Stock market today: Nifty 50, Sensex extend gains to 2nd day, led by IT and cement stocks; broader market rebounds

Indian Stock Market: Dalal Street witnessed another day of gains on Thursday, January 23, as strong support from IT and cement stocks helped frontline indices remain in positive territory for the second consecutive session. Notably, the broader market staged a sharp recovery after facing selling pressure in recent sessions.

The Nifty 50 ended 53.50 points higher, or with a 0.22% gain, at 23,205, while the BSE Sensex finished the trade at 76,512, up 0.14%, or 107 points, than Wednesday’s close. The Nifty Midcap 100 index jumped 1.86% to 54,098, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index ended the session with a gain of 1.12% at the 17,364 level.

IT stocks continued their strong performance for the second day, with mid- and small-cap stocks outperforming. Stocks such as Coforge, Persistent Systems, and Zensar Technologies recorded gains of up to 11%, driven by impressive Q3FY25 results.

Similarly, better-than-expected results from Ultratech Cement lifted sentiment across the cement sector, leading to strong gains in major counters. Shares of Ultratech Cement soared nearly 7%, while those of Kesoram Industries, JK Lakshmi Cement, JK Cement and Grasim Industries all ended the session with gains of up to 5%.

Meanwhile, EMS stocks like Amber Enterprises, Dixon Technologies, and Kaynes Technology rebounded in trade after recent valuation concerns had kept them under pressure.

New-age tech stocks, including PB Fintech, FSN E-Commerce Ventures, and CarTrade Tech, saw healthy buying interest during the session, although they remain up to 30% below their recent peaks. The recent entrant on the exchanges, Go Digit General Insurance saw its shares jump 15% to ₹327 apiece after the company reported a nearly three-fold rise in its net profit to ₹119 crore in Q3FY25. 

Commenting on today’s market performance, Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities, said, “Markets were range-bound with a mixed bias intra-day and ended slightly higher as investors resorted to select buying in the beaten-down IT, telecom, and realty shares.”

“The sharp fall in rupee against the dollar, which has been fueling foreign fund outflows over the past few months, is making investors jittery. With the ongoing corporate earnings outcome not so encouraging so far and Budget round the corner, investors will play safe bets with a selective buying approach and mostly at global markets for cues,” he added.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said “Uncertainty lingers whether the trade tariff measures will affect global trade, instigate higher inflation, and currencies volatility. The trend holds a declining momentum YTD with a pause today contemplating the upcoming 2025 budget, which has a muted expectation. Meanwhile in-line Q3 results showcasing QoQ growth to the indices suggesting that Q4 will be much better.”

Nifty 50: Technical outlook

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said, “Following a positive start, the trading session on Thursday remained muted, with the index showing limited movement. It failed to break above the 50 EMA on the hourly chart, indicating selling pressure at higher levels. The bearish trend is likely to persist as long as the index stays below 23,400. On the downside, support levels are observed at 23,150 and 23,000.”

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.