- India’s Nifty and Sensex settled higher on Friday, gaining for the fourth day in a row.
- Nifty and Sensex cheered global optimism as soft US Retail Sales rekindled dovish Fed expectations.
- All eyes on the US PPI and Consumer Sentiment data for moves in Nifty and Sensex next week.
The Sensex 30 and Nifty 50, India’s key benchmark indices, closed yet again in the green on Friday, maintaining its upward trajectory. The Indian indices cheered the positive sentiment on global stock markets, courtesy of the revival of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cut expectations after weak Retail Sales data.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 added 0.59% on the day to settle just below the all-time high of 22,126. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex 30 gained 0.52% to close just shy of the 72,500. The top-tier US Producer Price Index (PPI) data will offer a fresh take on risk sentiment, eventually impacting the Indian indices at the weekly open on Monday.
Stock market news
- SBI Life Insurance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, WIPRO, Adani Ports were the top gainers on the Nifty on Friday while losers included Apollo Hospitals, Brittania, Power Grid, SBI Bank, NTPC and Reliance Industries.
- Among the corporate news, Volkswagen and Mahindra & Mahindra signed pact for electric vehicle components.
- Paytm snapped its three-day decline to close at the 5% upper circuit.
- Zerodha Fund House launched Zerodha Gold ETF.
- Foreign investors in the last two days have sold equities worth Rs. 6,993 crore.
- On Thursday, Nifty and Sensex drew support from upbeat Indian data and impressive gains in the automobile and utility sector stocks.
- India’s trade data for January showed Thursday a shrinking Trade Deficit of $17.49 billion.
- US Retail Sales declined by 0.8% in January, the US Census Bureau reported on Thursday, worse than the market expectations for -0.1%.
- On Wednesday, the Indian WPI inflation dropped to 0.27% in January, as against a 0.73% increase in December. The data missed the market consensus of 0.53%.
- The Lunar New Year holidays in China could keep the liquidity thin around the Indian indices.
- All eyes now turn toward the top-tier US Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Sentiment data for trading impetus in Nifty and Sensex indices.
Sensex FAQs
What is the Sensex?
The Sensex is a name for one of India’s most closely monitored stock indexes. The term was coined in the 1980s by analyst Deepak Mohoni by mashing the words sensitive and index together. The index plots a weighted average of the share price of 30 of the most established stocks on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Each corporation's weighting is based on its “free-float capitalization”, or the value of all its shares readily available for trading.
What factors drive the Sensex?
Given it is a composite, the value of the Sensex is first and foremost dependent on the performance of its constituent companies as revealed in their quarterly and annual results. Government policies are another factor. In 2016 the government decided to phase out high value currency notes, for example, and certain companies saw their share price fall as a result. When the government decided to cut corporation tax in 2019, meanwhile, the Sensex gained a boost. Other factors include the level of interest rates set by the Reserve Bank of India, since that dictates the cost of borrowing, climate change, pandemics and natural disasters
What are the key milestones for the Sensex?
The Sensex started life on April 1 1979 at a base level of 100. It reached its highest recorded level so far, at 73,328, on Monday, January 15, 2024 (this is being written in Feb 2024). The Index closed above the 10,000 mark for the first time on February 7, 2006. On March 13, 2014 the Sensex closed higher than Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index to become the major Asian stock index with the highest value. The index’s biggest gain in a single day occurred on April 7, 2020, when it rose 2,476 points; its deepest single-day loss occurred on January 21, 2008, when it plunged 1,408 points due the US subprime crisis.
What major corporations are in the Sensex?
Major companies within the Sensex include Reliance Industries Ltd, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ITC Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Tata Steel, HCL Technologies, Infosys, State Bank of India, Sun Pharma, Tata Consultancy Services and Tech Mahindra.
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