Updates on the Stock Market: Sensex Down 140 Points, Nifty At 21,700

Stock Market Updates: The absence of global signals at the beginning of 2024 has left the stock markets quiescent. The year has started with just slight changes on the Sensex and Nifty, while the Nifty Bank has lost about 100 points thus far. However, larger markets are continuing the upward trend that began in 2023.

Sensex opened trading on January 1, 2024, down 0.2% at 72,105. At 21,713, the Nifty 50 was trading. Conversely, Nifty Bank saw an initial decline of about 150 points, however, it managed to close above 48,000.

Srock Markets Recap for 2023

On December 29, 2023, the last trading day of the year, the Sensex and Nifty market indexes fell as investors opted to take profits after the previous strong surge. This marked the end of a record-breaking year in which benchmarks saw increases of up to 20%.

Following a five-day winning streak, traders said that on Friday, selling pressure appeared in the energy, banking, and IT sectors, causing indexes to decline.

After a sluggish start to the session, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 170.12 points, or 0.23 percent, to end at 72,240.26.

It fell 327.74 points, or 0.45%, throughout the day to 72,082.64.

The larger gauge Nifty finished at 21,731.40, down 47.30 points, or 0.22 percent. The index fell 101.8 points, or 0.46 percent, to 21,676.90 during intraday trading.

The Nifty increased 3,626.1 points, or 20 percent, in 2023, while the BSE benchmark increased 11,399.52 points, or 18.73 percent.

A remarkable increase in inequities in 2023 was driven by a plethora of good causes, which added a staggering Rs 81.90 lakh crore to the fortune of Dalal Street investors in what was a historic year for the equity market.

According to experts, the stock market rally in 2023 was largely driven by India’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals, political stability brought about by the BJP’s recent victories in three major states, an optimistic outlook for corporate earnings, signals from the US Federal Reserve about three potential rate cuts next year, and high participation from retail investors.

The biggest underachievers amongst the Sensex companies were Infosys, Titan, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Power Grid, Reliance Industries, and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Conversely, the winners included UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Nestle, and Hindustan Unilever.

According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, “We feel that though the outlook on broader indexes is moderate in the short to medium term, the large caps will maintain their vibrancy due to strong earnings growth and in anticipation of the continuation of premium valuation.”

The BSE smallcap gauge increased by 0.69 percent and the midcap gauge by 0.85 percent in the overall market.

The indexes saw declines of 1.10 percent in oil and gas, 0.53 percent in Bankex, 0.46 percent in IT, 0.38 percent in teck, 0.07 percent in consumer durables, and 0.05 percent in financial services.

Telecom increased 2.84 percent, vehicles increased 1.17 percent, services increased 1.06%, FMCG increased 0.86 percent, and consumer discretionary increased 0.77%.

The BSE benchmark increased by 1,133.3 points, or 1.59 percent, on a weekly basis, while the Nifty gained 382 points, or 1.78 percent.

Tokyo saw a decline in Asian markets, while Shanghai and Hong Kong saw increases. South Korea shuttered its markets.

The trade on European markets was favorable. On Thursday, the US markets had a mixed finish.

The BSE benchmark increased for a fifth day in a row on Thursday, ending the day at an all-time closing high of 72,410.38, up 371.95 points, or 0.52 percent.

The Nifty reached a new high of 21,778.70 after rising 123.95 points, or 0.57 percent.

The BSE benchmark increased by 1,904.07 points, or 2.70 percent, in the previous five trading days, while the Nifty increased by 628.55 points or 2.97 percent.

The benchmark for world oil, Brent crude, increased by 0.86 percent to USD 77.81 a barrel.

According to exchange statistics, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased stocks on Thursday for a total of Rs 4,358.99 crore.