Nifty 50 closed at 21,544.85 (31.9, 0.2%), BSE Sensex closed at 71,386.21 (31.0, 0.0%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 19,459.55 (41.9, 0.2%), of the 2,042 stocks traded today, 1,107 showed gains, and 902 showed losses.

Indian indices pared gains from the afternoon session and closed in the green, with the benchmark Nifty 50 closing at 21,545 points. The Indian volatility index, Nifty VIX, dropped by 1.5% and closed at 13.3 points. L&T Construction bagged an order worth Rs 1000 crore to Rs 2000 crore from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to construct AIIMS at Rewari, Haryana.

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed in the green following the benchmark index. Nifty Realty and Nifty Metal closed higher than Monday’s close. According to Trendlyne's sector dashboard, realty was the top-performing sector of the day as it rose 2.3%.

Major European indices trade in the red. US index futures trade lower, indicating a negative start to the trading session. Eurozone’s unemployment rate in November expands to 6.4% against estimates of 6.5%.

• Money flow index (MFI) indicates that stocks like Trident, Godrej Industries, Alok Industries and Gujarat Gas are in the overbought zone.

• Kalyan Jewellers India, Ircon International, and Prestige Estate Projects' stock prices increase 217.9%, 209.2% and 186.1% respectively over the past year.

• Tata Power rises as it signs a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu government to invest Rs 70,000 crore in the state. With this investment, the company plans to explore options to develop 10,000 MW renewable energy projects in the next seven years.

• Bharti Airtel is rising as its subsidiary, Airtel Business, plans to power 2 lakh smart meters for Adani Energy Solutions (AESL). The company will provide secure connectivity for AESL's smart meter deployments using Airtel's Internet of Things (IoT) Hub.

• Polycab India falls sharply as reports suggest that the Income Tax Department has claimed a tax evasion of Rs 200 crore by the company.

• Jyoti CNC Automation's Rs 1,000 crore IPO gets bids for 1.8X the available 1.8 crore shares on offer on the first day of bidding. The retail investor quota gets bids for 6X the available 31.6 lakh shares on offer.

• Realty stocks like Godrej Properties, DLF, Oberoi Realty and Brigade Enterprises surge more than 2% in trade. This helps the broader Nifty Realty index to rise more than 2%, touching its 52-week high of Rs 865.

• Infibeam Avenues rises to a new 52-week high of Rs 24.5 as it reportedly enters into a pact with the Gujarat government to invest Rs 2,000 crore in the state. It appears in a screener of stocks with strong momentum.

• AU Small Finance Bank is falling as around 13.2 lakh shares (0.2% equity), amounting to Rs 102.6 crore, change hands, according to reports.

  AU Small Fin Bank Large Trade | 13.16 lk shares (0.2% equity) worth ?102.6 cr change hands at an average of ?779.5/Sh#AUSmallFinBank #LargeTrade pic.twitter.com/NBd84AzFE7

  — CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) January 9, 2024

• Capacit'e Infraprojects rises to an all-time high of Rs 291 as its board approves raising Rs 200 crore through qualified institutional placements. The company has set the floor price at Rs 264.9 per share.

• L&T Construction hits an all-time high of Rs 3,593.7 after bagging an order worth Rs 1,000-2,000 crore from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to construct AIIMS at Rewari, Haryana.

• Fino Payments Bank rises following reports of its application for a small finance bank license with the Reserve Bank of India. It appears in a screener of stocks with increasing quarterly revenue.

• Goldman Sachs predicts robust Q3FY24 earnings for auto OEMs, driven by string two-wheeler and passenger vehicle sales during the festive and wedding seasons. The brokerage has increased its target prices for Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors by 14%.

  Goldman Sachs in their Q3 Preview report has highlighted that post festive demand momentum points to upside risk on two wheelers.
  
  (@UjjvalJauhari reports) https://t.co/j5qCk3cIKK

  — Mint (@livemint) January 9, 2024

• Brigade Enterprises rises over 3% to touch its all-time high of Rs 1,000 after signing two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 3,400 crore with the Tamil Nadu government. The MoUs relate to the development of high-rise commercial and residential buildings.

