Sensex climbs 150 pts to 76,700; Metal, Pharma, Oil, Realty gain, IT, Auto drag

After opening on a subdued note, benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and Nifty50 were climbing on Thursday, amid mixed global cues after the US Fed decided to hold rates amid trade policy and inflation concerns.

At 10 AM, the BSE Sensex was higher by 134.74 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 76,667.70, and the Nifty50 was higher by 66.60 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 23,229.70.

After the opening bell, on the 30-stock BSE Sensex, 18 stocks were trading higher, while the rest declined. Gains were led by Bajaj Finance (up 3.54 per cent), followed by Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki India, and IndusInd Bank, while losses were led by Tata Motors (down 7.19 per cent), followed by ITC Hotels, Infosys, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank.

On the Nifty50, 28 stocks climbed, while 22 declined and one remained unchanged. Gains were led by Bajaj Finance (up 3.87 per cent), followed by Bajaj Finserv, Hindalco, IndusInd Bank, and ITC Hotels, while losses were led by Tata Motors (down 7.67 per cent), followed by Wipro, Infosys, ICICI Bank, and UltraTech Cement.

Across sectors, the Nifty Consumer Durables and Auto indices were the most under pressure, declining 1.31 per cent and 1.19 per cent. The Nifty IT was lower by 0.55 per cent, the Nifty Private Bank was lower by 0.10 per cent, and the Nifty Bank was behind by 0.08 per cent.

On the flip side, the Nifty Realty index was the top gainer, climbing 1.55 per cent, followed by the Oil, Media, Pharma, Healthcare, PSU Bank, FMCG and Financial Services indices.

In the broader markets, meanwhile, the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices had climbed 0.33 per cent and 0.55 per cent, respectively, while the India VIX, India’s risk gauge, had climbed 1.48 per cent.

Along widely anticipated lines, the US Federal Reserve decided to stand pat on interest rates late Wednesday evening citing looming uncertainty from President Donald Trump’s tariff decisions, and inflation levels above its target of 2 per cent.

Benchmark indices on Wall Street closed lower overnight as the Fed refrained from giving insights into when it might resume its easing cycle.

Separately, the US trade deficit in goods, which has been on Trump’s radar for long, widened to a record high in December, surging 18 per cent to $122.1 billion. Goods imports increased by 3.9 per cent, while exports dropped 4.5 per cent. The deterioration raises the risk of a sharper slowdown in GDP growth in the fourth quarter than economists had anticipated when the government publishes its advance GDP estimate for the last quarter on Thursday.

Back home, benchmark indices rose for a second day on Wednesday as investors judged recent losses as excessive and looked to scoop up shares at beaten-down valuations. Nifty 50 closed at 23,163, up 206 points or 0.9 per cent, extending its two-day gain to 1.51 per cent. The Sensex added 632 points or 0.83 per cent to 76,533.

In the primary markets today, in the mainline section, Dr. Agarwal’s Health Care IPO will see its second day of subscription. In the SME section, CLN Energy IPO will list on the bourses, and Malpani Pipes And Fittings IPO will see its second day of subscription.

In other news, Sebi on Wednesday proposed reviewing the investor charter for stock brokers. It has proposed modifying the charter to include vision, mission, and services provided to investors by brokers, among other details, while inviting comments on the proposal till February 17.

That apart, smallcap funds are increasingly tapping into the ‘microcap’ space amid a multifold jump in their assets and improved liquidity conditions in stocks beyond the largest 500. In the past three years, the average exposure of smallcap funds to such stocks has increased from 22.4 per cent to 31.3 per cent, according to data from Morningstar Direct.

Just three days before the Union Budget, the industry has urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to extend export-boosting scheme Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) for Export-Oriented Units (EOUs) and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) till September 30, on a par with exports from the rest of the country. The Union Budget 2025-26 (FY26) will be presented on February 1.

Elsewhere, employment in the unincorporated manufacturing sector remained below the 2020-11 levels in the October-September period of 2023-24, per analysis of the latest Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises data released on Wednesday, alongside the comparable 67th National Sample Survey round conducted in 2010-11 by the National Statistics Office (NSO). Data showed that the manufacturing sector employed nearly 33.7 million workers in 2023-24 period, compared to 34.9 million workers in 2010-11.

All 36 states and Union Territories (UTs) are expected to pre-publish “harmonised” draft rules in line with the four new labour codes by March this year, the labour ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. It is organising a two-day labour ministers’ conference in the national capital on January 29-30, with participation from all the states and UTs.

The RBI on Tuesday announced that the regulations for the private placement of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) by housing finance companies (HFCs) will be aligned with those applicable to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

In the Asia-Pacific region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4 per cent, extending gains from the previous session, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was marginally higher by 0.06 per cent. Markets in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China remained closed for Lunar New Year holidays.

US equity indices dipped and the dollar was firm on Wednesday after the US Fed held interest rates steady and gave little insight into when further reductions in borrowing costs may take place.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.3 per cent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both lost about 0.5 per cent, ahead of earnings from Microsoft, Meta and Tesla.

Shares of Nvidia resumed their slide, dropping 4.1 per cent, and reversing a strong performance from the previous session. The stock hit session lows after Bloomberg News reported that US officials discussed restricting Nvidia’s chip sales to China, amid concerns over competition from China’s DeepSeek AI model.

European shares had earlier climbed to a record high as strong results from Dutch chip equipment maker ASML sent its stock soaring 5.5 per cent and hoisted the wider tech sector up 2.4 per cent.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.17 per cent.

In bond markets, the 10-year US Treasury yield was little changed at 4.549 per cent, while the 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Fed, ticked up 1.9 basis points to 4.224 per cent.

European yields were also steady, with the European Central Bank expected to cut rates again on Thursday, while the yen nudged higher to 155.34 per dollar after the Bank of Japan’s meeting minutes pointed to more rate hikes there.

Traders also digested US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats after the White House said he still plans to hit Mexico and Canada with steep tariffs on Saturday and he is “very much” considering some on China during the weekend.

The US dollar was firmer against major currencies on Wednesday. It strengthened 0.35 per cent to 0.907 against the Swiss franc and weakened 0.17 per cent to 155.25 against the Japanese yen . The euro was down 0.17 per cent at $1.041.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, with the US benchmark settling at a year-to-date low, after domestic crude stockpiles rose more than expected last week.

Brent crude futures settled down 91 cents, or 1.2 per cent, at $76.58 a barrel. US crude futures fell $1.15, or 1.6 per cent, to $72.62.