Market Wrap, Jan 7: Indices end flat, SENSEX dips 102 pts, NIFTY50 at 26,140; SMIDs outperform, Cipla tanks 4%

The Indian stock market closed marginally lower for the third straight session on Wednesday, January 7, weighed down by auto and oil & gas stocks. Mixed cues from the Asian peers and renewed concerns about the potential US tariff hikes also kept the investors worried. 

Meanwhile, shares of gold and precious metal jewellery companies like Senco Gold, Titan Company, Kalyan Jewellers and others witnessed impressive gains on Wednesday after the companies reported their quarterly business updates for the December quarter of the current fiscal year (Q3 FY26).

According to exchange data, on Tuesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹107.63 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹1,749.35 crore on a net basis.

On the global front, Asian equities paused their rally on Wednesday, with Japanese stocks edging lower as rising tensions with China weighed on investor sentiment.

Japan's Nikkei closed 1.1% down, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.94%, while China's Shanghai Composite edged up marginally by 0.05%, and South Korea's KOSPI was also settled 0.56% higher.

On Wall Street, the main indices climbed to fresh record highs on Tuesday, while the dollar inched up as investors shifted their focus to key economic data that could offer clues for the upcoming US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 484.90 points, or 0.99%, to end at 49,462.08; the S&P 500 surged 42.77 points, or 0.62%, to settle at 6,944.82; and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 151.35 points, or 0.65%, to end at 23,547.17.

Here are the key developments of Wednesday's session that you need to know

As many as 3,246 stocks traded on the NSE on Wednesday. Out of this, 1,578 advanced and 1,551 stocks declined, while 117 scrips remained unchanged.

This indicated that the market breadth was in favour of advances.

A total of 96 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 103 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 70 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 55 touched their lower circuit bands on Wednesday.

The market capitalisation of NSE-listed firms stood at ₹477.81 lakh crore at the close of the session.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, stood at 9.95 levels, falling 0.67%.

Driven by Tata Elxsi (9.47%), KPIT Technologies (6.15%) and Tata Technologies (5.27%), the Nifty Midcap 100 index gained 0.45% to end at 61,424.70.

The Nifty Smallcap 100 index climbed 0.39% to close at 17,958.50, led by strong gains in Neuland Laboratories (4.34%), Manappuram Finance (3.97%) and Tata Chemicals (3.85%).

Sector-wise, Nifty Auto (-0.8%), Nifty Oil & Gas (-0.66%) and Nifty Realty (-0.5%) led the losses, followed by Nifty PSU Bank (-0.27%) and Nifty FMCG (-0.13%).

Nifty IT (1.87%), Nifty Consumer Durables (1.69%), and Nifty Pharma (0.69%) emerged as the gainers.

On the NIFTY50 index, 20 stocks closed higher, while 30 declined by the end of the session.

Cipla was the biggest laggard, declining 4.28%, followed by Maruti Suzuki (-2.81%), Power Grid (-1.6%), Tata Motors PV (-1.6%) and Max Healthcare (-1.6%).

On the flip side, Titan Company (3.94%), HCL Technologies (2.36%), Wipro (1.79%), Tech Mahindra (1.76%) and Jio Financial Services (1.73%) were the biggest-gaining stocks on the 50-share index.