Indices nudge lower; breadth weak

The key equity benchmarks traded with minor cuts in early trade. The Nifty traded below the 22,900 level. Barring the Nifty IT index, all the other sectoral indices on the NSE traded in red.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 136.44 points or 0.18% to 75,860.42. The Nifty 50 index declined 61.85 points or 0.27% to 22,897.65.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.76% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.95%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,042 shares rose and 1,870 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,937.83 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 4,759.77 crore in the Indian equity market on 17 February 2025, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Allcargo Terminals advanced 2.49% after its container freight stations (CFS) volumes in January 2025 increased by 11% year on-year (YoY) and 4% Month on Month (MoM) to 53.8 000 tons.

Zomato shed 0.78%. The company has introduced Nugget, an AI-native and no code customer platform. Nugget helps businesses scale support effortlesslyhighly customizable, low-cost, no developer team needed. No rigid workflows, just seamless automation.

Paytm shed 0.73%. The companys subsidiary, Paytm Services partnered with SBI Mutual Fund to Launch JanNivesh Rs 250 SIP, Contributing to Viksit Bharat Vision and Enabling Everyone to Start Investing.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.72% to 6.807 as compared with the previous close of 6.801.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.9500, compared with its close of 86.8850 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 April 2025 settlement were added 0.38% to Rs 85,382.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.19% to 106.93.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.83% to 4.513.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2025 settlement rose 68 cents or 0.91% to $75.42 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stocks traded higher on Tuesday ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australias (RBA) policy decision, while Hong Kong equities extended their tech-driven rally.

Optimism around China surged on Monday (Feb 17) after President Xi Jinping met with business leaders, including Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, fueling expectations that Beijing's years-long crackdown on the private sector may be coming to an end. Additionally, DeepSeeks breakthrough in artificial intelligence has sparked a rally of over US$1 trillion in Chinese stocks.

Meanwhile, US markets remained closed on Monday, February 17, 2025, for Presidents' Day, honoring the birth anniversary of George Washington.

Investor focus remains on President Donald Trumps plans for additional trade tariffs, as well as the trajectory of interest rates following last weeks stubborn inflation data.

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