Barometers trade with major cuts; Metal shares lose sheen

The headline equity benchmarks traded with significant losses in early afternoon trade, following an unexpectedly strong US jobs report, which dampened expectations of early interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. At the same time, concerns over slowing earnings continued to persist. The Nifty traded below the 23,250 mark. Metal shares extended losses for the fourth consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 626.11 points or 0.81% to 76,758.41. The Nifty 50 index lost 212.50 points or 0.91% to 23,219.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 2.69% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 2.79%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 684 shares rose and 3,266 shares fell. A total of 148 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's foreign exchange reserves fell by $5.7 billion to $634.59 billion for the week ended January 3, data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday showed.

Foreign currency assets decreased by $6.441 billion to $545.48 billion, the data released on Friday showed.

Gold reserves increased by $824 million to $67.092 billion during the week. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $58 million to $17.815 billion, the RBI said.

Indias reserve position with the IMF was down by $18 million at $4.199 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 6.18% to 15.84. The Nifty 30 January 2025 futures were trading at 23,276.55, at a premium of 57.55 points as compared with the spot at 23,219.

The Nifty option chain for the 30 January 2025 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 52 lakh contracts at the 24,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 47.8 lakh contracts was seen at 24,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index dropped 2.18% to 8,082.80. The index tumbled 5.58% in four consecutive trading sessions.

APL Apollo Tubes (down 5.79%), Welspun Corp (down 4.37%), Adani Enterprises (down 3.15%), Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (down 2.98%), NMDC (down 2.92%), Steel Authority of India (down 2.9%), Vedanta (down 2.34%), Tata Steel (down 2.31%), Jindal Stainless (down 2.05%) and National Aluminium Company (down 1.81%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Godrej Properties slipped 3.05%. The company has announced the launch of its first premium residential project, Godrej Madison Avenue, in Kokapet, Hyderabad.

Ola Electric Mobility fell 3.05% after the firm said that the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) requested additional documents from the company as part of its ongoing investigation on 10 January 2025.

Sarda Energy & Minerals (SEML) dropped 6.33%. The company has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Chhattisgarh Hydro Power LLP, has commenced the trial production of Rehar Small Hydro Power Project.

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