Barometers trade with deep cuts; realty shares drop

The headline equity benchmarks traded with significant losses in mid-afternoon trade, weighed down by weak global cues and U.S. President Donald Trump's broad tariff announcements, which stoked fears of a potential global recession. The Nifty traded below the 22,900 level. Realty shares extended losses for the past two consecutive trading sessions.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tanked 947.86 points or 1.24% to 75,347.50. The Nifty 50 index dropped 357.25 points or 1.54% to 22,892.85.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index tumbled 3.40% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slumped 3.83%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 959 shares rose and 2,909 shares fell. A total of 142 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The HSBC final India Services Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 58.5 last month from 59.0 in February but was higher than a preliminary estimate that showed a fall to 57.7. However, it remained comfortably ahead of the 50-mark separating contraction from growth.

The HSBC India Composite PMI, which included robust manufacturing growth, rose to a seven-month high of 59.5 in March from February's 58.8, reflecting stronger overall private sector growth. Manufacturing growth outpaced services, but both sectors saw moderating employment growth and business confidence.

Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC, said, "India recorded a 58.5 services PMI in March 2025, softening slightly from the month prior. Domestic and international demand remained fairly buoyant, despite being sequentially a tick lower than the month before. Meanwhile, job creation and charge inflation both cooled during March. Looking ahead, business sentiment remains generally positive, but intensifying competition presents a significant challenge to many survey participants."

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index slumped 4.15% to 818.40. The index tumbled 4.24% in the past two consecutive trading sessions.

Anant Raj (down 6.97%), Prestige Estates Projects (down 5.29%), Godrej Properties (down 4.14%), DLF (down 4.04%) and Macrotech Developers (down 3.75%), Phoenix Mills (down 3.74%), Brigade Enterprises (down 3.37%), Sobha (down 2.99%), Oberoi Realty (down 2.83%) and Raymond (down 2.71%) edged lower.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was up 1.18% to 6.576 as compared with previous close 6.601.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.2825, compared with its close of 85.3000 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2025 settlement shed 0.77% to Rs 89,378.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.44% to 102.40.

The United States 10-year bond yield tumbled 2.39% to 3.956.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2025 settlement fell $2.14 or 3.05% to $68.00 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Emcure Pharmaceuticals tumbled 4.77%. The company said that its European subsidiary Tillomed Laboratories has entered into an asset purchase agreement (APA) with UK based Manx Healthcare.

Jammu & Kashmir Bank fell 3.33%. The bank said that its gross advances jumped 11.32% to Rs 1,06,986.16 crore as of 31st March 2025, compared with Rs 96,981.86 crore as of 31st March 2024.

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) slipped 2.22%. The company said that it has achieved highest ever quarterly electricity traded volume of 31,747 million units (MU), marking a year-on-year increase of 18%.

Vedanta tanked 8.57%. The company announced that total aluminum production advanced 1% to 603,000 tonnes in Q4 FY25 as compared with 598,000 tonnes in Q4 FY24.

Premier Energies tumbled 5.93%. The company announced that it has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary in the name of Premier-Green Aluminium (PGAPL).

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