Stock Market today: Nifty closes in on all-time high, Sensex follows suit
- India’s Nifty and Sensex keep pushing higher on Friday.
- Nifty and Sensex cheer global optimism as soft US Retail Sales rekindle dovish Fed expectations.
- All eyes are on the US PPI and Consumer Sentiment data for Friday’s moves in Nifty and Sensex.
The Sensex 30 and Nifty 50, India’s key benchmark indices, are continuing their upward trajectory, having opened in the green on Friday. The Indian indices cheer the positive sentiment on global stock markets, courtesy of the revival of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cut expectations after weak Retail Sales data.
At the time of writing, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 is adding 0.66% on the day to 22,058.60 while the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex 30 gains 0.59% to near 72,500. Nifty 50 is approaching the all-time high of 22,126. Markets now await the upcoming US economic data, including the top-tier Producer Price Index (PPI) data, for fresh trading incentives.
Stock market news
- SBI Life Insurance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, Maruti, Adani Ports are the top gainers on the Nifty so far while losers include Apollo Hospitals, Brittania, Power Grid, Sun Pharma and Reliance Industries.
- Among the latest news, Volkswagen and Mahindra & Mahindra sign pact for electric vehicle components.
- Spicejet stock jumps 11.16% on the BSE Sensex index.
- Zerodha Fund House launches Zerodha Gold ETF.
- Foreign investors in the last two days have sold equities worth Rs. 6,993 crore.
- On Thursday, Nifty and Sensex drew support from upbeat Indian data and impressive gains in the automobile and utility sector stocks.
- India’s trade data for January showed Thursday a shrinking Trade Deficit of $17.49 billion.
- US Retail Sales declined by 0.8% in January, the US Census Bureau reported on Thursday, worse than the market expectations for -0.1%.
- On Wednesday, the Indian WPI inflation dropped to 0.27% in January, as against a 0.73% increase in December. The data missed the market consensus of 0.53%.
- The Lunar New Year holidays in China could keep the liquidity thin around the Indian indices.
- All eyes now turn toward the top-tier US Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Sentiment data for trading impetus in Nifty and Sensex indices.
Nifty 50 FAQs
The Nifty 50, or simply Nifty, is the most commonly followed stock index in India. It was launched in 1996 by the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE). It plots the weighted average share price of 50 of the largest Indian corporations, offering investors comprehensive exposure to 13 sectors of the economy. Each corporation’s weighting is based on its “free-float capitalization”, or the value of all its shares readily available for trading.
The Nifty is a composite so its value is dependent on the performance of the companies that make up the index, as revealed in their quarterly and annual results. Another factor is government policies, such as when in 2016 the government decided to demonetize 500 and 1000 Rupee banknotes. This led to a temporary cash shortage which negatively impacted the Nifty. The level of interest rates set by the Reserve Bank of India is a further factor as it determines the cost of borrowing. Climate change, pandemics and natural disasters are also drivers.
The Nifty 50 was launched on April 22, 1996 at a base level of 1,000. Its highest recorded level to date is 22,097 achieved on January 15, 2024 (this is being written in Feb 2024). The index first closed above the 10,000 level on October 17, 2017. The Nifty recorded its biggest daily decline on March 23, 2020 during the Covid pandemic, when it fell 1,125 points or 12.37%. The Nifty’s biggest gain in a single day occurred on May 18, 2009, when it rose 651 points after the results of the Indian elections.
Major corporations in the Nifty 50 include HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Larsen and Toubro, ITC Ltd, Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd and Kotak Mahendra Bank.