The Indian indices ended higher on January 23 after closing lower for two straight sessions amid buying in auto, oil & gas, information technology (IT) and banking names.
The market opened higher and remained positive throughout the session. Though it gave up some of the gains in the afternoon, the benchmarks still closed in the green.
At close, the Sensex was up 319.90 points, or 0.53 percent, at 60,941.67, and the Nifty was up 90.80 points, or 0.50 percent, at 18,118.50.
"Market breadth tilted in favour of bulls, lifted by financial stocks, amid positive cues from global peers. Strong corporate earnings reported by banks boosted the appetite for financial stocks. Positive global markets, owing to the possibility of a less aggressive rate hike, further added colour," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Stocks and sectors
HUL, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, Eicher Motors and UPL were among the biggest gainers on the Nifty. The losers included UltraTech Cement, Grasim Industries, NTPC, JSW Steel and Tata Steel.
Among sectors, the information technology index was up 1 percent, while auto, bank, FMCG and pharma added 0.5 percent each. Some selling, however, was seen in the infra and metal names.
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| Index | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sensex | 72,488.99 | -454.69 | -0.62% |
| Nifty 50 | 21,995.85 | -152.05 | -0.69% |
| Nifty Bank | 47,069.45 | -415.35 | -0.87% |
| Biggest Gainer | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bharti Airtel | 1,265.75 | 49.30 | +4.05% |
| Biggest Loser | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo Hospital | 6,074.15 | -260.60 | -4.11% |
| Best Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty Infra | 8324.40 | -2.60 | -0.03% |
| Worst Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty FMCG | 52825.50 | -576.80 | -1.08% |
The BSE midcap index added 0.4 percent but the smallcap index closed 0.3 percent down from the previous session.
On the BSE, the IT index added 1 percent, while auto, bank, FMCG, healthcare and oil & gas were up 0.5 percent each. Power and realty indices were down 0.4 and 0.7 percent.
Relaxo Footwears, Saregama India, Sintex Industries, TCI Finance, Quess Corp, Laurus Labs, Gayatri Projects, Gland Pharma, Vodafone Idea, Biocon, Atul and Aarti Industries, touched their 52-week low on the BSE.
Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 200 percent was seen in Coforge, Indus Tower and Torrent Power.
A short build-up was seen in Atul, Indiabulls Housing Finance and Trent. A long build-up was seen in Hindustan Copper, Persistent Systems and SAIL.
Outlook for January 24
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities
The market maintained the upward momentum through the trading session on positive cues from Asian and European indices.
IT stocks emerged as the star performers after getting hammered in recent sessions on worries that global spending may moderate this year due to a likely slowdown in key economies.
If the optimism continues, we may see some pre-budget rally in the holiday-truncated week.
On the technical front, despite the strong momentum, the Nifty failed to clear the 18,180 resistance mark.
The index is trading above the 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and also holding a higher bottom formation on intraday charts, which is largely positive.
For the traders, 18,000 will be the trend-decider, above which the index can move to 18,200-18,250. On the flip side, below 18,000, selling pressure is likely to intensify and drag the to 17,950-17,900.
Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas
The Nifty traded in a range-bound manner on January 23 but the overall structure shows that the index is preparing for the next leg on the upside.
On the daily chart, it has started forming higher top higher bottom and once the swing high of 18,184 is crossed, one can initiate fresh long positions.
The daily upper Bollinger Band is set for an expansion, which will create room for price action on the higher side.
In the short term, the Nifty is expected to surpass the key hurdle of 18,260-18,300 and head towards 18,500. The level of 18,000 will provide cushion on the downside.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
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