Indices drift lower; breadth negative

The key equity benchmarks traded with modest cuts in early trade. The Nifty traded below the 22,900 level. Auto, FMCG and bank shares declined while metal and oil & gas stocks advanced.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 367.01 points or 0.48% to 75,572.17. The Nifty 50 index declined 81.15 points or 0.35% to 22,851.75.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.48% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.42%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,300 shares rose and 1,520 shares fell. A total of 122 shares were unchanged.

 

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,881.30 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,957.74 crore in the Indian equity market on 19 February 2025, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Cyient shed 0.98%. The companys board approved the appointment of Sukamal Banarjee as chief executive officer (CEO) of the company for a period of 5 years with effect from 19 February 2025.

Thomas Cook (India) gained 3.51% after the company signed an agreement with SOTC and Korea Tourism Organisation for special projects.

Bharat Forge rose 0.47%. The companys subsidiary, Kalyani Strategic Systems and AM General, USA, have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) at IDEX 2025 for the supply of made in India advanced artillery cannons to the United States.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.68% to 6.794 as compared with the previous close of 6.692.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.8250, compared with its close of 86.9800 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 April 2025 settlement were added 0.63% to Rs 86,447.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.19% to 106.99.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.33% to 4.520.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2025 settlement shed 26 cents or 0.34% to $75.78 a barrel.

Global Markets:

US Dow Jones index futures were down 66 points, suggesting a weak opening for US equities.

Asian equities fell on Thursday after the latest Federal Reserve minutes revealed a cautious stance on interest rate cuts, while former President Donald Trump called for new tariffs on key imports.

The minutes from the Feds January meeting showed policymakers remained hesitant about lowering interest rates amid persistent inflation and economic uncertainty. Officials also discussed the possibility of pausing or slowing the balance-sheet runoffknown as quantitative tightening (QT)until the ongoing debt-ceiling issue is resolved.

Trump announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on automobile, pharmaceutical, and semiconductor imports, a move that could escalate global trade tensions. These tariffsultimately shouldered by U.S. importershave raised fears of further inflationary pressure in the short term.

Asian investors are eyeing several key data releases on Thursday, including Taiwans export orders, Hong Kongs inflation figures, and Chinas one-year and five-year loan prime rates. Additionally, Chinas one-year medium-term lending facility data may be released anytime before February 25.

Despite cautious signals from the Fed, U.S. indices managed mild gains on Wednesday. The S&P 500 inched up 0.2% to a record high of 6,144.09 points, while the NASDAQ Composite added 0.1%, closing at 20,057.25 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 0.2%, settling at 44,627.46 points.

The Fed minutes reiterated concerns about stubborn inflation and policy uncertainty, suggesting that rate cuts are unlikely in the near term.

Palantir Technologies tumbled more than 4% in after-hours trading, extending an 11% loss from Wednesdays session. Other defense stocks, including Lockheed Martin and RTX Corp, also saw mild aftermarket declines following reports that Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth had instructed Pentagon leaders to prepare for annual budget cuts of at least 8% over the next five years.

Fresh U.S. economic data released Wednesday showed a slowdown in housing starts for January, as both single-family and multifamily home construction pulled back. Housing starts slumped 9.8% month-over-month to an annualized 1.366 million, down from Decembers 10-month high of 1.515 million.

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