Valuation Worries Drag Down Nifty and Sensex In New Year

Arjun Pandit
02 Jan, 2024
Mumbai

Stocks in Mumbai traded down on the first day of a new year, and benchmark indexes in Asia dropped as much as 1%.

The nifty and the Sensex indexes traded lower, and large-cap and mid-cap stocks were among the leading losers.

In Asia-wide trading, benchmark indexes traded down in cautious trading after diverging views on China's manufacturing sector growth.

The official index tracking China's manufacturing sector showed growth, but a private survey showed ongoing weakness in the sector.

The official index places higher emphasis on large and government-controlled companies, whereas the private index is more broadly diversified.

Market indexes in Shanghai and Hong Kong decreased 1%, and in Korea, they advanced 0.4%.

Japan's markets are shut for an extended holiday in the new year. 

 

India Indexes and Yields

The Sensex index decreased 610.37 points to 71,661.31, and the Nifty index eased 159.50 points to 21,582.40.

On the Mumbai stock exchange, 281 stocks traded at their 52-week highs and 12 stocks traded at their 52-week lows.

The yield on the 10-year Indian government bonds held firm at 7.20%, and the Indian rupee hovered near ₹83.31 against the U.S. dollar.

The gold price increased by 0.2% to ₹63,448 per ten grams, and silver rose by 0.4% to ₹74,662 per kilo.

Crude oil increased by 1% to ₹6,088 per barrel, and natural gas fell by 4% to ₹225.20 per thermal unit.

 

India Stock Movers

Life Insurance Corporation decreased 1.7% to ₹843.90 after the Mumbai tax office demanded a tax of ₹803 crore for the financial year 2018.

Zomato gained 1.9% to ₹126.80 after the delivery service company said it received record daily orders on New Year's Eve on its app.

Bharti Airtel increased 0.6% to ₹1,018.95, and the company agreed to acquire a 97.1% stake in Beetel Teletech.

Eicher Motors declined 3.2% to ₹3,909.0 after the company said sales of 2-wheeler vehicles declined in December.

Coal India increased 2.7% to ₹392.0 after the company said coal production increased 8.2% in December.

Alembic Pharmaceuticals soared 5% to ₹805.50 after the company received approval for various generic products from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.