Market trade sideways; breadth strong

The key equity indices traded sideways in early trade as investors remained cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's three-day monetary policy meeting, set to begin later today. There is growing expectation that the RBI may announce a rate cut. The Nifty traded above the 23,750 mark. Oil & gas, media, and PSU bank shares advanced while FMCG, auto, and consumer durables shares declined.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 21.11 points or 0.03% to 78,564.79. The Nifty 50 index rose 25.95 points or 0.11% to 23,765.20.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.84% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,282 shares rose and 687 shares fell. A total of 121 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 809.23 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 430.70 crore in the Indian equity market on 4 February 2025, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Titan Company added 1%. The companys consolidated net profit fell marginally 0.6% to Rs 1,047 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 1053 crore in Q3 FY24. Net sales jumped 25.7% YoY to Rs 17,550 crore during the quarter.

Tata Power Company rallied 2.40% after the companys consolidated net profit rose 8.2% YoY to Rs 1030.70 crore in the quarter ended 31st December 2024. Net sales increased 5.1% to Rs 15,391.06 crore in Q3 FY25.

Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) gained 1.85% after the company said that it has received construction order worth Rs 404.40 crore for Koratpur-Singapur road doubling project in Odisha from East Coast Railway.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was up 1.53% to 6.775 as compared with previous close 6.780.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 87.1450, compared with its close of 87.0750 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 April 2025 settlement shed 0.03% to Rs 83,586.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.11% to 107.88.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.13% to 4.507.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2025 settlement lost 37 cents or 0.49% to $75.83 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks showed a mixed performance on Wednesday as traders grappled with the ongoing US-China trade war and earnings reports from Wall Streets biggest tech firms.

US President Donald Trump extended the proposed 25% import duties on Canada and Mexico by 30 days but remained firm on China, allowing his 10% tariffs on Chinese goods to take effect on Tuesday.

In response, Beijing hit back with a 15% tariff on US coal and liquefied natural gas imports, along with an additional 10% duty on crude oil, agricultural equipment, and automobiles, effective February 10.

Chinas commerce ministry also imposed export controls on rare earths and exotic materials, where the country dominates global supply. The restricted materials include tungsten, tellurium, ruthenium, and molybdenum.

The Caixin/S&P Global Services purchasing managers' index (PMI), slipped to 51.0 from 52.2 in December but remained above the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction on a monthly basis. That echoes the official PMI, which showed service activity weakened to 50.3 from 52.0.

Despite trade tensions, US markets rebounded on Tuesday, recovering from steep losses on Monday. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, the NASDAQ Composite jumped 1.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.3%.

However, Alphabets Class A shares tumbled 7.4% in aftermarket trading after the companys fourth-quarter revenue fell short of expectations, particularly due to weak earnings from its cloud division, which is closely linked to AI.

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