Nifty above 23,400, Sensex spurts 485 pts; VIX tumbles 5.76%

The domestic equity indices traded with decent gains in early afternoon trade, supported by Larsen & Toubro's record high in new orders and anticipation of favorable moves in the upcoming Union Budget, which have bolstered market sentiment. The Nifty traded above the 23,400 level. FMCG shares extended gains for two consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 484.66 points or 0.63% to 77,240.51. The Nifty 50 index added 184.20 points or 0.79% to 23,433.70.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 1.36% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.34%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,530 shares rose and 1,139 shares fell. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table Economic Survey 2024-25 on 31 January 2025, Friday, providing an official assessment of the performance of the economy in the ongoing financial year and list out the challenges being faced by the nation. The Economic Survey, tabled in Parliament ahead of the Union Budget, also provides the roadmap for reforms and growth. The Economic Survey is prepared by the economic division of the department of economic affairs under the guidance of the chief economic advisor (CEA). India's current CEA is V Anantha Nageswaran.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 5.76% to 16.39. The Nifty 27 February 2025 futures were trading at 23,411.95, at a discount of 21.75 points as compared with the spot at 23,433.70.

The Nifty option chain for the 27 February 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 38.5 lakh contracts at the 24,500 strike price. Maximum put OI of 40 lakh contracts was seen at 23,500 strike.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty FMCG index rose 1.88% to 56,605.45. The index advanced 1.88% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Tata Consumer Products (up 5.15%), Nestle India (up 3.1%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 2.61%), Balrampur Chini Mills (up 1.77%), ITC (up 1.16%), Britannia Industries (up 1.06%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.06%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.93%), United Breweries (up 0.49%), and Marico (up 0.41%) added.

On the other hand, Varun Beverages (down 0.61%), Radico Khaitan (down 0.4%), and Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (down 0.39%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

The Anup Engineering declined 3.01%. The company's standalone net profit rallied 55.55% to Rs 31.36 crore on a 33.07% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 170.87 crore in Q3 December 2024 over Q3 December 2023.

Astral rallied 3.66% after its standalone net profit jumped 4.82% to Rs 125.90 crore on 2.22% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 1,270.5 in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) gained 4.18% after the company reported a 13.96% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,358.84 crore in Q3 FY25 compared with Rs 2,947.36 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 17.31% YoY to Rs 64,667.78 crore in Q3 FY25.

Meanwhile, the company received its highest ever quarterly orders of Rs 1,16,036 crore at the group level during the quarter ended December 31, 2024, registering a substantial year-over-year growth of 53%.

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