Indian Stock Indices Close Higher; Realty Sector Leads Gains

India’s benchmark indices ended the day on a positive note, with the market buoyed by strong gains, especially in the realty sector, which rose by 1.39%.

The Sensex closed at 76,724.08, up by 224.45 points, or 0.29%. Nifty ended at 23,213.20, gaining 37.15 points, or 0.16%.

The Nifty Bank index ended at 48,751.70, up by 22.55 points, or 0.05%. The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose by 222.50 points, or 0.41%, closing at 53,899, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index added 96.15 points, or 0.56%, to settle at 17,353.95.

Experts Cite Key Factors Behind Market Volatility Despite Gains

Despite the gains, experts noted the following factors contributing to market volatility:

• Higher US bond yields
• A stronger dollar
• Rising foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows

“Global markets are cautious ahead of the US December CPI inflation data, which is likely to be in the elevated range in the short-term, limiting Federal Reserve’s ability to cut rates. Also, a rise in oil prices & dollar appreciation is likely to affect domestic inflation in the near future,” experts noted.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,152 shares ended in the green, while 1,802 shares closed in the red, and 110 shares remained unchanged.

Among the top gainers in the Sensex pack were Zomato, NTPC, Power Grid, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, L&T, Adani Ports, SBI, HCL Tech, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, and Hindustan Unilever. On the losing side, M&M, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Nestle India, Sun Pharma, and Asian Paints were the top decliners.

Rupak De from LKP Securities remarked, “Another day of choppy trades was witnessed as the market lacked direction. However, sentiment is likely to favour a recovery in the short term, with the potential to reach 23,400 on the higher end.”

In terms of market flows, FIIs sold equities worth Rs 8,132.26 crore on January 14, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 7,901.06 crore on the same day.

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