Stock market today: Nifty 50, Sensex jump about 1% each ahead of Budget 2024, US Fed outcome

Stock market today: Frontline indices the Nifty 50 and the Sensex clocked strong gains on Wednesday, January 31, ahead of the Interim Budget 2024 and the US Fed meet outcome.

Interim Budget 2024-2025 is going to be a Vote on Account tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ahead of Lok Sabha Elections. Market experts do not expect major announcements in the Interim Budget, however, there are expectations that the government will continue its focus on fiscal consolidation and capital expenditure to maintain the momentum of growth.

Read all Budget-related reports here

The focus is also on the US Fed policy outcome. The two-day policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve will conclude today. The majority of experts now anticipate the US Federal Reserve to initiate rate cuts starting in May or June, considering the resilient US job market and inflation, which continues to surpass the Fed's 2 per cent target.

Also Read: US Fed outcome today: Rate cut could begin after March, experts suggest focus on fundamentals, ignore Fed frenzy

Nifty 50 closed at 21,725.70, up 204 points, or 0.95 per cent while the Sensex closed with a gain of 612 points, or 0.86 per cent, at 71,752.11.

Only two stocks - Larsen & Toubro and Titan - ended with losses in the 30-share pack Sensex. 

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices hit their fresh record highs of 38,797.4 and 45,763.05 during the session. The BSE Midcap index finally closed 1.57 per cent higher at 38,774.50 and the Smallcap index settled with a gain of 1.83 per cent at 45,722.58.

Also Read: Market highlights: Sensex up 612 points, Nifty at 21,700 ahead of budget; Sun Pharma rallies 3.5%

The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms rose to nearly ₹379.7 lakh crore against ₹375.2 lakh crore in the previous session, making investors richer by nearly ₹4.5 lakh crore in a single session.

After two consecutive months of gains, both benchmark indices concluded January on a lower note. Sensex concluded the month of January with a loss of about 0.7 per cent while the Nifty 50 (down 0.03 per cent) closed almost flat for the month. 

However, mid and smallcap indices continued their winning streak for the third consecutive month. The BSE Midcap index rose 5.3 per cent while the Smallcap index jumped 7.1 per cent in January.

Top Nifty 50 gainers today

As many as 46 stocks ended with gains in the Nifty 50 index.

Shares of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (up 4.78 per cent), Eicher Motors (up 3.69 per cent) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 3.15 per cent) closed as the top gainers in the Nifty 50 pack.

Nifty 50 laggards today

Shares of Larsen & Toubro (down 4.22 per cent), Titan Company (down 1.03 per cent), BPCL (down 0.39 per cent) and Tata Consumer Products (down 0.35 per cent) closed as the laggards in the Nifty 50 pack.

Also Read: Top Gainers and Losers today on 31 January, 2024: Dr Reddys Laboratories, Eicher Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Titan Company among most active stocks; Check full list here

Sectoral indices today

All sectoral indices ended in the green on the NSE, with Nifty Healthcare (up 2.85 per cent), Pharma (up 2.68 per cent), Realty (up 2.28 per cent), PSU Bank (up 2.27 per cent) and Auto (up 1.85 per cent) clocking strong gains.

The Nifty Bank index jumped 1.39 per cent.

Expert's views on markets

"A positive build-up was reflected in Indian markets before the Interim Budget. Although expectations are low, the market anticipates a lower fiscal deficit supported by buoyant tax revenues. The overall trend in the market is akin to a seesaw, and the buy-on-dips strategy is effective as of now," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"The pharma sector stood out with a positive earnings outlook. Global market cues are mixed ahead of the FOMC meeting, and US 10-year yields were marginally down. An immediate rate cut seems improbable, but indications about the future trajectory could ease volatility," said Nair.

Technical views on Nifty 50

Jatin Gedia, a technical research analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas observed that on the daily charts, the Nifty has been broadly trading within the range of 21,100 – 21,800 for the last nine trading sessions.

Gedia said that the momentum setup is providing a divergent signal as both daily and hourly momentum indicators have a negative crossover but prices are moving higher. Under such a situation when the price and momentum indicator are not in sync, it generally leads to a rangebound move.

"Considering the event of Interim Budget, volatility is likely to continue. Key support levels are 21,550 – 21,500 while immediate hurdle zone is placed at 21,850 – 21,900," said Gedia.

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