Indices trim gains; IT shares in demand

The headline equity indices traded with minor gains in mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded above the 21,650 mark. IT shares extended gains for the second consecutive trading session.

At 11:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 72.79 points or 0.10% to 71,920.36. The Nifty 50 index added 27.45 points or 0.13% to 21,687.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.11% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.42%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,177 shares rose and 1,497 shares fell. A total of 132 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity rose to 59 in December from 56.9 in November, highlighting a sharp increase in output that was the most pronounced since September.

Favourable economic conditions and positive demand trends were the key determinants of output growth, anecdotal evidence showed. Not only did new business intakes rise further in December, but also to the greatest extent in three month, the PMI release stated.

The HSBC India Composite PMI Output increased to 58.5 in December 2023 as against 57.4 in November 2023, signalling a sharp rate of expansion that was the strongest since September.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index gained 1.27% to 34,845.10. The index rose 1.31% in two trading sessions.

Coforge (up 2.47%), Mphasis (up 2.13%), Tata Consultancy Services (up 1.72%), Infosys (up 1.52%), LTIMindtree (up 1.39%), Wipro (up 1.36%), Persistent Systems (up 1.24%), Tech Mahindra (up 1.15%), HCL Technologies (up 0.75%) raillied.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Dabur India shed 0.19%. The FMCG major on Thursday announced that its consolidated revenue is expected to register mid to high single digit growth in Q3 FY24.

Syrma SGS Technology slipped 0.74%. The Syrma Mobility Private (also referred to as SMPL) is incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the company on 3 January 2024. SMPL belongs to Electronics Design, Assembly and Manufacturing sector.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals declined 1.13%. The company has incorporated WOS namely Farmac�utica Torrent Colombia SAS on 3rd January, 2024 in Colombia with the object of providing business support to the company..

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed on Friday as they steadied after a weak start to the new year, although anticipation of key U.S. payrolls data and persistent concerns over China kept investors on edge.

A survey showed on Friday that the contraction in Japan�s private sector activity was over. The au Jibun Bank Japan composite PMI for December came in at 50, rising from 49.6 in the prior month to signal stabilization in Japan�s private sector output.

Wall Street shares settled mixed on Thursday. The S&P SPX and Nasdaq Composite closed lower on Thursday, extending their losing streak that kicked off 2024, although the Dow Jones Industrial eked out a win on the back of financial stocks and strong jobs data. Markets were now focused on key U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for December, due later in the day.

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