FIRST TRADE: Sensex, Nifty muted amid subdued global stocks

Stock market today: Domestic equity indices Sensex and Nifty 50 opened on Monday, January 8, on a subdued note in tandem with their Asian peers ahead of key US inflation data and corporate earnings. Last seen, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.09 per cent, or 67.63 points, to 72,093.78, and the NSE Nifty was up 26.4 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 21,737.2.

"The year-end rally which took the Nifty up by around 14 per cent from the 2023 October lows, is slowly running out of steam. The major challenge for the rally comes from the mother market US which is showing signs of weakness. The concern in the US now is that the market expectation of a rate cut in March may not materialise since the labour market continues to be tight and the unemployment data is lower than expected. Inflation coming under control means that the rate-hiking cycle is over and the Fed pivot is imminent. But the market will be disappointed if the rate cut doesn’t happen in March. The sign of this possible trend can be seen in the firming up of the 10-year US bond yield above 4 per cent, said Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Dr. V K Vijayakumar added that the exuberance of retail investors may be a positive factor that might push up the already frothy broader market. But profit-booking by DIIs and a seasonally weak January can impact the rally.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Mid Cap 100 and Small Cap 100 opened above the flatline. High-beta Nifty Bank was down 0.11 per cent at 48104.3.

BUZZING STOCKS

Godrej Industries shares were over 3 per cent after the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Gujarat.

Jupiter Wagons shares were up over 1 per cent after the wagon component manufacturing company bagged an order valued at around Rs 100 crore for supplying four-rake automobile carrier wagons.

Nykaa shares were up over 1 per cent after the company had logged good performance across its different verticals.

On the other hand, Godrej Consumer Products shares were down over 5 per cent after the FMCG player said it is expecting to deliver "mid-single-digit volume growth" on a consolidated basis in the December quarter.

NBCC shares were down over 1 per cent despite the company receiving an order valued at Rs 25.4 crore from the Lokpal of India.'

Marico shares were down over 3 per cent after the company said in its Q3 business update that it saw low single-digit domestic volume growth on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.

Union Bank of India shares were down over 1 per cent after the state-run lender provided a business update, as per which the lender's deposit during the quarter surged 10.1 per cent YoY to around Rs 11.72 lakh crore.

Bank of Baroda shares were down over 3 per cent after the lender's Q3 business update suggested weak performance.

GLOBAL MARKETS 

Asian shares started in a muted mood on Monday after Wall Street snapped its winning streak, while investors braced for U.S. inflation data and a corporate reporting season where good results are needed to justify high stock valuations.

Geopolitical tensions were also on the radar as disruptions in the Red Sea raised oil prices and shipping costs in Europe, while the Israeli conflict with Hamas threatened to spread to Lebanon.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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