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Informist, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024

By Anjana Therese Antony

MUMBAI – The absence of major triggers and lower participation from foreign investors continued to keep the domestic market in a tight range for the second straight session. Unlike most other derivatives expiry days, Thursday was largely muted as FIIs were away for Christmas holiday and major changes in positions were happening in the futures and options chain of the Nifty 50, derivatives analysts said. Some analysts said that even after the festive season, major FII inflows are not anticipated as they may wait for expensive valuations to ease further and that macroeconomic fundamentals need to show clear signs in favour of the bulls. 

So far in 2024, foreign investors net invested $1.43 billion in the equity market, sharply lower than the $24.07 billion invested for the full year 2023, according to data from the National Securities Depository. They have also been adding short positions in index futures, hinting at the near-term bearishness. 

The equity market has seen major corrections since October, primarily on sharp foreign investor outflows, worries about likely slowdown in interest rate cuts by major global central banks, disappointing corporate earnings growth, slowdown in economic growth, depreciation of the rupee, lower returns, and geopolitical tension in West Asia, among other reasons.

Benchmark indices Nifty 50 and Sensex fell around 9% each from their record highs hit on Sept. 27. On Thursday, the Nifty 50 closed 0.1% or nearly 23 points higher at 23750.20 points, while the BSE Sensex ended less than 1 point lower at 78472.48 points. The near-term resistance for the 50-stock index is pegged at 23800-24000 points and support at 23600-23550 points. 

More than half of the stocks listed on the National Stock Exchange and the BSE declined Thursday. The volume of Nifty 50 stocks traded so far in December was down 20% from the previous month and that of Sensex constituents was 32% lower. Analysts are increasingly betting on the government's capital expenditure to gain traction, which is expected to give a major push to a number of sectors, including cement, defence, construction, and engineering. However, slower credit growth and continued fiscal drag are likely to weigh on the country's economic growth in the coming quarters. 

The recurring depreciation of the rupee is another factor that would continue to weigh on sentiment. The rupee closed at its record closing low of 85.26 a dollar Thursday. However, the currency depreciation is expected to benefit exporters, including automobile companies. Among top sectoral gainers on Thursday were automobile players, who contributed to nearly 0.1% rise in the Nifty 50 index. The Nifty Auto index was the top sectoral performer and closed 0.8% higher at 22876.10 points, with most constituents in the green. Shares of Maruti Suzuki India closed 1.5% higher at INR 10,896 in the Nifty 50 and was among the top auto peers in the index. 

Among specific stocks, most Adani group companies closed higher, with Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone gaining the most and closing 5.2% higher at INR 1,243.95 on the NSE. Among other major gainers under the conglomerate were Adani Green Energy which ended 3.2% higher at INR 1,064.25 and Adani Energy Solutions, up 2.7% at INR 792.30. 

Godfrey Phillips India surged after the company said it had appointed Siddharth Chawla as chief operating officer and as senior management personnel of the company from Jan. 7. The stocks closed as the second most gainer in the Nifty 500, up 15% at INR 5,511. 

Amber Enterprises India hit a fresh record high of INR 7,977 and closed 8.5% higher at INR 7,867.70. The stock has been trading higher in eight out of nine sessions. On Tuesday, CNBC TV18 reported that the company is looking to demerge its electronics division, following which the stock had hit a record high. During the September quarter, revenue of INR 4.92 billion from this segment accounted for over 29% of the total revenue from operations of the company. 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 30 rose and 20 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 17 rose and 13 fell

* On the NSE, 1,221 stocks rose, 1,594 fell, and 89 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 1,653 stocks rose, 2,314 fell, and 107 were unchanged

* Nifty Media: down 1.5%; Nifty Auto: up 0.8%; Nifty Healthcare: up 0.8%

BSE                                               NSE

Sensex: 78472.48, down 0.39 points or 0.00%       Nifty 50: 23750.20, up 22.55 points or 0.1%

End

US$1 = INR 85.26

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

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