The Nifty 50 index rose for the third successive session on Thursday as strong corporate earnings injected bullish momentum into the market. The index was at 23,311 points and up by 0.4% at the time of writing, recording its first three-day winning streak in two weeks. Outside of India, soft inflation data fin the United States also boosted investor confidence.
Indian stocks have been struggling since the fourth quarter of 2024 with monthly foreign institutional outflows piling up. The country’s second-largest IT company, Infosys, reported 11.46% jump in profit for the third quarter of 2024 to Rs 6,806 crore (approximately $787 million). That figure topped analyst’s forecast figure of $782 million. Also, Infosys saw its revenue grow by 7.6% to $4.83 billion and it gave a guidance of 20-22% growth in margin for 2025.
HDFC Life was among the day’s biggest gainer in the Nifty 50 Index, as it rose by 7.99% following strong quarterly results. The life insurance company reported Rs 415 crore ($48 million) in profit for the quarter ending December 2024, up from Rs 365 ($42 million) a year earlier. RVNL share price closed at +10.7%, on news that it had won a Rs 3,622 crore (approx. $420 million) contract from BSNL.
News of soft CPI inflation data from the United States also provided fuel to Nifty 50 as it raised the prospect of an interest rate cut in the first quarter of the year by the Federal Reserve.
The Nifty 50 Index pivots at 23,275 points and the upside will prevail if action stays above that level. The first barrier will likely be at 23,428, but a stronger upward momentum could break above that level and test the second resistance at 23,562. On the downside, the momentum will favour the sellers if action goes below 23,275. With that, the first support will likely be at 23,119. Breaking below that level will invalidate the upside narrative and could potentially see further declines to test 23,006.
This post was last modified on Jan 16, 2025, 13:12 GMT 13:12