The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) logo is seen at the BSE building in Mumbai, India, January 25, 2017. REUTERS
Jan 2 (Reuters) – India’s benchmarks rose on Thursday, led by financials after two brokerages highlighted stable asset quality and attractive valuations in the sector, while IT stocks added to the gains on expectations of improving earnings in the December quarter.
The Nifty 50 (.NSEI), was up 0.4% at 23,835.3 points as of 10:15 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex (.BSESN), gained 0.38% to 78,818.21.
Seven of the 13 major sectors advanced at the open. Financials (.NIFTYFIN), and private banks (.NIFPVTBNK), gained about 0.5% each.
Asset quality pressure for financials is likely to ease in 2025, while valuations remain attractive across the sector, Jefferies and Citi said.
The IT index (.NIFTYIT), the second-heaviest sector after financials, rose 1% after CLSA and Citi said that revenue growth in the sector is likely to improve further in the December quarter and in 2025.
“Stable demand commentary, improvement in client sentiment following the U.S. elections and the recent sharp rupee depreciation versus the U.S. dollar are tailwinds for earnings in IT sector,” said Sumeet Jain and Shubham Agrawal, analysts at CLSA.
IT firms get a significant chunk of their revenue from the United States.
The broader, more domestically-focussed small-caps (.NIFSMCP100), and midcaps (.NIFMDCP100), traded flat.
Among individual stocks, private lender Kotak Mahindra Bank (KTKM.NS), rose 2% after Citi and Jefferies upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral”, citing favourable valuations.
Ashok Leyland (ASOK.NS), advanced 2% after posting a rise in December monthly sales.
Sandur Manganese (SUMG.NS), added 3% after the mining company received approval from India’s top court-appointed advisory body to increase its iron ore production.
CSB Bank (CSBB.NS), gained 4% after posting a 26% rise in gross advances in the December quarter.
($1 = 85.7410 Indian rupees)
Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema
