Stock Market Today: The record rally in Indian equity markets continued on Thursday, July 4, as investors continued their profit-taking strategy at higher levels. This was evident as market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty 50 rose 0.5% each to fresh all-time highs and closed with nominal gains.
Indian stocks got off to a strong start, climbing throughout the trading session on positive global economic news, but major indexes pared back gains sharply towards the end of the trading session, signalling growing caution over market valuations.
According to Bloomberg data, the current price-to-earnings (PE) ratio for the Nifty 50 is 24 times, slightly higher than its one-year-ahead PE of 19. The index’s price-to-book (PB) ratio is currently 4 times, while its one-year-ahead PB is 3.2 times.
Read more: Sensex rises 8,000 points in a month, Nifty 50 crosses 24,400: Is Indian equity market overheating or a major correction on the horizon?
The Sensex index rose 0.50 percent during the trading session to hit a fresh record high of 80,392.64 after opening at 80,321.79 against the previous close of 79,986.80. However, the index gave up most of the gains to close at 80,049.67, up just 63 points or 0.08 percent.
The Nifty 50 opened at 24,369.95 against the previous close of 24,286.50 and rose about 0.5 per cent to a fresh high of 24,401. The index ultimately closed at 24,302.15, up 16 points or 0.06 per cent.
Related article: Sensex, Nifty hit record highs again! From strategies to priority sectors, experts advise how to navigate the market right now
Despite concerns over overvaluation, the BSE midcap and smallcap indices hit fresh highs and ended higher than the benchmarks.
The BSE midcap and smallcap indices ended up 0.60 per cent each.
As many as 372 stocks including many big names like JSW Steel, Lupin, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Wipro, Persistent Systems, HDFC Asset Management Company, Federal Bank and many others hit their 52-week highs on the BSE.
The overall market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE has risen to near record levels. ₹447.36 lakh crore. In the previous session, almost ₹445.44 Crores, which is about ₹200,000 crores per session.
Nifty 50 top gainers
Shares of Tata Motors (up 2.75 per cent), HCL Tech (up 2.63 per cent) and ICICI Bank (up 2.53 per cent) were the top gainers among the 23 Nifty 50 stocks that closed higher.
Top Nifty 50 Losers
Shares of HDFC Bank (down 2.30 per cent), Bajaj Finance (down 2.06 per cent) and Adani Enterprises (down 1.47 per cent) ended as the top losers in the Nifty 50 index.
Also Read: Top Gainers and Losers Today, July 4, 2024: HCL Technologies, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance are the most active stocks. Check the full list here.
Today’s Sector Indexes
Bank Nifty (up 0.03 per cent) ended almost unchanged, while the private bank and PSU bank indexes rose 0.07 per cent and 0.16 per cent, respectively.
Among the stocks that gained, Nifty Pharma (up 1.39%), Healthcare (up 1.28%), IT (up 1.10%) and Auto (up 0.73%) were the top gainers.
Expert Market Insights
“Declining inflationary pressures in the US, improving quarterly earnings outlook and the resulting sharp fall in US 10-year Treasury yields have fuelled defensive investments in large cap stocks such as IT and pharma. Pick-up in government spending and improving corporate earnings are now supporting premium valuations. Return of FIIs to the domestic market and expectations of a rate cut in September are supporting market sentiment,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.
Nifty 50 Technical Analysis
Shrikant Chauhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities, pointed out that for intraday traders, 24,400/80,390 is the immediate breakout level for now. Above this, the market can rally to 24,500-24,525/80,700-80,800. A drop below 24,280/80,000 could change the sentiment and the market can retest 24,200-24,165/79,700-79,550 levels.
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Disclaimer: The views and recommendations expressed are those of the individual analysts, experts and brokerage firms and not of Mint. You are advised to consult a qualified professional before making any investment decisions.
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