Nifty 50 closed at 21,618.70 (73.9, 0.3%), BSE Sensex closed at 71,668.60 (282.4, 0.4%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 19,517.85 (58.3, 0.3%), of the 2,028 stocks traded today, 1,041 were gainers and 963 were losers.

Indian indices recovered from their day lows, with the benchmark Nifty 50 index closing at 21,618.7 points. The Indian volatility index, Nifty VIX, closed at 13 points. Infibeam Avenues closed in the green as it reportedly inks a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat government to invest Rs 2,000 crore in an artificial intelligence hub.

Nifty Midcap 100 closed higher, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 closed in the red. Nifty Media and Nifty IT closed higher than their Tuesday close. According to Trendlyne's sector dashboard, Media was the top-performing sector of the day as it rose 4.1%.

Major Asian indices closed flat or lower, except for Japan’s Nikkei 225 and India’s BSE Sensex closing in the green. European indices traded mixed amid weak global cues. US index futures traded flat, indicating a cautious start to the trading session. Brent crude oil futures traded in the red, after rising 1.6% on a volatile day of trade on Tuesday.

• Zee Entertainment Enterprises sees a long buildup in its January 25 future series as its open interest rises 17.7% with a put-call ratio of 0.8.

• Easy Trip Planners falls after announcing the launch of a new subsidiary, EaseMyTrip Insurance Brokers. With this launch, the company plans to enter into the insurance market.

• NBCC (India) rises to an all-time high of Rs 93.6 as it bags an order worth Rs 218 crore from National Institute of Fashion Technology. The order involves the modification of the existing trade facilitation centre on the campus in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

• Tanla Platforms surges more than 9% as it signs its first commercial agreement with an Indian bank for its anti-phishing platform (ATP), Wisely ATP.

• The World Bank maintains India's FY25 GDP growth projection at 6.4%, driven by robust domestic demand, increased state infrastructure spending, and strong private-sector credit growth. The growth projection for FY24 stands at 6.3%. However, it expects private consumption growth to slow down due to persistent high food inflation.

  The World Bank has kept its FY25 economic growth projection for India unchanged at 6.4%, mainly on account of strong domestic demand, and rising public infra spending@ShivaRajora7 #WorldBank #economicgrowth #India #indianeconomy https://t.co/b6LqfpKxoa pic.twitter.com/32X0ibkAdP

  — Business Standard (@bsindia) January 10, 2024

• Edelweiss initiates its coverage on Arvind Fashions with a 'Buy' rating and target price of Rs 660 per share. This implies a potential upside of 39%. The brokerage believes that the premiumisation drive in India, portfolio extension and expansion into adjacent categories will help revenue growth. It expects the company's revenue to grow at a CAGR of 13.2% over FY22-26.

• Jyoti CNC Automation's Rs 1,000 crore IPO gets bids for 3.3X the available 1.8 crore shares on offer on the second day of bidding. The retail investor quota gets bids for 10.1X the available 31.6 lakh shares on offer.

• Shakti Pumps (India) rises as it receives the 10th patent for its surface helical pipe construction. The patent is valid for 20 years from the date of issue. The company appears in a screener of stocks with strong momentum.

• According to a poll of economists, India's retail inflation is expected to rise to 5.9% in December from 5.6% in November, mainly due to higher vegetable inflation.

  If the poll prediction is correct, inflation will have risen for the second month in a row, exceeding the #RBI's medium-term target of 4% all across the October-December quarter.
  
  (@ManjulPaul reports)https://t.co/TeszoMXQ6o.

  — Mint (@livemint) January 10, 2024

• Zee Entertainment Enterprises rises as reports suggest that Sony is still in talks with the company over the merger. The company appears in a screener of stocks with increasing quarterly profits.

• Media stocks like Network18 Media & Investment, TV18 Broadcast, Dish TV India and Hathway Cable & Datacom surge more than 4% in trade. The broader Nifty Media index is also trading more than 3% higher.

• RailTel Corporation receives an order worth Rs 29.5 crore from the Center for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) to install multi-protocol label switching (MPLS)-based VPNs at 26 sites across India.

• Network18 Media & Investments hits the upper circuit and reaches an all-time high of Rs 119.4. Reports suggest that 1.3 crore shares (1.3% equity), amounting to Rs 155.5 crore, change hands in a large trade.

