The NSE Nifty 50 gained 0.66% to settle at 21,658.60, while the BSE Sensex soared 0.69% to 71,847.57.

After a gap-up opening, equity markets continue their upward momentum through the afternoon on Thursday. The NSE Nifty was up by 0.61% or 130.80 points to 21,648.15, while the BSE Sensex was up by 0.64% or 459.01 points to 71,815.61 at 3 pm

Shares of Bajaj Finance rose nearly 4.6% to hit over a two-month high of Rs7,723.95 on the National Stock Exchange. Taking the place of NTPC, the stock was the top gainer in the Nifty 50. The stock saw an upsurge in the stock price after the company’s assets under management increased by 35% to Rs3.11 lakh crore in the third quarter, compared to Rs2.3 lakh crore in the same period a year ago.

Shares of Sakuma Exports jumps 8.97% to Rs 22.35 o the intra-day trade on the following news that ​Sakuma Exports​ has entered into an agreement with Raigaon Sugar & Power for the production of 3 crore litres annually for ethanol and its related product for period of 3 years.

“Unsurprisingly, upsides did not appear to threaten the 83.4 region, which is required for a breakout move. The consequent pull back will find buying interest near 83.29, but slippage past 83.26 could eye 83.17,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Shares of NTPC hit a new 52-week high of Rs321.75 rupees, up around 5% from the previous trading session. Almost 31 million shares have changed hands over the National Stock Exchange so far today.

“Intermittent buying attempts were visible throughout the day, but they weakened in the second half, ending up with a close near 21500. The day thus having played out in line with our expectations of bearish bias persisting as long as below 21693 region, we find no reason to take our eyes off the 21420/370 objectives set at the start of the week. However, the 12d EMA at 21485 does present Nifty with an opportunity to swing higher, prompting us to shift the upside marker to 21580, in which case, short covering may be attempted,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Consumer Products, and Tata Motors are the top five gainers in the Nifty 50. On the other hand, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Bajaj Auto, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hero MotoCorp, and HCL Technologies were the top laggards in the Nifty 50.

“Nifty weekly contract has highest open interest at 22000 for Calls and 21500 for Puts while monthly contracts have highest open interest at 22000 for Calls and 21000 for Puts. Highest new OI addition was seen at 21600 for Calls and 21250 for Puts in weekly and at 22000 for Calls and 20800 for Puts in monthly contracts. FIIs decreased their future index long position holdings by 1.25%, increased future index shorts by 9.90% and in index options by 31.65% decrease in Call longs, 27.39% decrease in Call short, 29.33% decrease in Put longs and 17.27% decrease in Put shorts,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), a comprehensive total of 2,233 stocks were actively traded. Among these, 2,393 stocks demonstrated upward movements, 729 experienced declines, and 111 stocks maintained their existing positions without any change. Notably, 269 stocks reached their 52-week high, underscoring positive market sentiment, while only 5 stocks touched their 52-week low, indicating a limited downside for these specific securities.

“The Bank Nifty experienced significant volatility on the day of the weekly expiry, maintaining a bearish trend as long as it stays below the key level of 48000. The index, however, managed to sustain above its 20-day moving average (20DMA) support at 47688. It is crucial for the index to hold this level, as a decisive break below it could intensify the selling pressure in the market. Traders should closely monitor the movements around 48000 and 47688 for potential trend changes and trading opportunities,” said Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities.

Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Consumer Products, and Tata Motors are the top gainers on Nifty 50 index.

Commenting on the Technical outlook of Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said, The Nifty dipped below the support level of 21650, resulting in a decline towards 21500. The prevailing sentiment appears weak, highlighted by the index closing below the crucial support at 21650. If it continues to drop below 21500 in the upcoming days, it could potentially exacerbate the negative sentiment, especially with expectations of substantial unwinding by put writers below 21500. The broader market outlook suggests a sell-on-rise strategy as long as it stays below 21650.

The NSE Nifty 50 gains 88.45 points or 0.41% to settle at 21,605.80 during the opening trade, while the BSE Sensex opens higher by 322.33 points or 0.45% to 71,678.93.

The NSE has added Balrampur Chini Mills, Delta Corp, Hindustan Copper, Indian Energy Exchange, National Aluminium, SAIL, and Zee Entertainment to its F&O ban list for January 4, 2024.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth net Rs 666.3 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) offloaded shares worth net Rs 862.9 crore on January 04, 2023, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.

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The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the dollar against a basket of six foreign currencies, traded down by 0.08% at 102.41.

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region are trading mostly in negative territory on Thursday morning. The Asia Dow is trading down by 1.72%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 is red, down by 2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is trading down by 0.85% and the benchmark Chinese index Shanghai Composite is trading higher by 0.17%.

WTI crude prices are trading at $73.01 up by 0.42%, while Brent crude prices are trading at $78.36 up by 0.14%, on Thursday morning.

U.S. bonds and stocks extended their New Year rout as traders looked to the minutes of the Fed’s last meeting to see if rate cut wagers were too aggressive, reported Bloomberg. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 162.52 points or 1.10% at 14,603.42. The S&P 500 dropped by 34.24 points or 0.72% at 4,708.59, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended lower by 285.66 or 0.76%.