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Benchmark equity indices, BSE Sensex and Nifty50, opened higher on Thursday, February 6, amid mixed global cues.
Stock Market Today
Sensex Today: Benchmark equity indices, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50, ended Thursday’s session in the red as investors waited for the RBI MPC outcome set for Friday, February 7, 2025.
The BSE Sensex dropped by 213.12 points, or 0.27%, to close at 78,058.16, trading between 78,551.66 and 77,843.99 during the day. Similarly, the NSE Nifty50 closed 92.95 points, or 0.39%, lower at 23,603.35. The Nifty50 reached a high of 23,773.55 and a low of 23,556.25.
Out of the 50 Nifty constituents, 30 closed lower, with Trent, Bharat Electronics, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, and Titan falling as much as 8.39%. On the other hand, Cipla, Adani Ports, Infosys, and Dr Reddy’s Labs were among the gainers, rising up to 2.51%.
Broader markets also followed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap100 and Nifty Smallcap100 indices ending lower by 1.26% and 0.30%, respectively. Sectoral indices were mixed on Thursday. Nifty Auto, FMCG, Consumer Durables, Realty, and Financial Services saw declines of up to 2.19%, while Nifty Bank, IT, Pharma, Private Bank, and Healthcare indices posted gains of up to 0.64%.
Global Cues
Asian markets were mostly higher on Thursday, following a rally on Wall Street driven by strong earnings reports from major companies.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose nearly 0.2%, reaching 38,888.04. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.1% to 8,507.60, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.7%, reaching 2,526.21. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.2% to 20,640.73, and the Shanghai Composite climbed 0.6%, settling at 3,248.34.
In Japan, Honda Motor Co. shares, which had surged the previous day after media reports of ongoing talks to create a joint holding company with Nissan Motor Corp., trimmed some of their gains. Nissan’s stock, on the other hand, rebounded to trade higher. While the media reports continued on Thursday, neither company has confirmed the details.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 317 points, or 0.7%. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.2%.
Toymaker Mattel saw a notable 15.3% jump after it surpassed analysts’ profit expectations for the latest quarter, buoyed by strong performance from its Hot Wheels brand, which helped offset weaker sales of Barbie and other dolls. The company also gave an optimistic profit forecast for the coming year, exceeding analyst estimates.
Amgen surged 6.5%, becoming one of the strongest contributors to the S&P 500’s gain. The company reported stronger-than-expected profits, driven in part by growth in its Repatha drug, which lowers bad cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart attacks.
These gains helped counteract a 7.3% drop in Alphabet’s stock. Despite the company reporting stronger-than-expected profits, investors focused on slower growth in its cloud business, where revenue fell short of projections. Additionally, concerns arose over Alphabet’s $75 billion budget for investments this year, about $15 billion more than analysts had anticipated, as the company continues its push to develop artificial intelligence technologies.
