India’s benchmarks logged their best session in six weeks on Thursday, led by financials and autos on expectations of a pickup in corporate earnings, with IT firm Infosys propping up gains after a brokerage forecast a hike in its revenue growth projections.
The Nifty 50 rose 1.88% to 24,188.65, while the BSE Sensex gained 1.83% to 79,943.71, clocking their best session since Nov. 22, 2024.
High-weightage financials rose 1.6%.
Asset quality pressure for financials is likely to ease in 2025, while valuations remain attractive across the sector, Jefferies and Citi said.
The auto index added 3.8%, the most among major sectors, with Eicher Motors surging 8.7% after posting a jump in its December sales. The Royal Enfield motorcycle maker was the top Nifty 50 gainer on the day.
Truck maker Ashok Leyland rose 6%, helped by a rise in its December sales, while top carmaker Maruti Suzuki and peer Mahindra & Mahindra added 5.7% and 4.2%, logging gains for the second straight session on monthly sales growth.
Indian shares set to rise at the open
“The strong business updates from several key auto companies is positive for the earnings outlook for the sector as well as an indication of the resilience and strength in consumer spending in the economy,” said Deven Choksey, managing director at DRChoksey FinServ.
This also bodes well for financials as a ripple effect since the vehicle loan segments stand to benefit from robust sales, Choksey said.
Non-bank lender Bajaj Finance and its holding company Bajaj Finserv climbed 6.5% and 7.9%, respectively.
The IT index rose 2.3%, led by a 4% gain in Infosys and a 3.2% jump in HCLTech, after CLSA said it expected the software companies to hike their fiscal year 2025 revenue growth projections on improving outlook in the U.S.
IT firms get a significant chunk of their revenue from the U.S.
Among other stocks, Punjab National Bank rose 2.8% on posting a year-on-year growth in deposits as on Dec. 31.
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