Sensex Surges by 250 Points, Nifty Approaches the 21,700 Mark in Early Trading Session

Equity benchmark indices kicked off the weekend on a positive note as the Sensex saw a surge of 250 points early on Saturday, primarily driven by an uptick in financial stocks.

In the early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 250.08 points, or 0.35 per cent, reaching 71,933.31 points, while the Nifty witnessed an increase of 75.80 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 21,698.20 points.

Despite overall market positivity, shares of HUL (Hindustan Unilever) and Reliance Industries faced downward pressure following the release of their December quarter results.

Reliance Industries shares traded 0.18 per cent lower at Rs 2,730 in the morning session after announcing its third-quarter earnings on Friday, where the company posted a 9 per cent rise in net profit.

HUL's stock, on the other hand, was down 2.68 per cent at Rs 2,496 apiece in initial deals. The company reported a 1.08 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,508 crore for the third quarter ending December 2023.

Major gainers among the Sensex firms included HDFC Bank, PowerGrid, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, ITC, and Bajaj Finserv, while HUL, Wipro, UltraTech, and HCL Tech were among the losers.

Analysts predict subdued activity in the domestic equity markets amid low participation from both global and domestic investors. Despite this, the stock-specific bullish trend is expected to continue, with Nifty potentially facing resistance at 21,850 and support at 21,500 in the near term, according to Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.

Global markets had mixed results, with the Dow and the S&P 500 setting new record closing highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached its best closing level in two years. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined by 0.68 per cent to USD 78.56 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,689.68 crore on Friday, as per exchange data. The trading sessions on Saturday were normal, with the market set to be closed on January 22, as announced by NSE and BSE on Friday.

(With Agency Inputs)