Notably, the index appears to have a short-term support level of around 21,500. A downward shift would likely initiate only if it falls below this mark; until then, it seems favorable for buyers to take advantage of market dips.”
Global Markets
Asian shares managed to eke out a modest gain overnight, having dipped early on after Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei did, though, finish lower on its first trading day of the year.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.4%, having dropped to a three-week low in the previous session.
Crude Oil Rises
Oil rose nearly 1% on Thursday, adding to gains in the previous session on concerns over Middle Eastern supply following disruptions at an oilfield in Libya and heightened tensions regarding the Israel-Hamas war.
Brent crude rose 63 cents, or 0.81%, to $78.87 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rallied 71 cents, or 0.98%, to $73.41.
Currency Watch
The Indian rupee ended slightly stronger on Thursday, aided by dollar inflows, even as most of its Asian peers were on the back foot as investors moderated their expectations of early US rate cuts this year.
The rupee ended at 83.23 against the US dollar, higher by 0.05% compared with its close at 83.2750 in the previous session.
(With inputs from agencies)
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