Closing Bell: Sensex rises 847 pts, Nifty at 21,900 led by IT, realty, oil & gas

Benchmark indices ended at record levels and extended the winning streak for the fourth consecutive session on January 12 with Nifty around 21,900 led by Information Technology stocks. At close, the Sensex was up 847.27 points or 1.18 percent at 72,568.45, and the Nifty was up 247.30 points or 1.14 percent at 21,894.50.

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

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities:

A sharp rally in IT stocks coupled with rupee slipping below 83-mark propelled benchmark indices to fresh highs even as both software heavyweights TCS and Infosys reported muted Q3 earnings. The earnings were mostly in line with expectations considering weak IT spending by major global clients in view of challenging macro headwinds. Investors are hoping that likely rate cuts by the Fed later this year would improve the scenario for the IT sector, which will enable big clients to increase spending on IT sourcing.

Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst, LKP Securities:

Rupee kept positive moves after the US CPI data which came in higher at 3.4% against 3.1%, this higher data did not override the interest rate reduction hype from March 24' from FED. As the over all trend of inflation is still weak in recent months. FED can be expected to be moving towards no hike in upcoming policy and projection of cuts can be seen in statement provided the data does not go higher in coming months for CPI in US.

RBI still seems to be in much control of rupee as 83.30-83.40 has been held by rupee and intervention is visible at lower levels on rupee. The short term trend in rupee is now positive as we are now above 82.95 after almost 4 months after Sep 23'. Going ahead rupee can be seen in range 82.70-83.15.

Shrey Jain, Founder and CEO SAS Online:

Propelled by a surge in IT stocks, major indices achieved unprecedented highs today, as both Sensex and Nifty surpassed their previous all-time peaks. Sensex demonstrated a robust rally, climbing over 800 points to reach a new pinnacle of 72,720, while Nifty breached the 21,900 level for the first time, concluding the day at 21,894.55. The Nifty IT index reached a new 52-week high driven by in-line results from IT majors, posting an impressive gain of over 5 percent during intra-day trade.

The key question is whether the thrilling stock market surge will persist. Looking ahead, data suggests that Nifty might exceed 22,000 as early as Monday. The market is backed by a steady inflow of funds into mutual funds and active buying from local investors. The ongoing earnings season for the December quarter is anticipated to be a decisive factor in shaping the market's performance in the coming days.

Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking:

Market ended a 2-week long consolidation phase on Friday and gained over a percent. Buoyancy in the IT heavyweights triggered a firm start, which further strengthened with buying in heavyweights across sectors. Consequently, the Nifty index settled around the day’s high at 21,894.55; up by 1.14%. Apart from the IT pack, realty and PSU also posted decent gains while auto and pharma traded subdued. Amid all, the broader indices underperformed the benchmark but still managed to end with modest gains.

We are now eyeing 22,150 in Nifty however selective participation from banking could keep the momentum in check. We suggest focusing on other key sectors and using any pause or dip to accumulate quality names. Needless to say, the volatility would remain high due to earnings and mixed global cues so plan the overnight trades accordingly.

Aditya Gaggar, Director of Progressive Shares

Benchmark Index (Nifty) has not only ended the week at record levels but also given a bullish Flag and Pole Formation breakout on the daily chart which indicates an extension of the current underlying uptrend. As per the pattern, the target is 22,330. In Bank Nifty, a strong close above 48,250 is much needed to resume its bull run, and in the case of a breakout, the target comes to 49,000 (IDFC First Bank- On the verge of a triangle breakout, SBIN- completed pullback).

From the Auto sector, we continue to remain bullish on Hero MotoCorp; however, several pockets are also strong but with an extremely overbought condition (Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors); buy on dips would be an ideal strategy.

Consolidation of almost 2 years in Energy giant Reliance comes to an end with a Cup and Handle Formation breakout. Going forward, we expect that the stock will lead the sector as well as the Index rally.

Not only the IT sector but almost all its components have also given a breakout from the bullish Flag and Pole Formation which suggests a continuation of the underlying uptrend.

With a hidden bullish divergence in RSI, a strong reversal can be anticipated in the PSU Banking space. We have a technical coverage on Bank of India & Union Bank of India and will stick with the same. Looking at the chart, it's better to cash in some profits from the Realty stocks as they are in an extremely overbought territory.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services:

Indian markets soared to new heights in a powerful rally, driven by IT heavyweights. Green shoots of recovery in the IT sector on the back of an improved outlook for BFSI in FY25 positively influenced market sentiments. The robust performance of PSU banking stocks is underscored by the inherent synergy between their loan portfolios and the prevailing business cycle. Noteworthy is the fact that this upward surge remained resilient amid mixed global cues on account of higher-than-expected US inflation and positive job data, which tempered expectations for an imminent rate cut by the US Fed.

