Sensex, Nifty extend gains riding on IT, services, telecom stocks hh
Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended on firm footings despite starting on a weak note on Tuesday as investors rushed to grab low-priced bellwether stocks of IT, services and telecom players amid optimism on a US-India trade deal.
The 30-share BSE Sensex began the trade on a negative note by declining 411.32 points or 0.49 per cent to 83,124.03. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 125.1 points, or 0.48 per cent to 25,449.25 in the early trade.
However, both the indices made a strong comeback and closed the session with significant gains.
The Sensex jumped 335.97 points, or 0.40 per cent, to settle at 83,871.32, while the Nifty climbed 120.60 points, or 0.47 per cent, to close at 25,694.95.
"The domestic market opened on a subdued note amid concerns over potential implications of the Delhi explosion. However, it recovered smartly and closed at the day's high, supported by global cues as the US Senate passed a bill to end the longest-ever federal shutdown.
"Importantly, the Q2 results season is nearing its end and is expected to conclude on a positive note, driven by better-than-expected performance by the broader market. The rally was sustained by gains in IT, auto, metal, and FMCG sectors," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
Among the Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Ports, HCL Technologies, Eternal, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever and UltraTech Cement were the gainers.
Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Kotak Mahindra Bank, PowerGrid and Tata Steel were among the laggards.
Bajaj Finance ended over 7 per cent lower as investors turned cautious after the company's lower Assets Under Management (AUM) growth guidance and rising signs of asset stress. Bajaj Finserv fell 6.26 per cent.
"Investors are now awaiting the upcoming domestic inflation data, with expectations of continued moderation due to a steady decline in food prices -- raising prospects of further policy easing by the RBI. Looking ahead, earnings are expected to witness a robust rebound in the third quarter, underpinned by multiple domestic tailwinds, though much will depend on the successful finalization of a trade deal with the US," Nair said.
The BSE midcap gauge went up by 0.20 per cent while smallcap closed 0.09 per cent lower.
Sector-wise, Services climbed 1.65 per cent, followed by Telecommunication by 1.59 per cent, Focussed IT by 1.21 per cent, Teck by 1.12 per cent, Capital Goods by 1.19 per cent, IT by 1.07 per cent, Auto by 1 per cent, Industrials by 0.75 per cent, and Oil & Gas by 0.71 per cent.
"Markets witnessed a volatile session on the weekly expiry day but eventually ended in the green, extending Monday's rebound. After an initial uptick, the Nifty drifted lower during the early hours; however, strong buying across heavyweights in the latter half lifted the index to close near the day's high at 25,694.95.
"Sectorally, a mixed trend kept traders engaged -- IT, auto, and metal stocks outperformed, while financials, realty, and pharma ended subdued. In the broader market, the midcap index gained over half a per cent, whereas the smallcap index closed marginally lower, reflecting selective participation," Ajit Mishra - SVP, Research, Religare Broking, said.
Mishra further stated the early weakness was primarily driven by cautious global cues and continued FII selling.
"However, renewed buying interest in index heavyweights helped markets recover, supported by optimism following Goldman Sachs' recent upgrade of India's rating outlook. Additionally, some short-covering on weekly expiry further strengthened the momentum in the latter part of the session," he said.
On the other hand, healthcare dropped 0.33 per cent, financial services by 0.21 per cent, and realty by 0.17 per cent.
A total of 2,245 stocks declined while 1,936 advanced and 182 remained unchanged on the BSE.
President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the US will soon reduce the tariffs imposed on India, as the two nations moved closer to finalising a trade deal.
Meanwhile in Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and Japan's Nikkei 225 index settled higher while Shanghai's SSE Composite index closed in the red territory.
Markets in Europe were trading higher. The US markets ended higher on Monday.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, increased by 0.33 per cent to USD 64.27 per barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 4,114.85 crore on Monday while Domestic Institutional Investors remained the net buyer of stocks worth Rs 5,805.26 crore, according to the exchange data.
On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex benchmark climbed 319.07 points to close at 83,535.35. The 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 82.05 points to settle at 25,574.35.
Meanwhile, the net inflows into mutual funds' equity schemes dropped by nearly 19 per cent to Rs 24,690 crore in October, making it the third consecutive month of a decline in the number, an industry body said on Tuesday.
On the systematic investment plans (SIPs), the preferred vehicle of retail investors, the overall inflows grew to Rs 29,529 crore from September's record high of Rs 29,631 crore.
Amid the rally in gold prices, gold exchange traded funds saw net inflows at Rs 7,743 crore during the month taking the overall assets under management (AUM) in the category to above Rs 1 lakh crore, as per data disclosed by the Association of Mutual Funds of India (Amfi).
The net flows into equity MFs had declined 9 per cent on-month to Rs 30,421 crore in September, after August's 22 per cent decline to Rs 33,430 crore, amid corrections in the equity benchmarks.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
