FIRST TRADE: Sensex rises over 550 pts; Nifty above 21,850 amid rally in global stocks

Stock market today: The Indian share market edged higher on Friday (February 2), a day after the Finance Minister presented the Interim Budget. On the global front, gains in Asian peers after US labour market data indicated a cooling economy provided support to the Federal Reserve to combat inflation. Last seen, both indices rose over 0.65 per cent. The S&P BSE Sensex was up 483.28 points to 72,128.58, and the NSE Nifty soared 146.55 points to 21,844.

"Now that the two big events are behind us, the market is likely to consolidate. The non-populist budget focused on fiscal consolidation is a big positive. The large allocation for rural housing will benefit all construction-related segments like cement, steel, paints, etc. Another important budget takeaway is the sharp decline in bond yields consequent to the low net market borrowing of Rs 11.75 trillion. This is beneficial for banks," said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Dr. Vijayakumar added that global cues are better since the US market is appreciating the favourable trends in the US economy after the brief disappointment with the cautious Fed message. It is evident that the US is heading for a soft landing, and rate cuts are coming. A correction in the dollar index to 103 and the US 10-year falling to 3.88 per cent may restrain the FIIs from selling.

Meanwhile, Nifty Mid Cap 100 and Small Cap 100 rallied nearly half a per cent and over 1 per cent, respectively. Nifty Bank was up 0.93 per cent at 46.619.25.

BUZZING STOCKS

Indian Hotels shares were up over 2 per cent after the company posted strong Q3 results.

Hero MotoCorp shares were up nearly 2 per cent a day after the company posted January sales numbers.

Abbott India shares rose over 5 per cent a day after the company posted better than estimated Q3 numbers.

Conversely, Paytm shares hit a 20 per cent lower circuit after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred Paytm Payments Bank Ltd from accepting deposits or top-ups in any customer account, prepaid instruments, wallets, and FASTags, among others, after February 29, 2024.

Bata India shares were down over 1 per cent a day after the footwear company posted  weak Q3 results.

PB Fintech shares were down over 1 per cent after Claymore Investments (Mauritius) Pte Ltd. sold 5.4 per cent equity in the firm.

Godrej Agrovet shares were down over 3 per cent after the company posted weak Q3 results.

City Union Bank shares were down over 1 per cent after the company posted slightly below estimate Q3 results.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares were buoyed by a late bounce in US tech on Friday as results from Meta and Amazon beat expectations, while investors are bracing for US jobs figures, which could hasten bets for rate cuts if they come in below forecast.

Both quarterly results from Meta Platforms and Amazon.com impressed investors, with their shares surging 15 per cent and 7 per cent in after-hours trading, respectively, adding a combined $280 billion in stock market value on Thursday. Apple, however, fell 3 per cent after the close on disappointing China sales.

(With input from agencies.)

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