Sensex, Nifty50 end higher led by gains in IT, pharma and FMCG stocks

• Sensex closed 0.53% or 320 points higher at 60,942 while Nifty50 ended up 0.50% or 91 points at 18,119.
• Sun Pharmaceuticals, Hindustan Unilever, Eicher Motors, UPL and Tech Mahindra were top gainers on the 50 stock index Nifty50.
• The range-bound movement is likely to continue in the run-up to the Budget 2023-24, according to analysts.

India’s benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty50 ended higher on Monday led by gains in shares of IT, pharmaceuticals, FMCG companies and positive cues from global markets.

Sensex closed 0.53% or 320 points higher at 60,942 while Nifty50 ended up 0.50% or 91 points at 18,119.

Sun Pharmaceuticals, Hindustan Unilever, Eicher Motors, UPL and Tech Mahindra were top gainers on the 50 stock index Nifty50.

On Friday, Sensex and Nifty50 closed in the red – while Sensex declined 237 points to close at 60,622, Nifty50 fell 80 points to close at 18,028. The rangebound movement is likely to continue in the run-up to the Budget 2023-24, according to analysts.

Top gainers and losers on Nifty500

Top gainers	Change	Top losers	% change
Torrent Power	6.52%	Yes Bank	-8.10%
Coforge	5.99%	Infibeam Avenues	-7.82%
Delhivery	5.58%	JSW Energy	-5.89%
Can Fin Homes	5.55%	Shree Cements	-5.45%
Persistent Systems	5.17%	Rajesh Exports	-5.19%

Source: NSE, as on January 23, 2023

“Markets maintained the upward momentum through the trading session on positive cues from Asian and European indices. IT stocks emerged as the star performers after getting hammered in recent sessions on worries global IT spending may moderate this year due to likely slowdown in key economies. If the optimism continues, we may see some pre-budget rally in the truncated week,” said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research (retail) at Kotak Securities.

Prices of crude oil continued to edge up – Brent crude oil prices were up 0.7% on Monday, at $88.24 per barrel. On the other hand, the rupee fell 21 paise against the US dollar to close at 81.38, reversing its gains from this morning when it appreciated 19 paise to fall below the 81 mark for the first time in two months.

Sectoral indices	Change
Nifty IT	1.88%
Nifty Pharma	0.89%
Nifty FMCG	0.83%
Nifty Auto	0.83%
Nifty Bank	0.74%
Nifty Financial Services	0.61%
Nifty Private Bank	0.58%
Nifty PSU Bank	0.44%
Nifty Media	0.14%
Nifty Metal	-0.40%
Nifty Realty	-0.63%

Source: NSE, as on January 23, 2023

Besides, investors also took some support from strong corporate earnings reported by banks and expectations of a less aggressive rate hike going ahead.

“Market breadth tilted in favour of bulls lifted by financial stocks, amid positive cues from global peers. Strong corporate earnings reported by banks boosted appetite for financial stocks. Positive global markets owing to possibility of a less aggressive rate hike, further added colour,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.

Positive cues in global markets
Markets in the US snapped a three-day losing streak on Friday to close in the green, boosted by Netflix’ earnings and job cuts announced by US tech companies.

While the S&P 500 closed 1.89% up, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a gain of 2.66%.

This comes even as the US government hits its $31.4 trillion debt ceiling on Thursday, with the administration now using extraordinary cash measures to stave off a crisis.

In Asia, while some key major markets like China were closed for holidays, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index ended in the green with a gain of 1.33%.

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