Jatin Gedia – Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas:

The Nifty opened gap up and traded with a positive bias throughout the day to close with gains of ~260 points. On the Daily charts, we can observe that the Nifty has decisively broken out of the 21500 – 21850 range on the upside. The breakout suggests a resumption of trending moves on the upside. We expect the Nifty to target levels of 22000 immediately and above that 22300. On the downside, the zone of 21750 – 21700 shall act as an immediate support as per the role reversal principle.

Bank Nifty started to form higher tops and higher bottoms on the daily charts indicating trend reversal from down to up. We expect the positive momentum to continue till 48000 on an immediate basis and above that it can extend till 48500

Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst, LKP Securities:

The Nifty index exhibited significant strength, securing a notable breakout on the daily chart as it surpassed the key resistance level of 21,800. This bullish move positions the index for potential short-term targets of 22,000 and 22,200. Traders are advised to consider buying opportunities on any dips toward the support level. The momentum indicator RSI has also provided a buy crossover, further confirming the bullish sentiment in the market.

The Bank Nifty index displayed strength by overcoming the initial hurdle at 47,500, signaling potential upward movement towards the next resistance level at 48,000. A decisive breach of 48,000 is crucial, as it could trigger substantial short covering, propelling the index towards the 50,000 mark. The lower support is evident at 47,000, a level marked by significant put writing.

Wipro Q3 Results:

IT Services rupee revenue down 1.1 percent at Rs 22,151 crore against Rs 22,395.8 crore, QoQ

The IT Services EBIT at Rs 3,542.6 crore and EBIT Margin at 16%.

MARKET THIS WEEK
Market regains losses of last week, led by big surge in IT
Nifty IT gains the most amongst indices followed by Realty & Infra
Sensex & Nifty up nearly 1% each while Nifty Bank falls 1%

Rupee Close:

Indian rupee ended higher by 11 paise at 82.92 per dollar on Friday against Thursday's close of 83.03.

Market Close: Benchmark indices ended at record levels and extended the winning streak for the fourth consecutive session on January 12 with Nifty around 21,900 led by Information Technology stocks.

At close, the Sensex was up 847.27 points or 1.18 percent at 72,568.45, and the Nifty was up 247.30 points or 1.14 percent at 21,894.50. About 1940 shares advanced, 1323 shares declined, and 67 shares unchanged.

Biggest gainers on the Nifty included Infosys, ONGC, Tech Mahindra, LTIMindtree and TCS, while losers were Cipla, Apollo Hospitals, Power Grid Corporation, UltraTech Cement and Bajaj Finserv.

Among sectors, except auto, power and healthcare, all other sectoral indices ended in the green with IT index rose 5 percent, realty and oil & gas indices up 2 percent each.

BSE midcap and smallcap indices up 0.4 percent each.

Stock Market LIVE Updates HCLTech Q3 profit seen growing 6% QoQ driven by Verizon deal, ASAP acquisition; stock hits 52-week high

HCLTech is likely to report better earnings performance than peers, growing both fiscal third quarter revenue and net profit in mid-single digits from the previous quarter.

According to a Moneycontrol poll of six analysts, HCLTech is expected to report a sequential revenue growth of 4.18 percent in the October-December quarter to Rs 27,787 crore, helped by $50-million incremental revenue from the Verizon deal, and additional income from Germany’s ASAP post-acquisition.

Net profit for Q3FY24 is expected to grow 6.03 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 4,063 crore, riding on the back of revenue growth. HCLTech’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) is expected to rise 5.47 percent sequentially to Rs 5,204 crore, and EBIT margin to improve 13 basis points. Read More

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Wipro share price gained 4 percent ahead of December quarter earnings today:

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Morgan Stanley View On HDFC Asset Management Company

-Equal-weight call, target raised to Rs 3,000 per share
-Trim FY24 & FY25 EPS, driven by a higher tax rate
-Sustained growth in SIP flows and strong markets drive higher AUM forecasts and offsets lower equity yields
-Raise P/E target price to reflect near-term momentum & sentiment
-Remain equal-weight given structural pressure on equity yields

Sensex Today | BSE Smallcap index up 0.5 percnet led by Ashiana Housing, Accelya Solutions India, Hardwyn India:

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Jefferies View On Macrotech Developers:

-Buy call, target Rs 1,290 per share
-Opening of Mumbai Trans Harbor Link is the first mega project start
-Trans Harbor link is a USD 70 billion+ infra upgrade boosting connectivity in Mumbai
-Lodha's large 4,300+ acre land bank in city outskirts are well-placed to benefit
-Land prices have doubled in 3 years, but there is potential upside long-term
-Affordable housing policy boost to residential sales is also likely soon

Stock Market LIVE Updates | CLSA View On Oil & Gas Cos

-Downgrade Petronet to underperform from buy, target Rs 240 per share 
-Downgrade GSPL to outperform from buy, target raised to Rs 360 per share 
-Buy call on ONGC, target raised to Rs 240 per share 
-Buy call on Oil India, target raised to Rs 435 per share 
-IGL & MGL top bets in city gas cos 
-Recently downgraded HCLP, BPCL, IOC to sell & downgraded Gail to underperform
-A tight crude market, but refining & LNG appear oversupplied
-Oil marketing margins to normalise; project completions & EV transition in focus

Sensex Today | Anuj Choudhary - Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas:

Indian Rupee gained for the seventh consecutive day today on strong domestic markets and a weak US Dollar. Domestic markets touched fresh all-time highs today which could lead to fresh FII inflows. However, the surge in crude oil prices amid the escalation of tensions in the Middle East capped sharp gains. WTI crude oil prices are up nearly 2.5%. The US Dollar declined as markets are still pricing in six rate cuts in 2024 despite an uptick in inflation. US CPI and core rose to 3.4% and 3.9% in December 2023 vs forecast of 3.2% and 3.8% respectively.

