Taking Stock: Nifty above 23,700, Sensex up 234 pts; metals shine, IT drags

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.

Nearly 130 stocks touched their 52-week high on the BSE, including Aegis Logistics, PTC Industries, Amber Enterprises, Apar Industries, Firstsource Solutions, KIMS, Laurus Labs, Abbott India, ITI among others. Click here to view full list

On the other hand, 100 stocks touched their 52-week low on the BSE, including Sanofi India, PVR INOX, Kajaria Ceramics, Container Corporation, Motherson Sumi Wiring India, Mahindra Life, Network 18, Yes Bank, Relaxo Footwear, Alok Industries, NMDC Steel, among others. Click here to view full list

Outlook for January 8

Aditya Gaggar Director of Progressive Shares

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.

Jatin Gedia – Technical Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan

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.

Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking

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.

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