A man looks at a screen outside the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai, India, August 28, 2025. REUTERS
Jan 2 (Reuters) – India’s equity benchmarks advanced on Friday in a broad-based rally led by automobile stocks on positive monthly sales data, while losses in cigarette maker ITC after a new tax on the sector capped gains.
The Nifty 50 index rose 0.38% to 26,245.70, while the BSE Sensex index added 0.39% to 85,521.25, as of 10:28 a.m. IST.
Fifteen of the 16 major sectors logged gains. Auto index advanced 0.9%, led by Hero MotoCorp up 2.5%, and TVS Motor rising 2% on robust December sales numbers.
ITC maker of Gold Flake and the market leader, fell 3.6% after losing 9.7% on Thursday, as multiple brokerages projected earnings pressure from the cigarette tax hike. The stock dragged the fast-moving consumer goods index 1.1% lower.
Metal index rose 1%, tracking an uptick in global metal prices on a weaker U.S. dollar and top consumer China reporting stronger industrial activity.
The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose about 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively.
“The monthly sales data from auto companies as well as business updates from other sectors signal a likely improvement in December quarter earnings, lifting markets…,” said G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Mumbai-based Equinomics Research.
A positive earnings season, followed by a favourable union budget and a potential trade agreement with the U.S., will act as the triggers to lift markets higher after the consolidation in 2025, Chokkalingam added.
Devyani Industries jumped 2% after the KFC and Pizza Hut operator struck a long-anticipated $934 million merger deal with peer Sapphire Foods Sapphire Foods fell 3.2%.
Punjab & Sind Bank rose 2.6% after the lender’s provisional total deposits for October-December rose 9.3% while gross advances jumped 15.25% year-on-year.
Indian Bank and South Indian Bank rose 2%, each, on posting robust business updates for the December quarter.
Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Rashmi Aich
