Market Commentary - End-Session
Sensex rebounds 759 pts, Nifty ends above 24,100; VIX below 15 As on : 29-Nov-24  17:25

The domestic equity benchmarks staged a recovery on Friday, rebounding from the previous session's decline. A surge in pharma, infrastructure, and energy stocks buoyed market sentiment, pushing the Nifty index above the 24,100 level. However, analysts remain cautious, citing ongoing FII selling as a significant headwind. They advise investors to adopt a wait-and-watch approach and avoid aggressive buying until a clearer market trend emerges.

The S&P BSE Sensex soared 759.05 points or 0.96% to 79,802.79. The Nifty 50 index gained 216.95 points or 0.91% to 24,131.10.

Bharti Airtel (up 4.30%), Reliance Industries (up 1.66%) and ICICI Bank (up 1.10%) boosted the indices.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.31% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.76%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,347 shares rose and 1,606 shares fell. A total of 97 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 5.12% to 14.43.

Economy:

India's GDP growth slumped to its lowest level in seven quarters at 5.4% in the second quarter of FY25, as mining growth contracted to an eight quarter low and manufacturing and utility services took a hit. The economy had grown at 6.7% in the previous quarter and 8.1% in the year-ago period.

India's fiscal deficit inched higher for the first seven months of the year. The country's fiscal deficit, at 46.5% of the Budget until October, was higher than the previous year's 45% for a similar period. Capex spending remained muted, with the government spending 42% of the fiscal year budget of Rs 11.11 lakh crore, compared with 54.7% spent during the April-October period last fiscal.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal grew 1.60% to 6.914 as compared with previous close 6.920.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 84.4900 compared with its close of 84.4700 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for the 5 December 2024 settlement rose 0.88% to Rs 76,390.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.20% to 105.93.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.73% to 4.213.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for January 2025 settlement declined 16 cents or 0.22% to $72.67 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones index futures were up 132 points, signaling a strong opening for U.S. stocks today.

Most European stocks advanced on Friday as investors assessed the latest release of eurozone inflation data. The reading comes ahead of the European Central Bank's last meeting of the year on 12 December 2024.

Euro zone inflation rose from 2% in October to 2.3% in November, flash data from statistics agency Eurostat showed on Friday, above the European Central Bank's 2% target.

Separately, France's harmonized inflation rate came in at 1.7% in November, up slightly from 1.6% in October, according to preliminary data from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee).

Asian markets declined, led by losses in South Korean stocks after industrial production declined for a second straight month in October.

South Korea's industrial production growth fell 0.3% in October compared to September, which also saw a 0.3% fall on a month-on-month basis.

Industrial production saw a 2.3% increase year on year in October, marking a reversal from the 1.3% fall in September.

Tokyo's Core CPI inflation, which excludes volatile fresh food items, rose 2.2% year-on-year in November, government data showed on Friday. Headline CPI inflation surged 2.6% from 1.8% in the prior month. The BOJ is expected to raise interest rates in December after two historic hikes earlier this year.

Overnight trading in U.S. equities and Treasury securities was closed due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Stocks in Spotlight:

The Nifty Pharma index added 2.35% to 22,240.20. Torrent Pharmaceuticals (up 3.97%), Divis Laboratories (up 3.89%), Alkem Laboratories (up 3.27%), Natco Pharma (up 3.18%), Ajanta Pharma (up 3.03%), Laurus Labs (up 2.95%), Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries (up 2.87%), Lupin (up 2.68%) and Cipla (up 2.63%) sueged.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises jumps 4.8%. Punit Goenka on Thursday failed to secure shareholders' approval to continue as director on the company's board. However, he will continue as chief executive officer (CEO) of India's largest media and entertainment conglomerate. Goenka lost the vote by a slender margin'while 50.4% of shareholders rejected his candidature, 49.5% voted in favour.

Sigachi Industries surged 5.64% after the company's subsidiary, Trimax Biosciences, received a communication from the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & Health Care (EDQM) for CEP filing of Propafenone Hydrochloride.

Reliance Industries rose 1.66% after the company announced that its step-down wholly owned subsidiary, Reliance Finance and Investments USA LLC, has entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire a 21% stake in the U.S.-based Wavetech Helium, Inc. for $12 million.

Newgen Software Technologies advanced 4.36% after the company announced that it has received a purchase order worth Rs 32.44 crore from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

PC Jeweller hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company's board fixed the record date as 16 December 2024 for the proposed 1-for-10 stock split.

Ashoka Buildcon jumped 4.24% after the company received an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) order worth Rs 1,055 crore from Bangalore International Airport.

Nazara Technologies declined 2.04%. The company has informed that NODWIN Gaming, a material subsidiary of the company, has announced the acquisition of Trinity Gaming, a leading gaming agency and platform, MCN/CSP, for a deal valued at Rs 24 crore.

NCC added 2.33% after the company received a letter of acceptance (LoA) worth Rs 3,389.49 from Ken-Betwa Link Project Authority for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) execution of Daudhan Dam.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News