Nifty IT Adds 1%; All Constituents Up

At 9:52 a.m., Nifty IT traded 1% higher at 43,784 points with all its constituents trading in the green. Infosys and Mphasis led the gains.

RailTel Corp Share Price Extend Gains To Third Day After Bagging Order Worth Rs 78 Crore

RailTel Corp of India share price extend gains to a third day after it received orders worth Rs 78 crore from Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. The telecom-infrastructure provider will implement information technology based security infrastructure along with various types of services, RailTel Corp said in the exchange filing on Monday.

Kotak Mahindra Share Among Top Nifty Gainers; Hits Highest Level Since October 21

Kotak Mahindra share price rose to hit its highest level since October 21 following Citi’s upgrade to a Buy rating. The brokerage also revised the stock’s price target to Rs 2,070 from Rs 1,940, signaling a 15% upside.

Nifty, Sensex Open Higher Led By Gains In Kotak Bank, Infosys: Opening Bell

Benchmark equity indices of India continued to gain for a second consecutive session with share prices of Kotak Mahindra Bank and Infosys contributing the most to the gains.

At pre-open, Nifty 50 was at 23783.00, up by 0.17% or 40.10 points and Sensex was at 78651.51, 0.18% or 144.10 points higher.

Akshay Chinchalkar, head of research at Axis Securities said, “Talking technicals, yesterday’s advance in the Nifty also saw the index retreat from the 23880 – 24070 zone.”

“This hurdle area will continue to matter on the upside, while support lies between 23530 and 23590,” he said. “We continue to think that a daily close above 24150 is needed for bulls to come back into the game, and more so now, particularly given that the daily Ichimoku chart has flipped to bearish with yesterday’s drop.”

Share prices of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., and Infosys Ltd. contributed the most to Nifty’s gain.

While those of HDFC Bank Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., NTPC Ltd., Wipro Ltd., and Bharti Airtel Ltd. capped the upside.

Most sectoral indices opened higher with Nifty Auto gaining the most.

Nifty, Sensex Higher At Pre-Open

At pre-open, Nifty 50 was at 23783.00, up by 0.17% or 40.10 points and Sensex was at 78651.51, 0.18% or 144.10 points higher.

Yield On The 10-Year Bond Opens Flat

-The yield on the 10-year bond opened flat at 6.79%.

-It closed at 6.78% on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

Rupee Opens Weaker Against US Dollar

-Rupee weakened by 6 paise to open at 85.71 against the US Dollar.

-It closed at 85.65 on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

Ambuja Cements Gets Nod For Merger With Adani Cement From NSE And BSE

Ambuja Cements Ltd. received an observation letter with ‘no adverse observations’ from BSE Ltd. and ‘no objection’ from the National Stock Exchange of India Limited on January 1 with regards to the Scheme of Amalgamation with Adani Cementation Ltd. The proposal for amalgamation between Adani Cementation and Ambuja Cements had received Board approval in June 2024.

Citi Upgrades Kotak Bank To Buy; Lowers IndusInd Bank, RBL Bank’s Target

Citi has upgraded Kotak Mahindra Bank to a Buy rating, raising its price target to Rs 2,070 from Rs 1,940, signaling a 15% upside. The brokerage’s preferred picks in the Indian banking sector include ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Federal Bank.

For Q3, Citi estimates around 1% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 7-8% year-on-year (YoY) growth in net interest income (NII), alongside a 10-12% YoY increase in pre-provision operating profit (PPOP) and profit after tax (PAT).

While credit growth is expected to slow to 2-3% QoQ, Kotak Mahindra Bank and AU Small Finance Bank are expected to outperform. However, Citi anticipates a rise in Q3 slippages and expects elevated credit costs.

The brokerage has sharply reduced its earnings estimates for IndusInd Bank (IIB) and RBL Bank (RBK), leading to lower price targets. It has downgraded IndusInd Bank’s target to Rs 1,378 (from Rs 1,630), representing a 43% upside, and lowered RBL Bank’s price target to Rs 205 (from Rs 255), reflecting a 29% upside.

