Barometers nudge higher; breadth strong

The headline equity benchmarks traded with significant gains in early trade, tracking overnight gains on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Investors awaited estimates for FY25 GDP numbers later today.The Nifty traded above the 23,700 level, with all sectoral indices in the green. Oil & gas, consumer durables, and PSU bank stocks saw the most gains.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 350.31 points or 0.45% to 78,315.30. The Nifty 50 index added 123.65 points or 0.52% to 23,739.70.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 0.87% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index jumped 0.99%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,153 shares rose and 844 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,575.06 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 5,749.65 crore in the Indian equity market on 6 January 2025, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Ashoka Buildcon gained 3.08% after its subsidiary, Ashoka Bowaichandi Guskara Road, has executed a concession agreement with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the development of a 4-lane Economic Corridor in West Bengal under the Hybrid Annuity Mode. The accepted bid project cost is Rs 1,391 crore.

Power Grid Corporation of India rose 0.96%. The company has declared the successful bidder for two projects to establish the interstate transmission system on a build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) basis. The projects comprise augmentation works at under-construction substations in Gujarat and Karnataka.

Info Edge (India) declined 2.59%. The company announced that its standalone billings increased by 15.84% to Rs 668.3 crore in Q3 FY25 compared with Rs 576.9 crore in Q3 FY24

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.45% to 6.861 as compared with the previous close of 6.874.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.7450, compared with its close of 85.6850 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for the 5 February 2025 settlement were added 0.10% to Rs 77,232.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.02% to 108.26.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.04% to 4.618.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2025 settlement declined 07 cents or 0.09% to $76.23 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones index futures were down 14 points, signaling a flat-to-negative opening for U.S. stocks today, with focus remaining on key nonfarm payroll data due later in the week.

Most Asian stocks climbed on Tuesday, mirroring overnight gains in U.S. technology shares. However, Chinese markets lagged after the U.S. added two major tech companies to a blacklist.

Regional markets drew positive momentum from a robust Wall Street session, where technology stocks rebounded from a sluggish start to the year. NVIDIA Corporation, an AI leader, surged to a record high ahead of CEO Jensen Huang's keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.55% on Monday, while the NASDAQ Composite soared 1.24%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed, edging down 0.06%. Despite these gains, Wall Street indices remain under pressure due to concerns over a potential slowdown in interest rate cuts in 2025, driven by persistent inflation and a robust labor market.

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