Indices drift lower in early trade; breadth weak

The key equity benchmarks traded with significanct losses in early trade. The Nifty traded below the 22,650 mark. Barring pharma index all the sectoral indices on the NSE were traded in red with realty, media and IT shares declining the most.

At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 540.49 points or 0.72% to 74,759.17. The Nifty 50 index shed 172.95 points or 0.76% to 22,622.95.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.56% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.96%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 722 shares rose and 2,287 shares fell. A total of 135 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,449.15 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,884.61 crore in the Indian equity market on 21 February 2025, provisional data showed.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.52% to 6.810 as compared with the previous close of 6.700.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.6600, compared with its close of 86.6825 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 April 2025 settlement were added 0.16% to Rs 86.090.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.41% to 106.17.

The United States 10-year bond yield added 0.34% to 4.435.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2025 settlement shed 01 cents or 0.01% to $74.42 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Granules India shed 0.30%. The company said that its board has approved to acquire 100% stake in Senn Chemicals AG, a Switzerland based company, for a total consideration of Rs 192.5 crore (CHF 20 million).

Lupin fell 0.34%. The company said that it has received establishment inspection report (EIR) from the US Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) for its manufacturing facility in Somerset, New Jersey, USA.

Bharti Airtel declined 0.35%. The company said that its board has approved to acquire additional 5% stake in Airtel Africa, wholly owned subsidiary, through Airtel Africa Mauritius (AAML) in one or more tranches during FY24-25.

Global Markets:

US Dow Jones index futures were up 193 points, with focus now turning to upcoming earnings from artificial intelligence darling Nvidia.

Asian shares traded mixed performance on Monday, mirroring Wall Street's sharpest decline of the year. US economic data revealed weakening service sector activity and diminished consumer sentiment, fueling concerns about a potential slowdown and its impact on corporate earnings. Additionally, renewed inflation worries and unease stemming from a new bat coronavirus study in China contributed to market volatility. The euro, however, strengthened following Germany's conservative party's victory in national elections.

US indices experienced significant losses Friday, triggered by disappointing service sector PMI and consumer sentiment figures. These data points heightened apprehension about a cooling US economy.

While weaker growth could prompt the Federal Reserve to consider interest rate cuts, it also raises the possibility of a less favorable business climate, potentially affecting corporate profitability. Economic uncertainty was further amplified by the possibility of new 25% tariffs on automobile, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, and lumber imports. The S&P 500 fell 1.7% to 6,013.13, the NASDAQ Composite dropped 2.2% to 19,524.01, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 1.7% to 43,428.02.

S&P Global's preliminary composite purchasing managers' index for the US declined to 50.4 in February from 52.7 in January, with the services PMI falling to 49.7 from 52.9. The University of Michigan's sentiment index showed US consumer sentiment weakened in February, registering 64.7, down from 71.1.

NVIDIA Corporation shares fell 4.1% on Friday, reflecting growing anticipation and uncertainty ahead of the company's earnings release this week.

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