Benchmarks drift higher in early trade; Nifty above 18,000

The key equity benchmarks traded with decent gains in early trade amid positive global cues. The Nifty traded above the 18,000 mark. FMCG, metal and health care shares advanced while PSU bank, media and IT stocks declined.

At 09:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 121.60 points or 0.12% to 60,474.43. The Nifty 50 index added 24.25 points or 0.13% to 18,016.14.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.12% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.17%.

The market breadth was almost even. On the BSE, 1,224 shares rose and 1,212 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,449.45 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 194.09 crore in the Indian equity market on 5 January, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Ambuja Cements rose 0.27%. The company has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary company in the name of 'Ambuja Resources' on 5 January 2023 for manufacturing of cement & allied product, alternate fuel and power generation.

Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) advanced 1.81%. RVNL - ISC Projects JV has received Letter of Acceptance for supply and commissioning of ballastless track for Surat Metro Rail Project under Phase-1. The accepted contract amount is Rs 166.26 crore excluding GST and custom duties.

Muthoot Capital Services was up 0.51%. Muthoot Capital Services has issued Commercial Paper (CP) of Rs. 30 crore on 4th January 2023.

Global markets:

Asian stocks were trading higher as investors braced for crucial U.S. jobs data later in the day that should provide clues on how aggressive the Federal Reserve will be in tightening policy.

Wall Street's main indices lost more than 1% on Thursday as evidence of a tight labor market eroded hopes that the Federal Reserve could pause its rating hiking cycle anytime soon as it keeps focused on inflation.

U.S. private payrolls increased more than expected in December. The U.S. ADP private payrolls report showed employers added 235,000 jobs in December. Data for November was unrevised to show 127,000 jobs added.

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