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The key equity benchmarks concluded Thursday's trading session with moderate gains, extending their winning streak to three consecutive days. The Nifty closed above the 23,300 level.'PSU banks and metal shares rallied. On the other hand, FMCG and IT shares declined. The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas injected a wave of optimism into global markets, easing geopolitical concerns. The release of lower-than-expected US Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data strengthened expectations for further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. A decline in the US dollar and US Treasury bond yields further bolstered investor sentiment. In the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 318.74 points or 0.42% to 77,042.82. The Nifty 50 index rose 98.60 points or 0.42% to 23,311.80. In three consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex and Nifty gained by 0.93% and 0.97%, respectively. HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 7.92%), Reliance Industries (up 1.31%) and ICICI Bank (up 1.17%) boosted the indices. The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.92% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 1.43%. The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2778 shares rose and 1188 shares fell. A total of 101 shares were unchanged. The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, added 1.35% to 15.47. Economy: India's trade deficit widened to $21.94 billion in December from $18.76 billion a year ago as merchandise exports contracted for the second month in a row, data released Wednesday showed. Exports contracted by about 1% year-on-year to $ 38.01 billion due to global uncertainties, while imports rose by about 5% to $ 59.95 billion. Gold imports in December amounted to $4.7 billion. However, the merchandise trade deficit narrowed in December compared with November. The government had revised November's gold imports to $9.84 billion from $14.86 billion announced earlier. The correction had lowered the November trade deficit to $32.8 billion from a record $37.8 billion estimated earlier. Numbers to Track: The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper grew 1.09% to 6.887 as compared with the previous close of 6.925. In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.5825 compared with its close of 86.4050 during the previous trading session. MCX Gold futures for the 5 February 2024 settlement added 0.37% to Rs 79,000. The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.02% to 109.09. The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.06% to 4.658. In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2025 settlement declined 0.09 cents or 0.11% to $81.94 a barrel. Global Markets: European and Asian shares rose on Thursday, reflecting Wall Street's gains, as the lower-than-expected US core inflation data fueled hopes of potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year. The US core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased by 0.2% in December, marking the first slowdown in six months. The year-over-year increase in core CPI was 3.2%, still above the Fed's 2% target. However, the deceleration in the monthly rate provided confidence that inflation is gradually cooling down. This eased concerns about inflation and bolstered expectations that the Fed might begin cutting rates sooner than previously anticipated. Separately, Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire and hostage release agreement after 15 months of conflict. Mediators Qatar and the United States announced the deal. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani stated that the agreement would take effect on Sunday, pending approval from the Israeli cabinet. Meanwhile, the UK economy returned to expansion, with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) arriving at 0.1% in November after declining 0.1% in October, according to the latest data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Markets expected a 0.2% growth in the reported period. The Bank of Korea held its benchmark interest rate at 3.00% at its monetary policy review, an outcome expected by only seven of 34 economists polled by Reuters. The remaining 27 had expected the bank to cut the rate by 25 basis points. Wall Street experienced a sharp rally on Wednesday, fueled by a combination of positive bank earnings and the encouraging inflation data. The S&P 500 surged 1.8%, the NASDAQ Composite climbed 2.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.7%. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup, among other major banks, reported strong fourth-quarter earnings, setting a positive tone for the upcoming earnings season. Asset manager BlackRock also delivered robust results. In other news, shares of Brazilian airline Azul SA soared over 4% after announcing a non-binding agreement to explore a merger with rival Gol, a move that would create Brazil's largest airline operator. Stocks in Spotlight: HDFC Life Insurance Company surged 7.92% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 14.6% to Rs 421.31 crore despite of 36.1% decline in Total income to Rs 17,270.97 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24. L&T Technology Services jumped 8.53%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 4.1% to Rs 322.40 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 336.20 crore in Q3 FY24. Net sales increased 9.5% YoY to Rs 2,653 crore during the quarter. Mahindra EPC Irrigation hit an upper circuit of 20% after the company's consolidated net profit climbed 280.6% to Rs 6.35 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 1.67 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations rose by 1.4% year on year to Rs 81.45 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024. Alok Industries declined 2.40% after the company's consolidated net loss widened to Rs 272.99 crore in Q3 FY25 as against a net loss of Rs 229.92 crore reported in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations fell 31.05% year on year (YoY) to Rs 863.86 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024. Oracle Financial Services Software slipped 3.53% after the company's consolidated net profit fell 26.9% to Rs 541.30 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 740.80 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations declined 5.9% YoY to Rs 1,715.20 crore in Q3 FY25. Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy surged 8.54% after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 14.83 crore in Q3 FY25 as against net loss of Rs 63.67 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations zoomed 215.19% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,837.20 crore in the quarter ended December 2024. DB Corp (DBCL) fell 1.87% after the company reported 4.7% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 118.2 crore on a 1.38% decline in total revenue to Rs 655.6 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24. Bhansali Engineering Polymers jumped 2.04% after the company's consolidated net profit increased 1.52% to Rs 40.83 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 40.22 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 18.5% YoY to Rs 345.83 crore in Q3 FY25. Transrail Lighting rose 0.85%. The company's consolidated net profit jumped 19.08% to Rs 55.11 crore in Q2 FY25 as compared with Rs 46.28 crore in Q2 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 11.65% YoY to Rs 1,068.33 crore in Q2 FY25. CEAT shed 0.74%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 46.49% to Rs 97.11 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared to Rs 181.48 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 11.36% year on year (YoY) to Rs 3,299.90 crore against Rs 2,963.1 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal. IPO Update: The initial public offer of Stallion India Fluorochemicals received bids for 10,95,20,730 shares as against 8,87,37,330 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on 16 January 2025. The issue was subscribed 7.06 times. The issue opened for bidding on 16 January 2025, and it will close on 20 January 2025. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 85 and Rs 95 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 165 equity shares and in multiples thereof. Powered by Capital Market - Live News
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