Benchmarks turn rangebound; European mkt decline

The key equity indices traded in rangebound with negative terrain in afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered below 22,450 mark. Realty, media and auto shares declined while PSU bank, bank and FMCG shares advanced. Trading was volatile due to the weekly Nifty50 F&O series expiry today.

At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, shed 41.02 points or 0.06% to 73,994.16. The Nifty 50 index fell 31.80 points or 0.14% to 22,430.70.

The broader market underperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.38% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.46%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,633 shares rose and 2,209 shares fell. A total of 139 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

Indias retail inflation eased to a seven-month low of 3.61% in February 2025, down from 4.31% in January, as food price pressures softened, according to government data released on Wednesday. This brings inflation below the Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI) medium-term target of 4% for the first time since August 2024.

Meanwhile, Indias industrial output growth picked up to 5% year-on-year in January 2025, compared to 3.2% in December 2024.

Gainers & Losers:

Bharat Electronics Limited (up 2.19%), State Bank of India (SBI) (up 0.93%), ICICI Bank (up 0.63%), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) (up 0.50%) and Cipla (up 0.49%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) rose 2.19% after the company announced that it has received a contract worth Rs 2,463 crore from the Ministry of Defence for the supply and services of Ashwini Radars to the Indian Air Force.

Shriram Finance (down 2.97%), Tata Motors (down 2.18%), Hindalco (down 1.70%), Hero Motocorp (down 1.64%) and HDFC Life (down 1.46%) were the major Nifty50 losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Yatra Online rallied 4.06%. The company informed that Rohan Purshottamdas Mittal, chief financial officer (CFO) and key managerial personnel (KMP) of the company, has resigned to pursue new opportunities.

Premier Explosives added 0.96% after the company announced that it has received an export order for Rs 21.45 crore from international clients.

Zydus Lifesciences shed 0.17%. The companys venture capital arm, Zynext Ventures USA LLC announced its investment in Illexcor Therapeutics (Illexcor), a pioneering biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation oral therapies for sickle cell disease (SCD).

Meanwhile, the company has received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture Methenamine Hippurate tablets USP, 1 gram (USRLD Hiprex tablets, 1 gram).

JSW Energy fell 0.35%. The company announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, JSW Neo Energy has entered into a share purchase agreement and acquired 100% shares of Virya Infrapower for total consideration of Rs 7.54 crore.

Global Markets:

US Dow Jones index futures were down 198 points, indicating a negative opening in the US stocks today.

European stocks declined as President Donald Trumps tariffs policy upends global trading relationships. Further, investors are awaiting earnings reports from Hugo Boss, Hannover Re and Deliveroo.

Most Asian shares traded lower on Thursday, following an overnight rebound in U.S. tech stocks. However, persistent concerns over trade tensions and global economic uncertainties suggest that market volatility is not going away anytime soon.

On Wednesday, major U.S. stock indices closed higher after a cooler-than-expected US CPI inflation report, but gains were tempered by renewed tariff threats from President Donald Trump. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5%, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite surged 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, edged 0.2% lower.

Inflation data showed a slight cooling, with the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rising 2.8% year-over-year in February, down from January's 3% increase. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, recorded a 3.1% uptickits slowest pace since 2021.

Despite easing inflation, investors remain wary. Trump's decision to impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports has reignited fears of higher prices, potentially offsetting any economic relief from cooling inflation.

The European Union quickly responded, announcing counter-tariffs on $28 billion worth of U.S. goods, set to take effect in April. Canada followed suit, slapping retaliatory tariffs on $21 billion worth of American imports, including steel and aluminum. As tensions mount, concerns of a global trade war are intensifying, raising the risk of rising consumer prices and potential job losses across key industries.

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