Mumbai, Jan 15: India’s domestic benchmark indices ended higher on Wednesday as the realty sector closed in green after a gain of 1.39 per cent.

Sensex ended at 76,724.08, up by 224.45 points, or 0.29 per cent, and Nifty settled at 23,213.20, up by 37.15 points, or 0.16 per cent.

Nifty Bank ended at 48,751.70, up by 22.55 points, or 0.05 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 53,899 after climbing 222.50 points, or 0.41 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 17,353.95 after adding 96.15 points, or 0.56 per cent.

According to experts, the domestic market continues to be volatile on account of elevated US bond yields, strengthening dollar, and increasing foreign institutional investors (FIIs) outflows.

“Global markets are cautious ahead of the US December CPI inflation data, which is anticipated to be in the elevated range in the short-term, limiting Federal Reserve’s ability to cut rates. Also, a rise in oil prices & dollar appreciation is likely to affect domestic inflation in the near future,” they said.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,152 shares ended in the green and 1,802 shares in the red, whereas there was no change in 110 shares.

In the Sensex pack, Zomato, NTPC, Power Grid, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, L&T, Adani Ports, SBI, HCL Tech, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Bharti Airtel and Hindustan Unilever Limited were the top gainers. Whereas, M&M, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Nestle India, Sun Pharma and Asian Paints were the top losers.

“Another day of choppy trades was witnessed as the market lacked direction. However, sentiment is likely to favour a recovery in the short term, with the potential to reach 23,400 on the higher end,” said Rupak De from LKP Securities.

In the meantime, FIIs sold equities worth Rs 8,132.26 crore on January 14, on the other hand domestic institutional bought equities worth Rs 7,901.06 crore on the same day.

New Delhi, Jan 14: Three Indian banks — HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and the State Bank of India (SBI) — ended the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024 at the 13th, 19th, and 24th spots in the top 25 global banks by market capitalisation, respectively, according to a new report.

While HDFC Bank ended Q4 2024 with $158.5 billion in market cap, ICICI Bank had a market cap of $105.7 billion, and the SBI, $82.9 billion, according to a report by GlobalData, a leading data analytics and research company.

Indian banks demonstrated resilience, with ICICI Bank emerging as a standout performer, with its market cap growing by 25.8 per cent to $105.7 billion, highlighting the strength of India’s expanding digital banking and credit ecosystem.

However, HDFC Bank’s market cap recorded a 1.6 per cent increase to $158.5 billion, due to rising competition and cost pressures.

The aggregate market capitalisation of the top 25 global banks increased by 27.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY), reaching $4.6 trillion in the fourth quarter (Q4) ended December 31, compared to the same period ended December 31, 2023.

JPMorgan Chase continues to remain the world’s largest bank by market cap, recording an increase of 37.2 per cent to $674.9 billion by the end of Q4 2024.

Goldman Sachs witnessed a stellar 42.9 per cent growth, which propelled it to ninth place in the chart from 13th position in the previous quarter.

Most of the stocks rose in Q4, benefiting from the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts, while other regional markets came under pressure amid worries over trade tariffs, according to the report.

According to Murthy Grandhi, company profiles analyst at GlobalData, the Federal Reserve implemented consecutive interest rate cuts of 25 basis points in November 2024 and December 2024.

“However, in December 2024, the Fed sparked a stock market sell-off by reducing the projected number of interest rate cuts for 2025. This adjustment was driven by concerns over persistently stubborn inflation,” said Grandhi.

The report predicted that tariffs expected to be imposed under Donald Trump’s administration and planned tax cuts in 2025 may offset each other.

However, risks such as rising sovereign debt, a stronger dollar, foreign outflows from emerging markets, geopolitical tensions in West Asia, China’s economic stimulus, and the yen carry trade are key factors likely to influence market performance and economic growth.

Gagangir (Sonamarg), Jan 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday dedicated the Sonamarg tunnel in Kashmir to the nation after inaugurating and inspecting it.

The inauguration event was also attended by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Surface Transport and Highways, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

PM Modi interacted with the engineers and workers, whose hard work made the all-weather connectivity possible. He encouraged and patiently listened to the labourers in addition to gathering technical details about the Rs 2,700 crore tunnel.

The Prime Minister appreciated the hard work put in by everyone engaged in the construction of the tunnel under the most challenging weather and topography of the area.

PM Modi earlier landed in a special aircraft at the technical area of Srinagar International Airport from where he took an Air Force helicopter for Neelgrad in the Sonamarg.

The PM landed at the Neelgrad helipad and drove in a cavalcade to the Gagangir area, where he inaugurated the Sonamarg tunnel.

PM Modi will also address a public rally at the truck yard in Sonamarg. Hundreds of people, braving extreme cold, have already gathered at the Sonamarg public rally venue to listen to the PM. This is PM Modi’s first visit to the union territory after an elected government took office here.

Sonamarg tunnel will bypass the stretch of the Srinagar-Sonamarg highway that is prone to avalanches and heavy snowfall during the winter months.

The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) oversaw the Z-Morh tunnel constructed by APCO Infratech Private Limited for Rs 2,700 crore. The construction of the tunnel was started in 2018. This tunnel will make Sonamarg an all-weather tourist destination, thereby helping employment for local youth, and boosting trade, tourism, and traffic to the Ladakh region, Amarnath Yatra and businesses.

The tunnel is a 6.5 km long 2-lane road tunnel between Gagangair and Sonamarg in Ganderbal of Jammu and Kashmir. It was earlier called the Z-Morh tunnel because of the Z-shaped stretch of road that the tunnel has replaced (Z-Morh translates to “Z-turn” in English). It takes only 15 minutes to travel the 6.5 km long tunnel compared to hours over the zig-zag road up and down the hills.

The Zojila Tunnel being constructed across the Zojila Pass together with the Z-Morh tunnel will make the journey to the Ladakh region safer and possibly throughout the year.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the Gagangir area of Ganderbal district on Saturday. “Visited Sonmarg today to review preparations for PM @narendramodi ji’s visit on Monday. The inauguration of the Z-morh tunnel will open Sonmarg to tourism all year round, Sonmarg will now be developed as a great ski resort. The local population will not have to leave in winter & the travel time to Kargil/Leh from Srinagar will also reduce,” he wrote on X on January 11.