Informist, Tuesday, Feb 6, 2024
By Padmini Dhruvaraj
MUMBAI – Benchmark equity indices shrugged off a weak start and closed near their intraday highs on the back of gains in shares of information technology, automobile, and oil and gas companies. Meanwhile, profit-booking in some banking and financial services stocks capped the gains in the indices.
The benchmark Nifty 50 opened a tad higher and was volatile during the first hour of the trade. However, it then moved up gradually and ended at a three-week closing high of 21929.40 points, up 157.70 points, or 0.7%, higher from Monday's closing. As many as 35 out of the Nifty 50 constituents gained today. Meanwhile, the 30-stock Sensex gained 454.67 points, or 0.6%, to end at 72186.09 points.
"Benchmark Indian indices traded in the green today despite mixed global cues and hawkish comments from Fed (US Federal Reserve) officials," Avdhut Bagkar, technical and derivatives analyst at StoxBox said in a note.
Most sectors traded in sync with the benchmark indices, wherein Nifty IT, Nifty Oil & Gas, and Nifty Metal were among the top performers, while the banking and fast-moving consumer goods sectors remained subdued.
The Nifty IT index hit a fresh two-year high of 38286 points, led by gains in shares of HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, and Wipro. Analysts said the gain in the sector comes on the backdrop of positive quarterly earnings by US tech giants, and a strong US service sector growth data indicated strength in the world's largest economy, which is a key geography for India's software companies.
The US service sector growth picked up in January as new orders increased and employment rebounded, resulting in the Non-Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rising to an 11-month high of 53.4 in January from 50.5 in December.
Further, gains in auto stocks such as Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors, and Mahindra & Mahindra helped the Nifty Auto index hit an all-time high today at 19912.45 points and was up over 1%. Apart from the Nifty Auto, four other sectoral indices - Nifty Metal, Nifty Healthcare, Nifty Pharma, and Nifty Oil & Gas - hit their lifetime highs today.
While the Nifty IT index was the top-sectoral gainer with 2.9% gains, the Nifty Private Bank index was the worst-hit with 0.5% losses. "Despite strong market momentum intraday, profit booking was seen in banking stocks," Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities, said.
Additionally, shares of insurance companies such as HDFC Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential Life, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co, Life Insurance Corp, and SBI Life Insurance Co gained 2-6% today. The Parliamentary Committee on Finance tabled a report today that said there is a need to rationalise goods and services tax on insurance products, currently at 18%, and that the GST on health insurance may be reduced, according to a report by CNBC-TV18.
"Shares of insurance companies surged today after reports that a parliamentary panel on insurance cited the need to rationalise the GST rate on insurance products, which at present is at 18%," said Bagkar from StoxBox.
Meanwhile, the broader market outperformed the benchmark indices today as all the Nifty Midcap indices closed 1.2% higher, while the smallcap indices gained 0.8-0.9%. Triveni Turbine hit its upper circuit of 20% today after the company reported a 34% rise in its net profit for the quarter ended December, while shares of Prince Pipes and Fittings was the worst hit on the Nifty 500 index with 7% losses.
Following today's recovery in the benchmark indices, analysts expect the Nifty 50 to march towards a fresh lifetime high. The 50-stock index is expected to find immediate support at 21700 points and face resistance at 22200 points. "Following the recovery, Nifty 50 will now again aim to revisit its all-time-high at 22127 mark," Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president of research at Mehta Equities said.
Analysts are positive on sectors such as information technology, automobile, pharma, and metal stocks for long bets. "All key sectors, barring banking, are attracting buying on a rotational basis and that is helping the index to maintain a positive tone amid consolidation," Ajit Mishra, senior vice-president of technical research at Religare Broking said. "The recent price action indicates the prevailing tone to continue and traders should maintain their focus on stock selection," he added.
* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 35 rose and 15 fell
* Of the Sensex stocks, 21 rose and 9 fell
* On the BSE, 2,296 stocks rose, 1,574 fell, and 74 were unchanged
* Nifty IT: up 2.92%; Nifty Oil & Gas: up 2.67%; Nifty Private Bank: down 0.49%
BSE NSE
Sensex: 72186.09, up 454.67 pts, or 0.63% Nifty 50: 21929.40, up 157.70 pts, or 0.72%
S&P BSE Sensitive Index Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 72720.96 (Jan 12, 2024) : Lifetime High: 22126.80 (Feb 2, 2024)
Record Close High: 72568.45 (Jan 12, 2024) : Record Close High: 22097.45 (Jan 15, 2024)
2024 1st day close: 72271.94 (Jan 1) : 2024 1st day close: 21741.90 (Jan 1)
2024 Closing High: 72568.45 (Jan 12) : 2024 Closing High: 21894.55 (Jan 12)
2024 Closing Low: 70370.55 (Jan 23) : 2024 Closing Low: 21238.80 (Jan 23)
2024 High (intraday): 72720.96 (Jan 12) : 2024 High (intraday): 21928.25 (Jan 12)
2024 Low (intraday): 70001.60 (Jan 24) : 2024 Low (intraday): 21137.20 (Jan 24)
2023 1st day close: 61167.79 (Jan 2) : 2023 1st day close: 18197.45 (Jan 2)
2023 Closing High: 72410.38 (Dec 28) : 2023 Closing High: 21778.70 (Dec 28)
2023 Closing Low: 59288.35 (Feb 27) : 2023 Closing Low: 17311.80 (Oct 17)
2023 High (intraday): 72484.34 (Dec 28) : 2023 High (intraday): 21801.45 (Dec 28)
2023 Low (intraday): 58699.20 (Jan 30) : 2023 Low (intraday): 17098.55 (Jan 17)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan 3) : 2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan 3)
2022 Closing High: 63284.19 (Dec 1) : 2022 Closing High: 18812.50 (Dec 1)
2022 Closing Low: 51360.42 (Jun 17) : 2022 Closing Low: 15293.50 (Jun 17)
2022 High (intraday): 63583.07 (Dec 1) : 2022 High (intraday): 18887.60 (Dec 1)
2022 Low (intraday): 50921.22 (Jun 17) : 2022 Low (intraday): 15183.40 (Jun 17)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct 14) : 2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan 29) : 2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct 14) : 2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan 29) : 2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan 29)-
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec 31) : 2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar 23) : 2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec 31) : 2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar 24) : 2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec 20) : 2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb 19) : 2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug 28)) : 2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar 23) : 2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec 26) : 2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec 26)
End
Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj
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