Indian key benchmark indices finished Monday’s session, January 5, lower as early optimism quickly faded amid profit-booking, while technology stocks witnessed heavy selling on concerns over additional US tariffs, offsetting gains in realty, auto, and metal stocks.
The Nifty 50 closed the day 0.32% lower at 26,250, while the S&P BSE Sensex declined by 0.38% to 85,439. Broader markets ended mixed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index slipping 0.16% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index rising 0.53%, indicating that the market breadth continued to favour the bulls.
A over the weekend that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro stoked fresh geopolitical concerns, though the impact on markets has so far been subdued.
Among sectors, Nifty IT emerged as the top drag, falling 1.52%, followed by Nifty Oil & Gas and Nifty Pharma, which declined 1% and 0.28%, respectively.
The sell-off in technology stocks came after if New Delhi does not meet Washington’s demands to curb purchases of Russian oil.
Imports of goods from India are already subject to a 50% tariff, with half of this imposed as a punitive measure over Russian crude imports.
On the upside, Nifty Realty advanced 2.3%, while Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty FMCG, and Nifty Metal rose 1%, 0.71%, and 0.60%, respectively.
India emerged as the sole laggard among key Asian markets, as the Nikkei 225, Kospi, and Shanghai Composite rose 3%, 3.4%, and 1.4%, respectively, driven by renewed buying in technology stocks, as investors added to bets on technology shares, extending last year’s rally in artificial intelligence–linked companies.
Ather Energy slides; profit booking hits recent gainers
Ather Energy emerged as the top laggard among Nifty 500 stocks, sliding 7.7% to ₹684.9 apiece. It was followed by Premier Energies, Sapphire Foods India, Devyani International, Waaree Energies, and Reliance Infrastructure, each of which fell over 5%.
After gaining 16% last week, Transformers & Rectifiers came under profit-booking pressure, declining 3.5% to ₹324 apiece. IDBI Bank also witnessed profit-booking, slipping 3.3% to ₹111 after rallying 13% in the previous week.
Vodafone Idea shares fell 3% to ₹11.43 apiece, while HDFC Bank declined 2.4% to ₹977.5.
Large-cap IT stocks such as Wipro, Infosys, and HCL Technologies also dropped over 2%.
Meanwhile, a the stock down 2% to ₹3,646, with shares hitting a 10-month low during intraday trade.
Other key laggards included JBM Auto, IRFC, Gravita India, Swiggy, Lemon Tree Hotels, Oil India, Ceat, and Asahi India Glass, all of which ended the session with losses of up to 2%.
Ola Electric, Netweb lead gains as select stocks rally
On the winning side, Netweb Technologies, Ola Electric Mobility, Metropolis Healthcare, Sobha, and SJVN emerged as the top gainers among Nifty 500 stocks, surging 8.3%, 7.4%, 6.1%, 5.8%, and 5.6%, respectively.
Select EMS stocks also saw buying interest, with PG Electroplast and Amber Enterprises India advancing 4.6% and 3.5%, respectively. Extending its winning streak to a fourth straight session, Voltas shares jumped 3.26% to ₹1,476 apiece.
Similarly, Brainbees Solutions remained in the green for the fifth consecutive session, closing 3.3% higher at ₹299.75 apiece. Other key gainers included Motherson Sumi Wiring, Cyient, Sai Life Sciences, JK Cement, and Solar Industries India, while five other Nifty 500 stocks also ended the session with gains of up to 3%.
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