Nifty off all-time high but closes in the green

• India’s Nifty extended its upptrend into fifth straight day on Monday.  
• Nifty pulled back after hitting the all-time high near 22,190.
• Nifty traders brace for a relatively light India’s economic docket and Fed Minutes from the US.  

The Nifty 50, India’s key benchmark index, settled Monday in the green, having pulled back from a new all-time high of 22,186.65. The Indian index extended the previous week’s upward trajectory, led by an upsurge in the energy and financial sector stocks. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 closed 0.37% higher on the day at 22,122.

Chinese markets reopened after a week-long Lunar New Year holiday while the US stock markets are closed on Monday, in observance of Presidents’ Day.

Stock market news

• Grasim, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj FinServ, Cipla and Bharti Airtel were the top gainers on the Nifty on Monday while losers included Coal India, SBI Life Insurance, L&T, HDFC Life Insurance and Wipro.
• Among the corporate news, Bajaj Auto announced February 29 as the record date for a proposed buyback plan amounting to Rs 4,000 crore, at Rs 10,000 per share.
• Shares of Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL), a railway infrastructure company, soared nearly 12% to ₹281.30 apiece in early trade on Monday after the company said its order book touched ₹65,000 crore, with 50% of this coming from the railway projects.
• Shares of Paisalo Digital rallied 15% to hit a record high of Rs 164 on Monday, surging 63% in past one month on promoter buying and strong December quarter (Q3FY24) earnings. 
• Novartis India share price surges nearly 11% to hit a 52-week high as Novartis AG announces sale plans for the company.
• Indian stock exchanges rank first in the world in terms of the number of IPOs in 2023
• India’s trade data for January showed Thursday a shrinking Trade Deficit of $17.49 billion.
• US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) data came in hotter-than-expected and helped push back the market’s expectations of a Fed rate cut from March to June. Markets are currently pricing a 77% chance of a cut in June, the CME Group’s Fed Watch Tool shows.
• Attention now turns toward the Minutes of the Fed February meeting and Ameircan tech major Nvidia Earnings report due on Wednesday, as Indian economic calendar remains devoid of any top-tier data release.