Stock market updates on January 29, 2024: Indian benchmark indices jumped over 1.5 per cent each on Monday, January 24, 2024, as solid buying in shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) and other heavyweights from the financial sector added muscle to the market rally.
The frontline S&P BSE Sensex index soared 1,265 points, or 1.78 per cent, in the intraday trade to hit a high of 71,965 levels. The broader Nifty50, meanwhile, jumped nearly 400 points to touch an intra-session high of 21,746.
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In the broader markets, the Nifty MidCap and SmallCap indices gained 1.2 per cent each amid a broad-based buying.
The Nifty PSU Bank index was leading the race with a 2-per cent rally, followed by the Nifty Private Bank, and Metal indices (1.5 per cent), the Nifty Financial Services, and Auto indices (1.4 per cent), and the Nifty IT index (1.2 per cent).
Here’s a look at key factors driving the markets:
RIL shares hit record high: Shares of Reliance Industries advanced nearly 7 per cent on the bourses, and were trading as the top Sensex and Nifty gainer in the intraday deals.
At 2:15 PM, the stock was up 6.5 per cent, accounting for around 46 per cent of the gains on the 30-share index.
RIL’s market capitalisation (m-cap) also crossed Rs 19-trillion mark on Monday, January 29, as the stock price of the country’s most valued company rallied 6.9 per cent to hit a new high of Rs 2,899.4 on the BSE in the intraday trade.
In the past three months, RIL has outperformed the market by surging 25 per cent as compared to a 12 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. The stock of Mukesh Ambani-led company holds around 11 per cent weight in Sensex and 14 per cent in Nifty50. READ MORE
Individually, shares of HDFC Bank rose nearly 2 per cent to Rs 1,462.85 on the BSE in Monday’s intra-day trade after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave a nod to Life Insurance Corp (LIC) to increase its stake in the lender to up to 9.99 per cent from the existing 5.19 per cent. READ MORE
Interim Budget 2024: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Stharaman is scheduled to present an Interim Budget/Vote-on-Account on February 1, 2024.
Althugh markets expect the document to lack major announcements, but increased capex allocations are expected, favoring infrastructure and capital projects, crucial in an election year.
Nitish Kumar joins BJP: JD(U) president Nitish Kumar on Sunday resigned as the Chief Minister of Bihar, saying “things were not working well” for him in the Mahagathbandhan and the opposition bloc INDIA, and staked claim to form a new government with the BJP.
Investors are seeing this as a positive sign ahead of the General Elections of 2024 as policy continuity at the Centre would ensure continuous reforms and stable growth outlook.
Asian markets climb as China rolls out stimulus: Key Asian indices settled with gains on Monday as new steps by Beijing to stabilise the local market outweighed the drag on sentiment from the liquidation of property giant China Evergrande.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.89 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 0.77 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.6 per cent, and Australia’s ASX200 0.3 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite, however, ended 0.9 per cent lower dragged by Evergrande shares, which plummeted 21 per cent.
Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), announced last week, that starting February 5, banks will cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 50 basis points to release liquidity worth 1 trillion yuan ($139.8 billion) as long-term capital in the system.
US Fed meeting: The US Federal Reserve is all set to hold its two-day monetary policy meeting on January 30-31 amid continued moderation in US consumer inflation.
First Published: Jan 29 2024 | 2:07 PM IST