Key equity indices the Sensex and the Nifty closed in the green, extending gains into the second consecutive session on January 3 amid broadly positive global cues.
US stock futures started the new year positively while major European markets rose more than a percent. Top Asian markets also clocked gains as investors' risk appetite grew on reopening China- the world's second-largest economy - even though coronavirus infections wreak havoc in the country.
In the absence of a major trigger, investors now pin focus on the third-quarter earning announcements which will begin this week.
Sensex traded volatile during the session. It opened 93 points lower at 61,074.88 and swung 340 points to touch the intraday high and low of 61,343.96 and 61,004.04 respectively.
The index closed 126 points, or 0.21 percent, up at 61,294.20 while the Nifty closed at 18,232.55, up 35 points, or 0.19 percent.
Mid and smallcaps also rose in sync with the benchmarks. The BSE Midcap index ended with a gain of 0.22 percent and the Smallcap index rose 0.18 percent.
As many as 119 stocks, including Axis Bank, Canara Bank, Jindal Steel & Power, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, PNB Housing Finance and PNC Infratech, hit their 52-week highs in intraday trade on BSE.
The rupee fell 15 paise to close at 82.89 per dollar as the greenback witnessed buying interest.
Top Sensex gainers: Shares of Axis Bank, Titan, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma and IndusInd Bank ended as the top gainers in the Sensex index.
Top Sensex losers: Shares of Mahindra and Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Steel and Asian Paints ended as the top laggards in the Sensex index.
Sectoral picture
Nifty Media, Metal, Auto and FMCG indices ended in the red, falling between 0.4-0.7 percent.
Among the gainers, Nifty Consumer Durables rose over a percent, while Healthcare, PSU Bank, IT and Pharma indices rose up to a percent. The Nifty Bank index rose half a percent.
Experts' views on the market
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services observed that in the absence of major economic triggers, the domestic market shifted its focus towards the Q3 earnings season, which is set to kick off this week.
Nair added that banks' initial quarterly business results revealed solid business traction supported by robust loan growth.
"IT and banks will take centre stage in the coming days as the trend in the market will be determined by the early signals from sector majors," said Nair.
Prashanth Tapse, Research Analyst, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities said investors are cautious as the IMF head Kristalina Georgieva warned that 2023 is going to be a tough year as the main engines of growth, namely the US, Europe, and China, are all experiencing weakening activity.
Technical view
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities said positive consolidation formation on daily charts and higher bottom formation on intraday charts is indicating the continuation of an uptrend wave in the near future.
"For traders, 18,150 would be the trend decider level. Above this, the index could rally to 18,300-18,350. On the flip side, below 18,150, the uptrend would be vulnerable; below the same, the index could slip to 18,050-18,025," said Chouhan.
Key market data
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of MintGenie.
