Indices edge lower; breadth strong

The key equity benchmarks traded with minor cuts in early trade. The Nifty traded below the 22,900 level. Pharma, auto and FMCG shares declined while metal, realty and media stocks advanced.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 54.17 points or 0.07% to 75,681.79. The Nifty 50 index shed 16.95 points or 0.07% to 22,896.20.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.51% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.43%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,143 shares rose and 591 shares fell. A total of 113 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,311.55 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 3,907.64 crore in the Indian equity market on 20 February 2025, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

CIE Automotive India 0.70% .The companys consolidated net profit increased 8.5% to Rs 184.98 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 168.94 crore in Q4 FY23. Net sales fell 5.8% YoY to Rs 2109.95 crore in Q4 FY25.

Sanofi Consumer healthcare India slipped 1.97% after the companys standalone net profit fell 1.6% to Rs 44.30 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 45 crore in Q3 FY24. Net sales increased 6.8% to Rs 170.70 crore during the quarter.

NTPC Green Energy (NGEL) added 1.79% after the company and Bharat Light and Power Private (BLP) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to address the need for pacing green energy objectives and the government of Indias efforts towards carbon neutral economy.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.69% to 6.816 as compared with the previous close of 6.682.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.5850, compared with its close of 86.6400 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 April 2025 settlement were declined 0.25% to Rs 85,809.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.05% to 106.41.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.18% to 4.491.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2025 settlement shed 09 cents or 0.12% to $76.39 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks mostly fell on Friday due to ongoing worries about U.S. trade tariffs and the prospect of sustained high interest rates. However, strong earnings from Alibaba fueled a rally in Hong Kong.

Japanese stocks were little changed after stronger-than-expected January inflation data. Headline national CPI jumped to a two-year high of 4.0% year-on-years in January, up from 3.6% the previous month, according to government data. Core CPI, excluding fresh food and energy costs, rose slightly to 2.5% year-on-year from 2.4% in the prior month. This data strengthens the case for further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.

Japanese manufacturing activity contracted for the eighth consecutive month in February. The au Jibun Bank manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) was 48.9 in February, slightly better than January's 48.7. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

U.S. stocks declined overnight after weak earnings from Walmart, raising concerns about a slowing economy. Wall Street also saw some profit-taking after the S&P 500 reached a series of record highs this week.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 6,117.63, the NASDAQ Composite dropped 0.5% to 19,962.36, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1% to 44,176.90.

Walmart Inc. stabilized in after-hours trading after falling 6.5% during Thursday's session due to weaker-than-expected earnings for the December quarter. Walmart's losses affected other retail stocks, amid concerns that U.S. consumer spendinga key economic driverwas cooling after a strong year.

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