Stock market today: Nifty 50, Sensex end off record highs; IT, metals shine

Stock Market Today: After reaching new record highs in early trading today, the domestic benchmark indices couldn't sustain the rally towards the end of the session, as profit booking by investors at higher levels led both indices to close with minor drops.

Nevertheless, today was the sixth consecutive session wherein both indices scaling to fresh record highs. This remarkable performance was primarily fueled by a robust rally in metals and financial stocks, which have seen significant buying interest amid improving global and domestic cues.

Additionally, the IT sector contributed to the rally, adding further strength to the upward movement.

The Nifty 50 rose by 0.23%, reaching a fresh all-time high of 26,277 during the trade before closing with a 0.14% drop at 26,199. Notably, this marked the third straight session where the index closed above the crucial psychological level of 26,000.

Similarly, the S&P BSE Sensex hit a new peak of 85,978, climbing 0.16%. It ended the session at 85,615, a 0.30% fall from its previous close but stayed above the 85,000 mark for the third consecutive session.

For the week, both indices posted gains of over 1.2%. While large-cap stocks extended their rally, mid and small-cap stocks lagged due to valuation concerns. The Nifty Midcap 100 ended the week with a modest gain of 0.30%, whereas the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell by 0.47%.

In today’s session, 32 out of the 50 Nifty constituents finished in the positive territory. BPCL led the rally, with a 6.4% gain, followed by pharma stocks Cipla and Sun Pharma, which rose by 2.6% and 2.8%, respectively.

Other top gainers included Reliance Industries, Hindalco Industries, Coal India, Titan Company, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finserv, Grasim Industries, Asian Paints, and Eicher Motors, all closing with gains exceeding 1%.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Oil & Gas topped the charts with a 2.41% gain, followed by Nifty PSE, Nifty Healthcare, and Nifty Pharma, which recorded gains of 1.49%, 1.19%, and 1.13%, respectively.

Metal stocks shine on China stimulus boost

Metal stocks, including Vedanta and Nalco, surged up to 3% in today’s session after the People’s Bank of China cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks by 50 basis points today, marking the second cut this year.

This move is expected to release 1 trillion yuan in capital, according to reports. Additionally, the central bank lowered the 7-day reverse repo rate by 20 basis points to 1.5%, signalling that rates for 14-day reverse repos and temporary repos will also be adjusted to match the new 7-day rate.

Analysts noted that these measures aim to support stable economic growth. Chinese authorities have been employing both fiscal and monetary strategies to revive the economy and meet their growth target of around 5% for the year.

China's monetary stimulus has supported metal stocks that were already climbing due to the aggressive rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.

Amid this backdrop, prices of industrial metals such as aluminum, copper, and nickel reached multi-month highs in recent trading sessions. As the world’s largest consumer of base metals, accounting for roughly 50% of global output, any recovery in China’s domestic demand is expected to have a substantial impact on the global base metals market.

For the week, the Nifty Metal index has gained 7%, which is second biggest weekly in the current year so far. 

IT stocks rally after Accenture's Q4 results beat

Shares in the Nifty IT index surged by as much as 1.5% today, following Accenture's strong Q4 earnings report. Emkay Global noted that while Accenture's projected annual revenue growth of 3%–6% fell short of the average estimate of 5.9%, it still reflects a solid beginning and a stable demand environment.

According to Jefferies, Indian IT companies need to focus on expanding their AI-driven services, which played a crucial role in helping Accenture surpass earnings forecasts, to effectively tap into clients' IT spending.

Sugar stocks jump on hopes of MSP hike and ethanol price boost

Sugar stocks jumped up to 11% in today's trade, following remarks by Indian Food Minister Pralhad Joshi. On Thursday, Joshi indicated that the government is considering increasing ethanol prices for the 2024-25 season, along with a review of the minimum selling price of sugar and sugar exports for the same period.

The minister mentioned that a committee of secretaries is currently discussing a proposal to raise the minimum selling price of sugar.

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