Top Gainers & Losers on Dec 23: Jupiter Wagons, RailTel Corp, Alok Industries, IRFC, Coal India among top gainers

The Indian stock market stayed volatile during Tuesday’s session, December 23, amid a lack of fresh triggers and profit booking in select stocks following a two-day solid rally, causing the key indices to remain largely unchanged.

The Nifty 50 wrapped up the session with a marginal decline of 0.02% to close at 26,166, while the S&P BSE Sensex ended nearly flat at 85,517. The broader markets closed mixed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index ending flat, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 0.37%.

Over the last two sessions, the Nifty has gained 1.4%, while the BSE Sensex has advanced 1.3%.

The tech pack came under profit booking today after Nifty IT recorded its best single day jump in a month on Monday, rallying 2%. Seven of the ten constituents of the index closed lower, led by Coforge, which fell 4.7%, while Infosys and Persistent Systems were also top losers, declining 1.4% and 1.1%, respectively.

The index emerged as the worst performer, falling 0.85%, while PSU Bank, pharma, and realty sectors also closed lower. On the upside, Nifty Media rallied 0.67%, followed by Nifty Chemicals and Nifty Metal, which surged 0.54% and 0.53%, respectively.

Meanwhile, India’s 10-year bond yields touched a nine-month high of 6.7% as traders pared expectations of further interest-rate cuts, while concerns over a potentially large supply of state debt in the coming months dampened appetite.

Railway stocks remain in focus

Despite heightened volatility in the broader Indian stock market, railway and related stocks extended their winning run, emerging as top gainers among Nifty 500 constituents. After surging 19% on Monday, Jupiter Wagons shares rose another 8.2% to ₹335, taking their month-to-date gain to 17.53%.

Other railway-linked stocks, including Ircon International, RailTel Corporation of India, Indian Railway Finance Corporation, Ramkrishna Forgings, and Rail Vikas Nigam, also posted strong gains, rising between 3% and 8%.

Metal stocks also traded higher, with shares of Sarda Energy & Minerals, NMDC, NMDC Steel, Jindal SAW, and Lloyds Metals & Energy closing up between 3% and 4%.

Meanwhile, Coal India shares jumped 3.7% to ₹400 apiece, extending gains for the fifth straight session after reports suggested that its arm, Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), is preparing to launch an initial public offering (IPO).

BCCL, a Maharatna public sector subsidiary of Coal India, is seen as a key part of the government’s broader strategy to unlock value from state-owned enterprises through the capital markets.

Other PSU stocks such as Power Finance Corporation and REC also gained 3.4% and 3.2%, respectively.

Coforge, Latent View lead losers' list

Coforge led the list of top losers, sliding 4.7% to ₹1,780 apiece, followed by Latent View Analytics and Chennai Petroleum, which fell 3.5% each. After a brief pause, Kajaria Ceramics came under renewed selling pressure, tumbling another 3.17% to ₹1,015, while Aegis Vopak Terminals declined 3% to ₹248.75.

Other stocks such as Schaeffler India, Neuland Laboratories, Praj Industries, Campus Activewear, Asahi India Glass, Motherson Sumi Wiring India, and Vedant Fashions also closed with losses of over 2%.

Disclaimer: We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.