Indices trade near flat line; media shares slip for 2nd day

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The key domestic indices traded with minor losses in the mid-afternoon trade, weighed down by persistent foreign fund outflows from Indian equity markets and a slowdown in corporate earnings. The Nifty traded below the 22,950 mark. Media shares extended losses for the second day in a row.

At 14:00 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 51.66 points or 0.07% to 75,887.55. The Nifty 50 index fell 16.90 points or 0.07% to 22,912.35.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.14%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap shed 0.89%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,145 shares rose and 2,874 shares fell. A total of 153 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 5.86% to 15.90.

Economy:

Indias foreign exchange (forex) reserves jumped $7.654 billion to $638.261 billion in the week ended February 7, according to the latest RBI data released on Friday.

For the week ended February 7, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $6.422 billion to $544.106 billion, the data released on Friday showed.

Gold reserves increased by $1.315 billion to $72.208 billion during the week. The special drawing rights (SDRs) were down by $11 million to $17.878 billion, according to the data.

Indias reserve position with the IMF was down by $71 million at $4.069 billion in the week under review, the RBI data showed.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index shed 0.72% to 1,481.45. The index tumbled 3.40% in past trading sessions.

Dish TV India (down 4.63%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 2.73%), Saregama India (down 2.59%), Tips Music (down 2.47%), PVR Inox (down 1.44%), Network 18 Media & Investments (down 0.73%), Sun TV Network (down 0.44%) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 0.18%) declined.

On the other hand, Den Networks (up 0.88%) and Nazara Technologies (up 0.31%) edged higher.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.48% to 6.804 as compared with the previous close of 6.705.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.8800, compared with its close of 86.7150 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 April 2025 settlement were added 0.46% to Rs 85,080.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.13% to 106.85.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.65% to 4.502.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2025 settlement rose 33 cents or 0.44% to $75.07 a barrel.

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