More Stories

Informist, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025

By Akash Mandal

MUMBAI – Analysts were unsure of the direction the benchmark indices would take Wednesday, given the uncertainty among investors and increased volatility in the market. However, all were agreed on one thing, that the market would remain volatile during the week as investors eye the Union Budget on Feb. 1 and the policy announcements of US President Donald Trump.

The indices may bounce back after Tuesday's sharp losses, Jigar Patel, senior manager of equity at Anand Rathi Share & Stock Brokers, said. Till the Budget, the Nifty 50 might reach 24200 points if there is a pre-Budget rally, Patel said. However, IDBI Capital's Brijesh Ail said indices might fall further as sentiment looks weak. If at all there is a bounce, the maximum upside for the Nifty 50 would be 23400-23500 points, Ail said, while immediate support would be at 23100-22800 points.

If the Budget holds no positive surprises, Ail said the Nifty 50 could fall further to 21500 points, a downside of almost 7% from Tuesday's close. The Nifty 50 ended at 23024.65 points, down 320.10 points or 1.4%, and the BSE Sensex ended at 75838.26 points, down 1235.08 points or 1.6%. Banking and financial services stocks led the losses in the Nifty 50. The broader market indices also fell, with the small- and mid-cap indices of the NSE ending 2-2.3% lower.

Shares of Bharat Petroleum Corp., HDFC Bank, and Hindustan Unilever will be in focus Wednesday as the companies will report their earnings for the December quarter. A lot would especially depend on the numbers reported by HDFC Bank, which is a heavyweight stock in the Nifty 50 index. Pidilite Industries, Coforge, Housing & Urban Development Corp., Polycab India, Persistent Systems, and Tata Communications will also report their earnings for the quarter Wednesday.

Shares of KEI Industries will be in focus after the company, after market hours, reported a net profit of INR 1.65 billion, lower than analysts' estimate of INR 1.77 billion. Dalmia Bharat's Oct-Dec earnings missed the Street's view by a wide margin, with the company reporting a consolidated net profit of INR 610 million, against analysts' expectation of INR 1.43 billion. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co., PNB Housing Finance, Tanla Platforms, and India Cements also reported their December quarter earnings after market hours Tuesday.

Investors would keep an eye out for any new policy announcements and speeches by President Trump. On his first day in office, Trump pulled the US out of the World Health Organization and imposed tariff of 25% on Canada and Mexico, which will come into effect from Feb. 1.  End

Edited by Rajeev Pai

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.