Monday, December 23, 2024 | 10:22 PM ISTEN Hindi

Benchmarks extend record breaking run; Nifty tops 18,800; IT, metals shine

CLOSING BELL: Global cues triggered by Powell's positive remarks boosted sentiment. The Sensex scaled a new high at 63,583, while the Nifty 50 came within striking distance of 18,900 on Thursday.

SI Reporter New Delhi

markets, stock market, sensex, correction, nifty, shares, growth, profit, economy, gain

STOCK MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

The key benchmark indices extended the winning run to the eight straight day in spite of some volatility owing to the weekly Nifty options expiry. IT, metals, cement and select financial shares logged smart gains in trade on Thursday.

The S&P BSE Sensex rallied to a new all-time high of 63,583 on the back of buoyant global cues triggered by positive US Fed chief’s remarks.

US Fed chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said that it now makes sense to moderate the pace of rate hikes going ahead and that smaller rate increases could start as soon as December.

Also read: Stock performance remains polarized even as Sensex, Nifty scale new highs

The Sensex pared gains during the course of the day, and finally ended at 63,284, up 184 points.

The NSE Nifty 50 touched a high of 18,888, and settled 54 points higher at 18,813. Analysts expect the Nifty to hit the 20,000-mark soon. READ MORE

Among the Sensex 30 shares, UltraTech Cement and Tata Steel gained nearly 3 per cent each. The IT pack led by TCS, Tech Mahindra, Wipro and Infosys were the other major gainers. READ MORE

On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and ICICI Bank slipped 1.4 per cent each. PowerGrid Corporation was the other notable loser.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices outperformed and were 0.6 per cent each as against 0.3 per cent gain on the benchmark. The overall market breadth too was positive, with 2,063 stocks advancing as against 1,415 stocks declining on the BSE.

Sectorally, the BSE IT index surged 2 per cent, and the Metal index jumped 1.8 per cent. The Realty and Commodities indices also logged strong gains.

Among individual stocks, Zomato gained another XXX per cent after Alibaba sold 263 million shares. Camas Investments bought 98 million shares worth Rs 608 crore of Zomato via block deal on the NSE on Wednesday. READ MORE

That apart, shares of 'Bisleri' manufacturer and distrubutor - Orient Beverages were locked in the 5-per cent upper circuit for a sixth straight trading day, thus hitting a five-year high of Rs 179.05 on the BSE. READ MORE

Primary Market Update

Uniparts India IPO was subscribed up to 1.35 times as of 3:55 PM on Day 2 of the offer period. The retail portion was subscribed 1.7 times and HNIs 2.4 times.

4:13 PM

COMMENT :: What all happened in the markets today?

Bulls got more reasons to celebrate, boosted by favourable macro-economic data and strong global markets. The Indian economy’s growth of 6.3% in Q2 was in line with the RBI’s forecast, while the manufacturing PMI rose to 55.7 in November. Global investors' concerns were allayed as the Fed chair adopted a dovish stance indicating slower rate hikes in the future.

Views by: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial

4:05 PM

COMMENT :: 'We may see a bit of consolidation after the recent surge'

Markets managed to end marginally higher amid volatility on the weekly expiry day. Firm global cues triggered a gap-up start in Nifty however profit taking at the higher levels trimmed the gains as the day progressed.

Finally, the Nifty index settled at 18,812.5 levels. Among the sectoral pack, IT, metal and realty remained in flavour while energy, auto and FMCG were slightly on the back foot. Amid all, the broader indices outperformed the benchmark and posted decent gains.

We may see a bit of consolidation after the recent surge however upbeat global cues would keep the tone positive. Besides, improvement in the broader market participation is added relief. Participants should continue with a positive bias and utilise pause or dip as a buying opportunity. At the same time, one should not go overboard and stick largely with the index majors and quality midcaps.

Views by: Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking

4:03 PM

GST revenues rise 11% to Rs 1.46 trillion in November, says Fin Min

The gross GST revenue collected in the month of November 2022 is Rs 1,45,867 crore of which Central GST is Rs 25,681 crore, State GST is Rs 32,651 crore, Integrated GST is Rs 77,103 crore (including Rs 38,635 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 10,433 crore (including Rs 817 crore collected on import of goods). READ MORE