Closing Bell: Market breaks the fall; Sensex up 234 pts, Nifty above 23,700; oil & gas, energy stocks gain

Indian equity indices ended on positive note with Nifty at 23,700 on January 7. At close, the Sensex was up 234.12 points or 0.30 percent at 78,199.11, and the Nifty was up 91.85 points or 0.39 percent at 23,707.90.

We wrap up today's edition of the Moneycontrol live market blog, and will be back tomorrow morning with all the latest updates and alerts. Please visit https://www.moneycontrol.com/markets/global-indices for all the global market action.

Markets saw a breather after Monday's sharp decline, ending marginally higher. The Nifty benchmark index opened with a gap-up, driven by favorable global cues, and traded within a range before closing at 23,707.90. Sectoral trends were mixed, with metals and energy advancing, while IT saw a slight decline. Broader indices also showed some recovery, gaining between 0.8% and 1.3%.

Despite the respite, markets continue to face significant selling pressure during recovery attempts, indicating that bears remain in control. On a positive note, the dip in the volatility index (India VIX) reflects reduced nervousness among the participants. Given these mixed signals, we recommend maintaining a "sell on rise" strategy in the index unless it decisively surpasses the resistance at 24,250. Additionally, the start of the earnings season is expected to create stock-specific opportunities, so traders should focus on selective positioning and prioritize risk management.

Nifty opened on a positive note and witnessed rangebound price action to close with gains of ~91 points. On the daily charts we can observe that the Nifty consolidated within the range of the previous trading session and thus making the extremes of the penultimate candle crucial levels to watch out for in the short term i,e 24100 – 23550.

We expect the Nifty to consolidate between these extremes for the next few trading sessions. Sector rotation and stock specific action are likely during this phase. Daily and hourly momentum indicators suggest a pullback as they have a positive crossover. Immediate hurdle on the upside is 23950 – 24000 while support is placed at 23550 – 23500.

After an initial knee-jerk reaction in the opening trade, the Index remained within a range for the rest of the session, eventually closing at 23,707.90 with gains of 91.85 points. All sectors except for IT saw advances, with Media and Energy sectors being the top gainers. Mid and Small-cap segments outperformed the frontline index, soaring close to 1%.

The appearance of a bullish Harami candlestick pattern on the daily chart suggests a possible trend reversal, but confirmation of this reversal requires a firm close above 23,900. The immediate resistance is at 23,800, while support is placed at 23,580.

Amid positive global cues indicating no major concerns regarding HMPV, the domestic market partially recovered from yesterday's sharp sell-off but traded within a range ahead of the critical first advance estimates for India's FY25 GDP. This comes in the context of moderated growth expectations, as the RBI recently revised its growth projection downwards.

In the near term, the market is expected to remain cautious, awaiting signs of earnings recovery during the upcoming result season, while also dealing with ongoing FII selling which is driven by the strengthening dollar, rising US bond yields, and reduced expectations of further rate cuts.

Indian rupee ended 10 paise higher at 85.72 per dollar on Tuesday versus previous close of 85.82.

Indian equity indices ended on positive note with Nifty at 23,700 on January 7.

At close, the Sensex was up 234.12 points or 0.30 percent at 78,199.11, and the Nifty was up 91.85 points or 0.39 percent at 23,707.90. About 2527 shares advanced, 1286 shares declined, and 103 shares unchanged.

ONGC, SBI Life Insurance, Tata Motors, HDFC Life, Reliance Industries were among the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers were HCL Tech, TCS, Eicher Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Trent.

Among sectors, except IT, all other sectoral indices ended in the green with oil & gas, realty, energy, bank, metal and pharma up 0.5-1 percent.

BSE midcap index rose 0.7 percent and the BSE smallcap index added 1.7 percent.

Indian Rupee recovered on Tuesday on soft US Dollar and a bounce back in the domestic equities. Softness in crude oil prices too supported the Rupee. The US Dollar index eased amid disappointing US services PMI and factory orders data. Also, US President elect Donal Trump dismissed rumours over stringent trade tariffs.

We expect Rupee to trade with a negative bias on FII outflows and underlying strength in the US Dollar amid expectations of no rate cut by Fed in January. However, any extended recovery in the domestic markets may support Rupee at lower levels. Traders may take cues from ISM services PMI, trade balance and JOLTS jobs data from the US. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 85.50 to Rs 85.90.

Newmalayalam Steel has secured an order for supplying total of 1500 MTS Demac GP Pipes and Tubes worth Rs 10.59 crore.

#1 Profitability should improve materially

#2 Benefits of all corrective actions undertaken in last three years bear fruit

#3 RoE & RoCE expected to reach 18.5 percent & 19.9 percent, supported by asset-light expansion and improved working capital efficiency

#4 Current valuations at 10.5x FY27 EV/EBITDA appear attractive

#1 Strong operational performance seen in Q3 business update

#2 Company recorded best quarter ever with pre-sales of Rs 4,510 crore

#3 Company believes it is on track to meet its full-year pre-sales guidance

The Steel Ministry has proposed the merger of KIOCL with NMDC to the Finance Ministry, according to CNBC-TV18, quoting sources. NMDC aims to export iron ore pellets from KIOCL after the proposed merger.