  Network18 Large Trade | 1.3 cr shares (1.3% equity) worth ?155.5 cr change hands#Network18 #LargeTrade pic.twitter.com/YvElYsuVoM

  — CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) January 10, 2024

• Infibeam Avenues surges as it reportedly inks a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat government to invest Rs 2,000 crore in an artificial intelligence hub to develop payment technologies and platforms tailored for retailers.

• Mahindra & Mahindra falls despite partnering with US-based MobilEye to implement artificial intelligence in the driver assistance system of its cars. The company appears in a screener of stocks with improving RoA.

• One97 Communications is rising as it plans to invest Rs 100 crore in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). The company will provide its AI-driven cross-border remittance and set up a development centre for innovation in the city.

• BofA Securities upgrades its rating on Bharti Airtel to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Underperform’, and raises the target price to Rs 1,145. The brokerage anticipates a significant tariff hike in the next 12 months, but remains concerned about capex, particularly if fixed wireless access gains traction. It also notes that broadband business will pick up as net adds are improving.

  #BofASecurities increases #BhartiAirtel's target price to Rs 1,145 apiece from Rs 800 per share.
  
  Read more ??https://t.co/HBVhOpU4Ij

  — NDTV Profit (@NDTVProfitIndia) January 10, 2024

• Puravankara surges more than 8% to touch its all-time high of Rs 244.1 as its sales value grows by 56% YoY to Rs 1,241 crore in Q3FY24. Its customer collections improve by 52% YoY to Rs 941 crore, however, its price realisation falls by 2% YoY during the quarter.

• KIOCL plunges almost 3% as it temporarily suspends operations at its pellet plant in Mangalore due to a lack of iron ore fines.

• Lupin trades flat despite receiving US FDA approval for Bromfenac ophthalmic solution, a drug used to treat inflammation after cataract surgery. It has a market size of $128 million (approx Rs 1,064.7 crore).

• UBS downgrades Indraprastha Gas (IGL) to 'Sell' and cuts the target price to Rs 400. The brokerage cites short-term poor volume growth and long-term risks to IGL's core business. It notes that infrastructure expansion and policy support have not yet impacted IGL's CNG volume growth.

  Brokerage Radar | UBS downgrades IGL to sell from buy@UBS @IGLSocial pic.twitter.com/zrcengy0sz

  — ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) January 10, 2024

• Porinju Veliyath cuts his stake in Singer India to below 1% in Q3FY24. He held 1% in Q2FY24.

• Steel Strips Wheels is rising as the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approves the company's plan to acquire AMW Autocomponent (AACL). The company has also invested Rs 138.1 crore in AACL through a mix of equity and intercorporate loans.

• Ashish Kacholia cuts his stake in SJS Enterprises to below 1% in Q3FY24. He held 3.2% in Q2FY24.

• Delta Corp falls as its Q3FY24 net profit declines by 59.3% YoY to Rs 34.5 crore due to rising employee benefit and inventory expenses. Its revenue decreases by 15.2% YoY, aided by a downturn in its gaming operations segment.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Delhivery Ltd. (422.20, 5.96%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (2,201.75, 5.51%) and YES Bank Ltd. (25.50, 5.37%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd. (614.70, -3.58%), NMDC Ltd. (210.85, -3.06%) and Honeywell Automation India Ltd. (36,815.40, -2.63%).

Movers and Shakers

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

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (802.80, 20.00%), Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. (119.40, 20.00%) and AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd. (6,641.15, 17.49%).

Tanla Platforms Ltd. (1,196.75, 10.16%) was trading at 15.1 times of weekly average. PNC Infratech Ltd. (368.05, 5.94%) and NCC Ltd. (193.25, 9.52%) were trading with volumes 11.9 and 6.4 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

42 stocks hit their 52 week highs,

Stocks touching their year highs included - AIA Engineering Ltd. (3,755.85, 3.58%), Bayer Cropscience Ltd. (5,952.75, 1.97%) and Bharti Airtel Ltd. (1,064.00, -0.05%).

2 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Aegis Logistics Ltd. (355.10, 2.82%) and TTK Prestige Ltd. (754.10, 0.66%). 14 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Anupam Rasayan India Ltd. (958.90, -5.84%) and Sumitomo Chemical India Ltd. (408.20, -2.22%).