We expect Rupee to trade with a slight positive bias on soft US dollars and positive markets. Fresh inflows from foreign investors may also support the Rupee. However, a rise in global crude oil prices may cap sharp gains. Traders may remain cautious ahead of inflation and IIP data from India today. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 82.55 to Rs 83.20.

Sensex Today | Market at 3 PM

The Sensex was up 945.51 points or 1.32 percent at 72,666.69, and the Nifty was up 266.90 points or 1.23 percent at 21,914.10. About 1848 shares advanced, 1413 shares declined, and 61 shares unchanged.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | HSBC View On HDFC AMC

-Hold call, target raised to Rs 3,410 per share
-Healthy operating performance in Q3FY24
-Q3 performance was supported by mkt share gains and strong ind tailwinds
-Income yields over FY25-26 remain under pressure
-EPS growth is likely to be slower than AUM growth
-Expect EPS CAGR of 9 percent and average RoE of 28 percent over FY25/26

Stock Market LIVE Updates | HDFC Life 3Q net profit at Rs 365 crore, net premium income Rs 15240 crore

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Indian rupee hit 82.89 a dollar, its higest level since September 2023, up 0.2 percent from previous close

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Macrotech Developers soars 6% on Jefferies 'buy' call, higher target

Shares of Lodha, listed as Macrotech Developers, soared around 6 percent on January 12 after Jefferies assigned a “buy” rating to the stock, citing a positive outlook for sales of residential projects.

Land prices have doubled in three years. However, there is potential upside in the long term, the brokerage said, as it revised the target price to Rs 1,290 from Rs 884.

According to analysts at Jefferies, the opening of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link would boost connectivity in the city Mumbai and will be good for Macrotech Developers. Read More

Sensex Today | BSE Healthcare index down 0.6 percent dragged by Metropolis Healthcare, Aarti Pharmalabs, Medicamen Biotech:

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Cyient enters into MoU with Japanese firm SkyDrive Inc

Cyient has entered into a memorandum of understanding with SkyDrive Inc., a leading Japanese eVTOL aircraft manufacturer.

As per the MoU, both companies have agreed to work in partnership across product development, engineering, manufacturing, and digital services.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Elara Capital View on Infosys:

The company's Q3 results reflect: 1) persistent revenue leakage; 2) weak discretionary demand and 2) disparity between deal wins and revenue growth.

Broking house find no green-shoots in management commentary regarding revenue growth outlook and assess limited room to utilize traditional margin levers (utilization at 82.7%).

With two quarters of revenue decline in H2FY24 (revised guidance implies a 0.7% QoQ revenue dip in Q4E at mid-point), the company has had a very weak start to FY25.

Elara Capital estimate 3.4% YoY CC revenue growth and 5.1% EPS growth for FY25E and mildly raise company’s FY25E EPS ~1% and nudge Target Price to Rs 1,260 from Rs 1,210 on unchanged 18.5x Dec-25E P/E (five-year average with adjusted standard deviation of 4.8).

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Kolte Patil Q3 Operational Update:x

Sensex Today | Oil prices rise 2% after US, Britain strike Houthi targets

Oil prices rose 2% on Friday as the United States and Britain carried out air and sea strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to attacks by the Iran-backed group on shipping in the Red Sea.

The attack added to market concerns about the potential impact a broader conflict in the Middle East would have on oil supplies from the region, especially those moving through the critical Straits of Hormuz.

Sensex Today | BSE Bank index up nearly 1 percent led by Bank of Baroda, SBI, ICICI Bank:

ALERT | Sensex, Nifty at fresh record high

Sensex Today | Gold gains as Middle East tensions lift safe-haven appeal

Gold prices rose on Friday as international strikes on Yemen added to fears of further escalation in the Middle East conflict, pushing up bullion's safe-haven appeal.

Spot gold was up 0.3% at $2,034.84 per ounce, as of 0701 GMT. However, it has fallen 0.5% so far this week.

U.S. gold futures rose 1% to $2,039.10.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | HSBC View On Infosys & TCS

-Hold TCS, target Rs 3,630 per share
-Buy Infosys, target Rs 1,620 per share
-Q3 season started with a bit of positivity as TCS & Infosys both reported decent deal wins
-TCS outperformed on margins, while Infosys was in-line with expectations
-Demand commentaries were noncommittal for both TCS & Infosys