Barometers slide for 2nd day; Nifty settles below 24,650 mark

The key equity indices ended with minor losses on Thursday, declining for the second day in a row, as investors awaited the RBI's monetary policy decision later in the week amid ongoing concerns over the trade war. The Nifty closed below the 23,650 mark. Pharma, IT, and private bank shares advanced while realty, FMCG, and auto shares declined. Trading was volatile due to the weekly Nifty 50 F&O series expiry today.

As per provisional closing, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 213.12 points or 0.27% to 78,058.16. The Nifty 50 index lost 92.25 points or 0.39% to 23,603.35.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.87% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index unchanged.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,925 shares rose and 2,005 shares fell. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.65% to 14.18.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index fell 1.85% to 937.30. The index fell 0.89% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Macrotech Developers (down 5.61%), Phoenix Mills (down 5.25%), Godrej Properties (down 2.25%), Oberoi Realty (down 1.64%), Prestige Estates Projects (down 1.23%), Sobha (down 1.09%), Mahindra Lifespace Developers (down 0.93%), and Brigade Enterprises (down 0.18%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

State Bank of India fell 1.58%. The banks standalone net profit grew 84.32% to Rs 16,891.44 crore on an 8.69% rise in total income to Rs 1,28,467.39 in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.

BEML slipped 2.85% after the companys consolidated net profit dropped 49.4% to Rs 24.41 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 48.20 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations fell 16.4% YoY to Rs 875.77 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.

NMDC shed 0.09%. The companys consolidated net profit (from continuing operations) jumped 29.04% to Rs 1,896.99 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 1,470.09 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 21.4% YoY to Rs 6,567.83 crore in Q3 FY25.

MRF declined 0.89%. The companys consolidated net profit dropped 38.11% to Rs 315.46 crore despite a 13.6% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 7,000.82 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.

Meanwhile, the companys board declared a second interim dividend of Rs 3 per share for FY25. The company has fixed 14 February 2025 as the record date for the purpose of payment of the interim dividend. The interim dividend will be paid on or after 25 February 2025.

Cummins India added 1.39% after the companys standalone net profit jumped 12.98% to Rs 514 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 454.92 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations was at Rs 3,041.42 crore in Q3 FY25, marking a growth of 21.56% as against Rs 2,501.81 crore reported in the same quarter last year.

Meanwhile, the companys board has declared an interim dividend of Rs 18 per equity share for the financial year 2024-2025. The record date fixed for the payment of the interim dividend is 14 February 2025. The date fixed for payment of dividends is on or before March 3, 2025.

Swiggy declined 6.93% after the company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 799.08 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with net loss of Rs 574.38 crore in Q3 FY24. However, revenue from operations jumped 30.98% to Rs 3993.06 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 3,048.69 crore in Q3 FY24

Sagility India hit an upper circuit of 5% after the companys consolidated net profit surged 207.2% to Rs 216.91 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 70.60 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 15.3% YoY to Rs 1,453.07 crore in Q3 FY25.

Azad Engineering gained 3.12% after the company signed a pact with Rolls-Royce PLC, London, United Kingdom, to produce civil aircraft engine components in India.

Reliance Power rallied 6.27% after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 41.95 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with net loss of Rs 1,136.75 crore in Q3 FY24. Net sales fell 4.7% YoY to Rs 1852.84 crore in Q3 FY25.

Aarti Pharmalabs jumped 7.05% after the companys consolidated net profit jumped 40.2% to Rs 73.99 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 52.76 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations grew 19.9% to Rs 537.78 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.

Global Markets:

European market advanced on Thursday, as investors are awaiting more earnings reports and the latest monetary policy decision from the Bank of England.

Most Asian stocks ended higher, mirroring gains in US stocks and bonds. This positive movement occurred despite a week marked by trade tensions, underwhelming tech earnings, and mixed US economic signals.

The yen strengthened against the dollar for a fourth consecutive day, fueled by remarks from Bank of Japan official Naoki Tamura, who suggested Japanese interest rates could reach 1% in the latter half of fiscal year 2025.

Market attention now turns to Friday's US jobs report and its potential impact on Federal Reserve policy.

US indices advanced on Wednesday, supported by lower Treasury yields after purchasing managers index data indicated a slowdown in the US economy, particularly within the manufacturing sector. The ISM Services PMI fell to 52.8 in January from 54.0 in December, missing expectations for a reading for 54.0. This data fueled speculation that a moderating US economy might encourage the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates, even with inflationary pressures stemming from trade tariffs. Separately, better-than-expected ADP nonfarm employment data unsettled markets due to its potential to foreshadow a robust nonfarm payrolls figure for January. Private payrolls increased by 183,000 during the month, according to data from payrolls processor ADP, above the expected 148,000 growth.

Apple Inc. saw a slight dip after reports surfaced of Chinese scrutiny of its App Store. Chipmakers, notably Nvidia, provided significant uplift to Wall Street, particularly following indications from Alphabet and its competitors of substantial increases in spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure in 2025. However, Alphabet shares fell over 7% due to weaker-than-anticipated cloud revenue, a segment closely linked to AI.

The NASDAQ Composite underperformed other major indices, closing with a 0.2% gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.4%.

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