The equity barometers traded with significant gains in the mid-afternoon trade, supported by a strong set of earnings from TCPL, Nestle, and L&T. Anticipation of favorable moves in the upcoming Union Budget, which have also bolstered market sentiment. The Nifty hovered above the 23,400 level.
Auto shares extended gains for the fourth consecutive trading session.
At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 519.78 points or 0.68% to 77,279.59. The Nifty 50 index added 187.85 points or 0.81% to 23,437.35.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 1.22% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.34%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,560 shares rose and 1,299 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 4.93% to 16.53.
Economy:
India is expected to record GDP growth of 6.3-6.8 percent in the financial year 2025-26 on the back of strong fundamentals, calibrated fiscal consolidation, and stable private consumption, said the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament on Friday.
India’s economic prospects for FY26 are balanced going ahead, the economic survey stated. Headwinds to growth include elevated geopolitical and trade uncertainties and possible commodity price shocks. Overall, India will need to improve its global competitiveness through grassroots-level structural reforms and deregulation to reinforce its medium-term growth potential.
India needs a continued step-up of infrastructure investment over the next two decades to sustain a high rate of growth, states the Economic Survey 2024-25, presented by Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament today.The Economic Survey states that building infrastructure—physical, digital, and social—has been a central focus area for the government in the last five years.
It states that public capital alone cannot meet the demands of upgrading the country’s infrastructure commensurate with the requirements of Viksit Bharat@2047. We need to ensure increasing private participation in infrastructure by improving their capacity to conceptualize projects and their confidence in risk and revenue-sharing mechanisms, contract management, conflict resolution, and project closure.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index advanced 1.49% to 22,831.80. The index shed 0.40% in the past trading sessions.
Hero MotoCorp (up 4.42%), Exide Industries (up 2.76%), Bharat Forge (up 2.69%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 2.65%), Ashok Leyland (up 2.54%), Samvardhana Motherson International (up 1.87%), Tata Motors (up 1.54%), Bajaj Auto (up 1.31%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.2%) and TVS Motor Company (up 0.89%) advanced.
On the other hand, Balkrishna Industries (down 0.41%) edged lower.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.78% to 6.797 as compared with the previous close of 6.792.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.6525, compared with its close of 86.6250 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for the 5 February 2025 settlement rose 0.49% to Rs 82,124.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.06% to 108.21.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.53% to 4.536.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2025 settlement added 12 cents or 0.16% to $76.99 a barrel.