Stock market update: Sensex gains over 1400 points; Nifty crosses 24000
The domestic stock market made a strong comeback on the second trading day (January 2, 2025) of the new year. The benchmark Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) jumped 1,436.30 points or 1.83 percent to close at 79,943.71 at the end of trading and the Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) rose 445.75 points or 1.88 percent to close at 24,188.65. In today’s trading, 2312 stocks rose, 1496 stocks declined and 108 stocks remained unchanged. Apart from this, Bajaj Finserv, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki, Shriram Finance were the top gainers in the Nifty, while Britannia Industries, Sun Pharma were among the losers.
Midcap and Smallcap indices strengthened
The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained one percent each on Thursday. The auto index rose 3.5 percent and the IT index rose 2 percent. Apart from this, all sectoral indices closed in the green. Today’s rise in the market has been seen due to strong buying in banking and IT stocks, positive and supportive technical outlook towards upcoming quarterly earnings. With great interest in pharma, FMCG and energy stocks, this uptrend was seen in almost all sectors.
Manufacturing activity remained weak in December
Manufacturing activity in India recorded the weakest growth of 2024 in December. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 56.4 from 56.5 in November. The data indicated low demand in the sector despite easing cost pressures and strong growth in jobs.
Rupee’s condition weakened
The rupee fell 9 paise to close at 85.73 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday as strong demand for the dollar from importers and outflow of foreign funds affected investor sentiment. Forex traders said the dollar gained against most currencies during 2024 and will remain strong this year as well. Continuous foreign fund outflows further impacted investor sentiment. Also, global markets are expected to trade lower as major economies like Europe are in holiday season. The rupee opened on a weak note at the interbank foreign exchange market and hit a low of 85.79 and a high of 85.68 against the US currency during the day.
How was the market trend in Asian markets
Global stock markets were mixed on Thursday. Chinese benchmarks fell more than 2%. France’s CAC 40 fell 0.5% to 7,346.33, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.2% to 19,947.91. Britain’s FTSE 100 was almost unchanged at 8,174.85. S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.4%. Investors around the world are wary of what U.S. President-elect Donald Trump might do once he takes office, including raising tariffs on imports from China and other Asian countries. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.7% to 3,262.56 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 2.2% to 19,623.32.
