The key domestic indices continued to trade in positive territory with substantial gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 23,750 level after hitting the day’s low of 23,562.80 in morning trade. Private bank shares advanced after declining in two consecutive trading sessions.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 491.77 points or 0.63% to 78,636.25. The Nifty 50 index added 138.25 points or 0.58% to 23,783.05.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.37% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 0.90%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,689 shares rose and 1,277 shares fell. A total of 116 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India’s fiscal deficit reached Rs 8.5 lakh crore in the first eight months of the fiscal year (April-November), representing 52.5% of the budgeted target, according to government data released on December 31st. This exceeds the deficit recorded during the same period in the previous fiscal year, which stood at 50.7%.

Capital expenditure, though improving, lagged behind last year's pace. At Rs 5.13 lakh crore, it amounted to 46.2% of the budgeted target of Rs 11.1 lakh crore, compared with 58.5% achieved in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Overall government spending reached 60.1% of the budgeted target, slightly higher than the 59% recorded in the previous year.

Revenue receipts fell short of last year's levels. Net tax revenue collection stood at 55.9%, lower than the corresponding figure in the previous year.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Private Bank index gained 0.76% to 24,969.40. The index gained 0.83% in two consecutive trading sessions.

IDFC First Bank (up 2.09%), IndusInd Bank (up 1.65%), HDFC Bank (up 1.08%), Axis Bank (up 1.08%), ICICI Bank (up 0.81%), City Union Bank (up 0.55%), Bandhan Bank (up 0.53%), RBL Bank (up 0.38%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.24%) and Federal Bank (up 0.10%) advanced.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.29% to 6.890 as compared with the previous close of 6.870.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.6525, compared with its close of 85.6450 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for the 5 February 2025 settlement added 0.17% to Rs 76,877.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2025 settlement gained 81 cents, or 1.09% to $74.80 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

APL Apollo Tubes rose 0.61%. The company recorded sales volume of 828,200 ton in Q3 FY25, which is higher by 37.2% as compared with the volume of 603,659 registered in Q3 FY24.

Gateway Distriparks advanced 2.91% after receiving a tax refund of Rs 12.47 crore from the Income Tax Department, reversing an earlier demand of Rs 9.48 crore.

Coal India added 0.69%. The company said that its total production rose 0.70% to 72.4 million tonnes (MT) in December 2024 as compared with 71.9 million tonnes in December 2023.