The Indian stock market witnessed a cautious trading session on Monday, 5 January, with both Sensex and Nifty 50 ending in the red. Despite positive global market cues, investors booked profits in select heavyweights, reflecting cautious sentiment ahead of the Q3 earnings season and heightened geopolitical tensions following US military action in Venezuela.
Market Performance
- Sensex: Closed at 85,439.62, down 322 points or 0.38%
- Nifty 50: Ended at 26,250.30, down 78 points or 0.30%
- Midcap & Smallcap indices: Outperformed benchmarks slightly
- BSE Midcap: Up 0.05%
- BSE Smallcap: Up 0.07%
Although the US attack on Venezuela created uncertainty, global markets largely shrugged it off:
- Asia:
- Japan’s Nikkei: +3%
- Korea’s Kospi: +3%
- China’s Shanghai Composite: +1%
- Europe:
- Germany DAX: +1%
- UK FTSE & France CAC 40: Closed in positive territory
This shows that while domestic investors reacted with caution, global investors remained optimistic, keeping broader market trends stable.
Main News
The market dip was primarily driven by profit booking in major heavyweights, with investors trimming positions ahead of the Q3 earnings season.
Key reasons for the market decline included:
- Profit booking in HDFC Bank, Infosys, and Reliance Industries
- Geopolitical tensions after the US military operation in Venezuela
- US President Donald Trump’s fresh warning on potential tariffs on India for importing Russian oil
Investors preferred to book profits in blue-chip stocks while monitoring developments in global markets and domestic earnings announcements.
Top Gainers and Losers
Even amid a negative trend, some stocks managed to shine.
Top Gainers in Nifty 50:
- Nestle India: +2.76%
- BEL: +2.53%
- Eicher Motors: +2.17%
Top Losers in Nifty 50:
- HDFC Bank: -2.31%
- Wipro: -2.23%
- Infosys: -2.21%
A total of 27 stocks ended in the red on the Nifty 50 index, highlighting the selective profit booking in key heavyweights.
Sectoral Performance
Sectoral indices closed mixed, reflecting varied investor sentiment across industries:
- Nifty Realty: +2.07%
- Consumer Durables: +1.12%
- FMCG: +0.68%
- Media: +0.62%
- Metal: +0.60%
- IT Index: -1.43%
- Oil & Gas: -1.02%
- Banking Index: -0.18%, closing at 60,044.20
The mix of gains and losses across sectors points to a market cautiously balancing between profit booking and sector-specific optimism.
Most Active Stocks
Trading volumes were dominated by these stocks on the NSE:
- Vodafone Idea: 100.9 crore shares
- Ola Electric Mobility: 32 crore shares
- YES Bank: 15.3 crore shares
Investors were particularly active in these stocks due to heightened market attention and liquidity.
Stocks Defying Market Weakness
Despite a broadly negative sentiment, eight stocks jumped over 15% on the BSE, showing strong intraday momentum:
- CSB Bank
- Naksh Precious Metals
- Goyal Aluminiums
- Tourism Finance Corporation of India
- Four others not specified in the reference
This trend indicates that select mid and small-cap stocks still attracted buying interest, even when benchmarks were under pressure.
Market Breadth
- BSE Stocks Traded: 4,471
- Advanced: 1,723
- Declined: 2,545
- Unchanged: 203
The broader market breadth suggests that a larger number of stocks fell than advanced, reinforcing the cautious sentiment among investors.
52-Week Highs and Lows
- 52-Week Highs: 209 stocks hit new highs, including Reliance, SBI, Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra and Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Titan
- 52-Week Lows: 144 stocks touched new lows, such as Tata Chemicals, Page Industries, Vedant Fashions, Embassy Developments, Concord Biotech, Cohance Lifesciences
This shows a clear divergence, with some blue-chip names showing strong resilience while others, especially smaller or sector-specific stocks, lagged behind.
Summary
Monday’s session highlighted profit booking in large-cap stocks and cautious trading ahead of Q3 earnings. While geopolitical tensions in Venezuela created headlines, global markets remained positive, indicating that domestic weakness was selective rather than broad-based.
- Sensex & Nifty 50: Closed lower, led by heavyweights
- Mid & Small Caps: Slight outperformance
- Global Markets: Mostly positive, shrugging off geopolitical concerns
- Market Breadth: More decliners than advancers
- 52-Week Highs/Lows: Divergence across blue-chip and small/mid-cap stocks
Investors continue to weigh profit booking and earnings anticipation, making the market environment cautious yet selectively optimistic.
Source: Livemint
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