- India's Nifty and Sensex opened with small gains on Monday.
- Nifty and Sensex applauded global optimism last week and improved domestic fundamentals.
- Nifty and Sensex traders are bracing for a relatively light economic docket from India and US Federal Reserve minutes.
The Sensex 30 and Nifty 50, India's leading benchmark indices, opened on an upbeat note on Monday, shrugging off the cautious sentiment seen in their Asian counterparts. Indian indices are looking to consolidate the upward trajectory of the previous week, led by a rally in banking and auto stocks and upbeat economic data from India.
The Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) added 0.14% on the day in early trade to approach the all-time high of 22,126. The Sensex 30 of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) gained 0.08% to maintain its range near 72,500.
Chinese markets reopened after a week-long Lunar New Year holiday, while U.S. stock markets are closed on Monday in observance of Presidents' Day.
stock market news
- SBI Life Insurance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, WIPRO, Adani Ports were the top gainers on the Nifty on Friday, while losers included Apollo Hospitals, Brittania, Power Grid, SBI Bank, NTPC and Reliance Industries.
- Among the corporate news, Volkswagen and Mahindra & Mahindra signed a pact for electric vehicle components.
- Paytm broke its three-day decline to close in the upper circuit of 5%.
- Zerodha Fund House launched Zerodha Gold ETF.
- Foreign investors in the last two days have sold shares worth Rs. 6,993 crores.
- India's trade data for January on Thursday showed a narrowing of the trade deficit by $17.49 billion.
- Better-than-expected US consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI) data helped push back market expectations for a March Fed rate cut to June. Markets are currently pricing in a 77% chance of a June cut, CME Group's Fed Watch Tool shows.
- Attention now turns to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's February meeting due to be released on Wednesday, as the Indian economic calendar continues to miss out on top-tier data.
Sensex FAQ
Sensex is the name of one of the most monitored stock indices in India. The term was coined in the 1980s by analyst Deepak Mohoni by mixing the words sensitive and index. The index plots a weighted average of the share prices of 30 of the most established stocks on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Each corporation's weighting is based on its โfree float,โ or the value of all its shares available for trading.
Since it is a composite, the value of the Sensex depends primarily on the performance of its component companies, as revealed in their quarterly and annual results. Government policies are another factor. In 2016, the government decided to phase out high-value banknotes, for example, and some companies saw their share prices fall as a result. Meanwhile, when the government decided to cut corporate tax in 2019, the Sensex gained a boost. Other factors include the level of interest rates set by the Reserve Bank of India as that dictates the cost of borrowing, climate change, pandemics and natural disasters.
The Sensex started its life on April 1, 1979 with a base level of 100. It reached its highest level ever recorded, 73,328, on Monday, January 15, 2024 (this was written in February 2024). The index closed above the 10,000 mark for the first time on February 7, 2006. On March 13, 2014, the Sensex closed above Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index to become the leading Asian stock index with the value higher. The index's biggest single-day gain came on April 7, 2020, when it rose 2,476 points; Its deepest single-day loss came on January 21, 2008, when it plummeted 1,408 points due to the US subprime mortgage crisis.
Top Sensex companies include Reliance Industries Ltd, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ITC Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Tata Steel, HCL Technologies, Infosys, State Bank of India, Sun Pharma, Tata Consultancy Services and Tech Mahindra.