Stock Market Live: Goldman Sachs On FMCG, Paint Cos’ Q3

Goldman Sachs has a cautious outlook for the FMCG and paints sectors in Q3, expecting weak performance across both top-line and bottom-line growth. The slowdown in FMCG volume growth is attributed to a combination of macroeconomic and microeconomic factors.

Additionally, a spike in the prices of key commodities like palm oil, coffee, and tea is expected to put pressure on the gross margins of companies such as GCPL, Tata, Britannia, HUL, and Nestlé. In the paints industry, growth is projected to remain subdued, with increased competition further impacting performance.

However, GS anticipates that companies like Marico, Pidilite, and United Spirits will likely deliver resilient performance amid these challenges.

Stock Market News: HDFC Life Gets Two GST Orders

HDFC Life has received two GST orders from the Maharashtra GST authority, demanding a total tax payment of Rs. 378 crore, which includes interest. The company disclosed this development in an exchange filing. The tax demand is related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and includes both the principal amount and the interest accrued on it.

Share Market Updates: Nomura Raises ITC Target Price

Nomura maintains a Buy rating on ITC, raising its target price to Rs. 575. The brokerage views the demerger of ITC Hotels as a significant catalyst to unlock value, with expectations that the listing of ITC Hotels shares will likely fall within the Rs 200-300 per share range, higher than previous estimates. However, Nomura has lowered its FY25-FY27 earnings per share (EPS) forecasts by 3%, factoring in margin compression. A key risk identified by Nomura is the potential for high tax increases on cigarettes, which could lead to a sharp decline in cigarette volumes and EBIT, posing a downside risk to the company’s performance.

Share Market News: Jefferies’ 2025 Outlook For India Industrials

Jefferies’ 2025 outlook for India’s industrials sector highlights a focus on capex growth, with a particular emphasis on the FY26 budget. The brokerage suggests that a 10-12% capex growth in the budget is crucial to maintain confidence in the government’s continued commitment to capital expenditure. In the FY25 budget, the government retained a 16% YoY capex growth from the interim budget.

However, actual spending has been disappointing, with a 15% YoY decline in central government capex during the first seven months of FY25. To achieve a 5% overall growth for FY25, a 32% YoY growth in capex from November to March 2025 is needed.

Despite these concerns, Jefferies remains constructive on the industrials sector, particularly in power and defence, where capex growth is strong. Power sector capex is expected to show the highest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) among sub-segments, with companies like Siemens, Thermax, and KEI highlighted as key players.

The brokerage’s top picks in the sector include Siemens, HAL, Thermax, and L&T, with Buy ratings maintained on all. Price targets are set at Rs 9,555 for Siemens (a +21% upside), Rs 5,500 for HAL (+30%), Rs 4,600 for L&T (+27%), and Rs 6,100 for Thermax (+28%).

Asia Market Open: ASX 200, Kospi Rise But Hang Seng Falls

While Australia’s ASX 200 and South Korea’s Kospi started the year on a positive note and were trading 0.4% and 0.02% higher respectively as of 7:33 a.m., Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell nearly 2%. Markets in Japan will remain closed through January 6.

GIFT Nifty Trades Near 23,800; NMDC, Mazagon Dock, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki In Focus

GIFT Nifty was at 23,840.00 down by 37 points or 0.15% at 07:09 a.m. Among others, share prices of NMDC Ltd., Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd., Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. will remain in focus.

On Wednesday, the Indian benchmark equity indices came out of a two-day decline and closed higher on the first trading day of 2025.

The NSE Nifty 50 closed 98.10 points or 0.41% higher at 23,742.90, and the BSE Sensex ended 368.40 points or 0.47% higher at 78,507.41.

Foreign portfolio investors have been net sellers for the 12th straight session, while the domestic institutional investors have been buyers for the 11th consecutive session. The FPIs offloaded stocks worth Rs 1,782.7 crore, while the DIIs bought stocks worth approximately Rs 1,690.4 crore.

The Indian rupee weakened by four paise to close at 85.65 against the US dollar.

. Read more on Markets by NDTV Profit.Catch the latest on Indian equity markets here. At pre-open, Nifty 50 was at 23783.00, up by 0.17% or 40.10 points and Sensex was at 78651.51, 0.18% or 144.10 points higher.  Read MoreMarkets, Business, Notifications 

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