• IRB Infrastructure hits a new 52-week high of Rs 46.8 after reporting a 26% YoY increase in toll collections, which stood at Rs 488 crore in December 2023 compared to Rs 388 crore in December 2022.

• Gensol Engineering rises more than 4% as it signs an MoU with the Gujarat government to invest Rs 2,000 crore in EV manufacturing. The company expects to generate around 1,500 jobs in the region's EV ecosystem. It appears in a screener for stocks with strong momentum.

• JPMorgan maintains an 'Overweight' rating on Tata Motors with a target price of Rs 925, after JLR wholesales grow 27% YoY to 1,01,043 units in Q3FY24. The brokerage expects continued strong profitability in JLR and India businesses. It adds that the company's model mix remains robust.

  Brokerage Radar | JPMorgan on Tata Motors maintains overweight with target price of Rs.925@jpmorgan @TataCompanies pic.twitter.com/R8TlJkTO5o

  — ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) January 9, 2024

• Caplin Point Laboratories rises to an all-time high of Rs 1,470 as it signs a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu government to invest Rs 700 crore in the state. The company appears in a screener of stocks with low debt.

• Jyoti CNC Automation raises Rs 448 crore from anchor investors ahead of its IPO by allotting around 1.4 crore shares at Rs 331 each. Investors include Goldman Sachs, Nomura, Eastspring Investments India Fund, The Master Trust Bank of Japan, HDFC Life Insurance Co, ICICI Prudential Life, Edelweiss Mutual Fund, and Axis Mutual Fund.

• BEML is rising as it bags an order worth Rs 329.9 crore from the Ministry of Defence to supply mechanical minefield marking equipment.

• Abhay Baijal, MD of Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals, highlights the promoters’ participation in a Rs 700 crore buyback which was approved by the company's board on Monday. Baijal notes steady demand for fertilizers and potential long-term impacts on producers due to the ongoing Red Sea issue.

  #OnCNBCTV18 | We have faced no demand issues in any of the fertilizer products. However, most of the producers are taking a hit due to the #RedSea issue and if the issue flares up, the impact will be long term, says Abhay Baijal of Chambal Fertilisers pic.twitter.com/OQTdaSfJpp

  — CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) January 9, 2024

• Zee Entertainment Enterprises falls sharply amid reports that Sony Entertainment may call off the $10 billion merger over doubts about ZEEL's CEO Punit Goenka leading the merged entity.

• Vijay Kedia sells a 0.3% stake in Talbros Automotive Components in Q3FY24. He now holds a 1% stake in the company.

• Ashish Kacholia sells a 0.9% stake in Best Agrolife in Q3FY24. He now holds a 1.4% stake in the company.

• Bajaj Auto is rising as its board of directors approves the buyback of 40 lakh shares (a 1.4% stake) worth Rs 4,000 crore at Rs 10,000 each.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include JSW Energy Ltd. (454.85, 8.44%), FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd. (187.50, 5.99%) and Patanjali Foods Ltd. (1,684.40, 5.32%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Polycab India Ltd. (4,867.10, -8.93%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (256.30, -7.86%) and Vodafone Idea Ltd. (16.20, -5.54%).

Crowd Puller Stocks

20 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Borosil Renewables Ltd. (508.60, 9.47%), IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. (46.00, 9.13%) and JSW Energy Ltd. (454.85, 8.44%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Polycab India Ltd. (4,867.10, -8.93%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (256.30, -7.86%) and Page Industries Ltd. (36,452.65, -3.29%).

Galaxy Surfactants Ltd. (2,790.00, 1.08%) was trading at 12.4 times of weekly average. Ingersoll-Rand (India) Ltd. (3,100.50, 0.74%) and Minda Corporation Ltd. (388.45, 3.34%) were trading with volumes 10.2 and 6.2 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

56 stocks made 52 week highs,

Stocks touching their year highs included - Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. (1,197.10, 2.42%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. (5,800.00, 2.08%) and Bajaj Auto Ltd. (7,093.90, 1.58%).

9 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Easy Trip Planners Ltd. (45.80, 5.65%) and Carborundum Universal Ltd. (1,142.50, 0.97%). 7 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including SRF Ltd. (2,311.35, -3.52%) and Page Industries Ltd. (36,452.65, -3.29%).