Shares may open flat, RIL in focus after Q3 numbers

GIFT Nifty:

The GIFT Nifty January 2025 futures contract is currently down 3 points, indicating a negative start for the Nifty 50.

Reliance Industries (RIL) reported a 12% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to a record high of Rs 21,930 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2024. This strong performance was driven by robust growth across its key business segments: digital services, retail, and oil-to-chemicals. RIL's Q3 revenue grew 7.7% to Rs 2.67 lakh crore, while EBITDA climbed 7.8% to Rs 48,003 crore. EBITDA margin expanded by 10 basis points year-on-year to 18% and by 1 percentage point sequentially.

Institutional Flows:

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 4,341.95 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,928.72 crore in the Indian equity market on 16 January 2025, provisional data showed.

According to NSDL data, FPIs have sold shares worth Rs 41081.98 crore (so far) in the secondary market during January 2025. This follows their sale of shares worth Rs 2589.63 crore in December 2024.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stocks declined on Friday after US shares struggled to gain traction.

China's industrial production grew 6.2% year-on-year in December, government data showed on Friday. It compares to a 5.4% rise seen in the prior month. Meanwhile, Chinese retail sales rose 3.7% in December, accelerating sharply from the 3.0% rise seen in November.

Shares in Japan fell as the yen largely held onto gains from earlier in the week.

US markets weakened on Thursday after initial optimism surrounding softer-than-expected inflation data was tempered by robust retail sales and a resilient labor market. These data points suggested that the Federal Reserve may have more room to gradually slow down interest rate cuts.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 5,937.33 points, while the NASDAQ Composite slid 0.9% to 19.338.29 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 43,153.13 points.

US Retail Sales climbed by 0.4% in December, reaching $729.2 billion, according to the US Census Bureau's report on Thursday. This figure was lower than Novembers 0.8% increase.

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, but remained at levels consistent with a healthy labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 217,000 for the week ended Jan. 11, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 256,000 jobs in December while the unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% from 4.2% in November.

Investor attention also focused on the potential impact of President-elect Trump's policies, particularly his plans for increased trade tariffs.

Domestic Market:

The key equity benchmarks concluded Thursday's trading session with moderate gains, extending their winning streak to three consecutive days. The Nifty closed above the 23,300 level. PSU banks and metal shares rallied. On the other hand, FMCG and IT shares declined.

In the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 318.74 points or 0.42% to 77,042.82. The Nifty 50 index rose 98.60 points or 0.42% to 23,311.80. In three consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex and Nifty gained by 0.93% and 0.97%, respectively.

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