Nifty hovers below 22,850; metal shares lose sheen

The key equity indices continued to trade with modest losses in the mid-morning trade as weak earnings and foreign fund outflows continued to hit investors' sentiment. The Nifty hovered below the 22,850 mark. Metal shares declined after advancing in the previous trading session.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 401.36 points or 0.53% to 75,595.50. The Nifty 50 index declined 128.25 points or 0.56% to 22,831.25.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 1.15% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 1.99%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 901 shares rose and 2,808 shares fell. A total of 143 shares were unchanged.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Quality Power Electrical Equipments received bids for 99,40,138 shares as against 1,11,12,530 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:12 IST on 18 February 2025. The issue was subscribed 0.89 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 14 February 2025 and it will close on 18 February 2025. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 401 and Rs 425 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 26 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index declined 1.26% to 8,146.60. The index rose 0.77% in the past trading session.

Adani Enterprises (down 2.39%), Welspun Corp (down 2.07%), Hindustan Copper (down 1.99%), Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (down 1.97%), Steel Authority of India (down 1.96%), Vedanta (down 1.72%), NMDC (down 1.71%), National Aluminium Company (down 1.52%), Hindustan Zinc (down 1.49%) and Tata Steel (down 1.31%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

ABB India slipped 1.55%. The companys net profit increased 56% to Rs 528.41 crore in Q4 CY24, compared to Rs 338.68 crore in the same period last year. Revenue from operations jumped 22% to Rs 3,364.93 crore in the fourth quarter of the calendar year 2024 as against Rs 2,757.49 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Patel Engineering (PEL) declined 3.17%. The company said that its joint venture has been declared the lowest bidder (L-1) for a Rs 1,090.45 crore project awarded by the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation, Pune.

Power Grid Corporation of India shed 0.36%. The company announced that it has been declared the successful bidder under tariff-based competitive bidding for two projects to establish an inter-state transmission system on a build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) basis.

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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