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Informist, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Indices seen up Fri; Nifty 50 may hit record high soon

 

MUMBAI--0830 IST--Benchmark equity indices are likely to rise further Friday amid expectations of the Nifty 50 index touching a lifetime high in the near term, analysts said. The 50-stock index ended above the 26100 level Thursday for the second straight session. The Street expects the December quarter earnings to be better than the first two quarters of the current financial year. Some analysts expect the indices to be volatile in January due to the quarterly results season. 

 

The 50-stock index is about 180 points away from the record high of 26325.80 points, hit in December. On Thursday, the 50-stock index closed 0.1% higher at 26146.55 points and the BSE Sensex closed 32 points lower at 85188.60.

 

Among sectors, analysts expect metal companies to do better in the near term after the imposition of 12% safeguard duty on imports of select products for three years. Analysts are also positive on metal companies continuing to post strong earnings on the back of a rally in base metal prices in the December quarter.

 

Among stocks, shares of cigarette companies are expected to face selling pressure following the imposition of an additional excise duty on cigarettes by the government. Consequently, Nuvama Wealth Management downgraded ITC to 'hold' from 'buy' with a target price of INR 415. Similarly, Emkay Global Financial Services downgraded ITC to 'reduce' from 'add' and cut its target price by 26% to INR 475. Prabhudas Lilladher downgraded the company to 'reduce' from 'buy' and cut its target price by 34% to INR 348.

 

Benchmark indices in the US were closed on Thursday on account of New Year's Day. Indices in Asia were mixed in early trade, with most of them trading with gains. Market participants will watch out for the first advance estimate of GDP for FY26 from the National Statistics Office, scheduled for release on Wednesday.  (Arundathi A R)

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Equity Alert: Asian indices higher, KOSPI hits all-time high 

 

MUMBAI--0827 IST--Indices in Asia traded higher, with South Korea's KOSPI hitting an all-time high of 4263.13 points in the first trading session of 2026. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index was up after falling for four consecutive sessions, losing nearly 1% during the period. The index was closed Thursday on account of the New Year's Day. Some markets in Asia such as Japan and mainland China were closed for the New Year's holiday and the market in South Korea opened an hour later at 0630 IST. Data showed Singapore's economy expanded in the quarter ended December on the back of robust year-on-year growth in the manufacturing sector.

 

The FTSE Singapore Straits Times index was slightly higher as the country's economy grew 5.7% on year in the December quarter, against the 4.3% growth recorded a quarter ago. The expansion was led by 15% on-year growth in the country's manufacturing sector in the December quarter, jumping from the 4.9% growth seen in the previous quarter, according to a press release by Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry. Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced the economy had reported better-than-expected growth of 4.8% in 2025, as part of his New Year's message, according to a report by CNBC. The FTSE Singapore Straits Times index had touched its all-time high of 4667.60 points Tuesday. 

 

Investors in South Korea are focused on the first trading session of January, as the trend for the month is often seen as a 'barometer' to predict the performance for the rest of the year, according to a report by The Chosun. KOSPI clocked gains of 75.6% in 2025 owing to a recovery in the semiconductor industry, polices that helped enhance shareholder value, and improved transparency in the capital market, the report said. "An analysis of 26 sectors since 2013 shows that sectors that rose in January had approximately a 60% probability of also rising for the entire year," Kim Soo-yeon, a Hanwha Investment & Securities researcher was cited as saying by The Chosun. The January effect, first observed in US markets, refers to a trend of investors selling loss-making stocks by the end of the year to avoid taxes and then buying them back at the start of the year, resulting in a rebound in early-year stock prices, the report said.

 

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 0825 IST:

 

Level	Last	Change in %
IDX Composite	8682.45	0.41
S&P/ ASX 200 INDEX	8732.20	0.21
TAIEX	29215.63	0.87
KOSPI	4257.01	1.02
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	4666.20	0.43

 

(Akshat Saksena)

 

US$1 = INR 89.96

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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NYSE: New York Stock Exchange
NYMEX: New York Mercantile Exchange
SEBI: Securities and Exchange Board of India
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