Tech Rally Drives Tokyo Indexes Higher 2%, India Stocks Rebound After Inflation Weakened

Arjun Pandit
13 Feb, 2024
Mumbai

Market indexes in Tokyo jumped after investors returned from a three-day weekend, and the rise in tech stocks led the gainers.

The Nikkei 225 index soared 2.4% to 37,798.89 and traded at a fresh 34-year high, and the yen weakened to 149.10 against the U.S. dollar.

Lasertec, Advantest, Screen Holdings, and Tokyo Electron gained between 1.5% and 2.5%, respectively.

SoftBank Group soared 6.1% to ¥8,479.0 following the surge in Arm Holdings in New York trading on Friday and Monday.

Market indexes in Seoul advanced 1%, but in Sydney, they struggled to stay above the flatline.

Elsewhere in the region, financial markets were closed in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

NMDC, Union Bank, Punjab National Bank, BHEL, and GMR Airports traded higher after MSCI added the companies to its MSCI India Standard index.

The index provider increased its India weight to 18.2%, a record high, only to be surpassed by the weight of China-based companies in its global index.

The independent research service provider removed 66 Chinese companies from its MSCI Global Standard Index and added five Indian and Chinese companies, but did not remove any Indian companies.

The revised weights will be reflected in the indexes after the close on February 29.

Crude oil and gold edged lower, and benchmark indexes in New York struggled to advance after lackluster trading in the morning.

In Mumbai, market sentiment was positive in Tuesday's trading, and investors reviewed the latest updates on inflation and industrial output.

The Sensex and the Nifty indexes advanced after consumer price inflation slowed in January and industrial production rebounded in December.

Consumer price inflation eased to 5.1% in January from 5.69% in December, after food price inflation softened to 8.3% from 9.53% in the previous month, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

Industrial output expanded 3.8% in December, faster than the 2.4% increase in November, a separate report from the agency showed.

Mining production expanded 5.1%, followed by a 3.9% rise in manufacturing production and a 1.2% increase in electricity output.

During the first nine months of the fiscal year 2024, industrial output rebounded 6.1% from a year ago due to sustained expansion in all three categories.

The Sensex index decreased 77.60 points to 71,087.45, and the Nifty index fell 17.70 points to 21,597.02.

Coal India advanced 2.2% to ₹442.20 after the mining company reported its quarterly results.

Revenue from operations increased 2.8% to ₹36,153.97 crore from ₹35,169.33 crore, and net profit rose 17.8% to ₹9,093.69 crore from ₹7,719.11 crore a year ago, respectively.

Coal production in the quarter increased to 199 million tons from 180 million tons a year ago.

The company also declared its second interim dividend of ₹5.25 per share to be payable on February 20.