Sensex Up Over 100 Points, Nifty Above 24,600; SpiceJet Jumps 6%

Indian benchmark indices — BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 — started on a positive note on Tuesday amid the ongoing June quarter (Q1FY25) results season.

The BSE Sensex was up around 170 points (0.2 per cent) at 80,835 levels in early deals, while the NSE Nifty50 hit a fresh record high of 24,650, up around 75 points.

Stocks of Bharti Airtel, SBI, M&M, HCL Tech, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, and Bajaj Finserv, which added between 0.4 per cent and 1 per cent, supported the frontline indices.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap, and SmallCap indices, too, edged up to 0.56 per cent higher on Tuesday.

Among key sectoral indices on the NSE, the Nifty PSU Bank was the top gainer (up 0.8 per cent), and the Nifty Pharma was the top loser (down 0.12 per cent).

In the next few days in the run up to the Budget, the market is likely to anticipate the Budget proposals and respond. Even though Budget anticipations are speculative, this Budget will be growth oriented and at the same time fiscally prudent. Growth is top priority which the Government cannot and will not compromise. Tax buoyancy and the RBI dividend bonanza give the finance minister ample room for fiscal consolidation. Therefore, the market will be optimistic on this ground.The unknown factor is regarding any possible tweaking of the LTCG tax. If the tax rate is raised or tenure for LTCG is extended the market will respond negatively to that. A possible Budget proposal that can impact certain segments of the market would be disinvestment. Since PSU stocks are trading at high valuations, the government is likely to go for disinvestment in segments where government ownership is very high. This can increase the supply of stocks in these segments and bring their prices down. Watch out for disinvestment proposas in Railways and defence-related segments.

Global Cues

In the US, markets closed higher on Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested that rate cuts could come sooner despite ongoing inflation concerns.

The Dow Jones set a new record again, closing 0.53 per cent higher, while the Nasdaq also reached a new intraday high, ending 0.40 per cent up. The S&P 500 rose 0.28 per cent.

Asian markets showed varied performance with Australia’s ASX200 down 0.08 per cent and Korea’s Kospi up 0.07 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei climbed 0.71 per cent.

European markets closed lower, with Germany’s DAX dropping 0.84 per cent and the UK’s FTSE slipping 0.85 per cent.