Market drifts higher in early trade, breadth strong

The key equity barometers were trading with decent gains in early trade. The Nifty traded above the 23,850 mark. Auto, media, and pharma shares advanced while IT and oil & gas shares declined.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 305.20 points or 0.39% to 78,770.54. The Nifty 50 index added 105.30 points or 0.44% to 23,855.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.39% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.32%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,809 shares rose and 659 shares fell. A total of 136 shares were unchanged.

 

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,376.67 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 3,336.16 crore in the Indian equity market on 26 December 2024, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Gensol Engineering jumped 8.45% after the company secured an EPC contract worth Rs 897.47 crore from NTPC Renewable Energy Development for 225 MW grid-connected solar PV projects at GSECL Solar Park (Stage-III), Khavda, Gujarat. The project includes three years of operation and maintenance.

Power Mech Projects added 2.13% after the company secured an Rs 186 crore order from Jaiprakash Power Ventures. Under the order, it will provide field operation and maintenance services for the 2 x 660 MW Jaypee Nigrie Super Thermal Power Plant in Nigrie, Madhya Pradesh, for the next five-year period, starting from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2029.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was up 1.76% to 6.895 as compared with previous close 6.895.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.3475, compared with its close of 85.2725 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2025 settlement rose 0.12% to Rs 76,920.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.02% to 108.15.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.07% to 4.574.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2025 settlement lost 9 cent or 0.12% to $73.17 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Markets in Asia traded in mixed fashion on Friday, as some markets return from the Boxing Day holiday and investors assessed economic data from the region.

Chinas industrial profits extended declines to a fourth straight month, dropping 7.3% in November from a year earlier, signaling that Beijings stimulus measures have yet to meaningfully stem the slide in corporate earnings.

Investors assessed November inflation numbers from Tokyo, which saw its headline inflation rate come in at 3%, compared to 2.6% in October. Core inflation, which excludes costs of fresh food, rose to 2.4%. Tokyos inflation numbers are widely considered to be a leading indicator of nationwide trends.

Separately, Japans cabinet approved a historic budget of $732 billion for the fiscal year beginning in April, while restricting new bond issuance to its lowest level in 17 years, media reports stated. The approved budget is 2.6% larger than the current years budget. Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased earlier losses and squeezed out a small gain in thin trading Thursday after the markets strong back-to-back gains at the start of the holiday week.

The Dow closed the day 28.77 points, or 0.07%, higher to 43,325.80 after losing about 182 points earlier in the session. The S&P 500 dipped 2.45 points, or 0.04%, to 6,037.59. The Nasdaq Composite also ended the day lower, falling less than 0.1% to 20,020.36.

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