The Board has approved the appointment of Sai Ramana Ponugoti as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - India Consumer Healthcare, effective January 6. Consequently, Sarosh Shetty ceases to be the interim CEO of India Consumer Healthcare.

The Sensex was up 251.16 points or 0.32 percent at 78,216.15, and the Nifty was up 110.90 points or 0.47 percent at 23,726.95. About 2403 shares advanced, 1017 shares declined, and 80 shares unchanged.

Shares of Equinox India Developments (formerly Indiabulls Real Estate) hit 20% upper circuit on January 7 as the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) approved its merger with Embassy Group. The deal has been in the making for five years.

#1 Jewellery (ex-bullion) reported 26 percent YoY growth, led by strong festive demand in Q3

#2 Store expansion for Tanishq remained strong in Q3 business update

#3 CaratLane reported 25 percent YoY growth

#4 Growth for other standalone segments including watches & wearables was a mixed bag

The company has received the LoA from Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited for construction of Eight (08 Nos) Stations for Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project with an order value of Rs 501 crore.

Last four years we have seen profit growing faster than top line due to unorganized to organized, deleveraged balanced sheets and loss making company’s turning profitable. But going forward it will be driven by topline growth,

The Principal Commissioner of Customs, Air Cargo Complex (Import), has imposed a penalty of Rs 2.17 crore on IndiGo. The customs officer has denied the duty exemption on the import of aircraft parts. The company is in the process of contesting this order before the appropriate appellate authority.

FY2024 was the best year for banks. There are some pockets of stress showing up in unsecured segments. But will remain fairly steady when it comes to collections in the secured space.

The company has received a work order worth Rs 476 crore from Orion Security Solutions.

The company has renewed its agreement with the Bank of Baroda to continue offering business correspondent (BC) banking and comprehensive financial inclusion (FI) services across Pan India through Vakrangee Kendra outlets.

The company has appointed Lajpat Yadav as COO - India Welding Business, effective January 6.

The Sensex was up 290.69 points or 0.37 percent at 78,255.68, and the Nifty was up 122.30 points or 0.52 percent at 23,738.35. About 2439 shares advanced, 929 shares declined, and 92 shares unchanged.

BPCL has issued a clarification on news reports that Maharashtra Natural Gas (MNGL) is preparing to list through an initial public offering (IPO) of over Rs 1,000 crore. BPCL stated that the Board has given in-principle approval for the IPO, subject to regulatory and other approvals.

Maharashtra Natural Gas is a joint venture of BPCL, GAIL, and Indraprastha Gas.

#1 Despite Nifty being down 10%, illiquid classes rose to highs. The riskier assets also did well.

#2 This will change in the coming quarter. These illiquid sectors may underperform.

#3 Highlight of last year was that riskier asset classes like Bitcoin, Gold did better.

#4 It was a fairly good year for Indian markets.

#5 Unlike in CY2023, most sectors saw returns of around 20%.

The non-banking finance company has confirmed recent media reports on the daylight robbery incident at its branch in Odisha. The company has reported the incident to the authorities, and a First Information Report (FIR) has been filed.

Preliminary estimates suggest that the value of the stolen assets is approximately Rs 20 crore. The incident is an isolated event and does not have any bearing on the overall operations or performance of the company.

The Committee of Creditors of Vadraj Cement has approved the company's Resolution Plan for Vadraj Cement. The company has received a Letter of Intent from the Resolution Professional and will make phased investments in Vadraj Cement over 15 months.

The company has been declared the successful bidder for two projects to establish the interstate transmission system on a build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) basis. The projects comprise augmentation works at under-construction substations in Gujarat and Karnataka.

Zydus announces agreement with CVS Caremark to add ZituvioTM, ZituvimetTM and ZituvimetTM XR (Sitagliptin / Sitagliptin and Metformin Hydrochloride) to its template formulary.

The company has executed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IREL (India), a public sector undertaking, to cooperate and collaborate for the development (mining, extraction, refining, etc.) of mutually agreed assets of critical minerals, including mineral sands and rare earth elements (REE), by acquiring assets or sourcing raw materials domestically or internationally.

Biocon Biologics, a fully integrated global biosimilars company and subsidiary of Biocon, announced today that the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) of Japan has approved Ustekinumab BS subcutaneous injection [YD], a biosimilar to the reference product, Stelara (Ustekinumab).

The biosimilar Ustekinumab has been developed and manufactured by the company and will be commercialized and marketed in Japan by the Company’s exclusive commercial partner, Yoshindo Inc.

One Mobikwik is going to announce December quarter earnings today

ITI share price locked at 10 percent lower circuit after two consecutive 20% upper circuit

#1 Eastern offshore field should ramp-up to peak production

#2 Eastern offshore will lift company’s domestic oil/gas output by a material 10 percent/20 percent before end Of 2025

#3 New gas & continued rise in gas share from well interventions, will lift blended gas realisation

#4 Removal of windfall tax may also allow to earn higher than USD 75/bbl realisation if crude recovers

#5 Despite multiple triggers, company is trading at material discount to own & peer average valuations

#6 Company offers an attractive 6 percent dividend yield

Asian shares rose to extend a tech-led rally on Wall Street, partly helped by a weaker yen that triggered a warning from Japan's Finance Minister.