Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks held their gains till the end of the session and ended in green amid value buying by investors. After making positive start, indices extended their gains following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight as well as firm trade in Asian counterparts. As for broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index ended with healthy gains. Sector wise, Metal sector stocks concluded with gains of over one and half a percent. 

Some of the important factors for the markets:

Concerns eased about US Fed's interest rate: Sentiments got boost as US core inflation data for December came in lower than expected, boosting hopes for further easing by the Federal Reserve.

Q3 earnings of three big Indian companies eyed: Investors were waiting eagerly for three big Indian companies - Reliance Industries, Infosys, and Axis Bank to share their latest earnings reports later in the day.

India's fiscal conditions to continue to constrain credit strength in 2025: Moody's Ratings in its report on Asia Pacific Sovereigns has said that India's fiscal conditions will continue to constrain its credit strength in 2025, although tension in US-China relations could benefit the Indian economy. 

Global front: European markets were trading higher as UK economy expanded slightly in November after two consecutive contractions. Gross domestic product grew 0.1 percent on a monthly basis in November, following an unrevised fall of 0.1 percent in October. GDP was expected to grow 0.2 percent. All Asian markets ended higher as soft inflation readings from the U.S. spurred expectations for more Fed rate cuts this year.

The BSE Sensex ended at 77,042.82, up by 318.74 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 76,895.51 and 77,319.50. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.92%, while Small cap index was up by 1.43%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 1.87%, Industrials up by 1.73%, Metal up by 1.63%, Telecom up by 1.61% and Capital Goods was up by 1.56%, while IT down by 0.62%, FMCG down by 0.43%, TECK down by 0.21% and Consumer Durables was down by 0.20% were the losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports up by 2.38%, SBI up by 1.64%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.47%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.46% and Tata Motors up by 1.43%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 1.83%, Nestle down by 1.38%, Infosys down by 1.21%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.15% and ITC down by 1.01% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that India's merchandise exports dipped by about 1 per cent to $38.01 billion in December 2024 against $38.39 billion a year ago. Imports increased by 4.8 per cent to $59.95 billion in December 2024 compared to $57.15 billion in the year-ago month. The trade deficit, or the gap between imports and exports, narrowed to $21.94 billion in December, down from a record $31.86 billion in November.    

According to the data, merchandise exports during April-December 2024 were $321.71 billion as compared to $316.65 billion during April-December 2023. Merchandise imports during April-December 2024 were $532.48 billion as compared to $506.39 billion during April-December 2023. Merchandise trade deficit during April-December 2024 was $210.77 billion as compared to $189.74 billion during April-December 2023. 

It further said non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in December 2024 were $30.96 billion compared to $28.60 billion in December 2023. Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in April-December 2024 were $251.34 billion, compared to $230.43 billion in April-December 2023. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in December 2024 were $38.28 billion compared to $36.86 billion in December 2023. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in April-December 2024 were $336.09 billion, compared to $320.63 billion in April-December 2023. 

The CNX Nifty ended at 23,311.80, up by 98.60 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 23,272.05 and 23,391.65. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 7.94%, Bharat Electronics up by 3.10%, SBI Life up by 2.77%, Shriram Finance up by 2.55% and ONGC up by 1.94%. On the flip side, Trent down by 2.80%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.58%, Tata Consumer down by 1.87%, HCL Tech down by 1.83% and Wipro down by 1.57% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 67.83 points or 0.81% to 8,368.96, France’s CAC rose 132.81 points or 1.75% to 7,607.40 and Germany’s DAX was up by 14.36 points or 0.07% to 20,589.04.