Sensex down 150 pts, tests 78,000; FMCG, IT stocks gain, realty falls
The stock markets today opened lower on Thursday amid broad-based selling in all but auto stocks. Besides, weakness in global markets added to the selling pressure.
The BSE Sensex today opened at 78,206, up 58 points over Wednesday’s closing level. It, however, erased gains to drop up to 300 points to hit a low of 77,846.
The Nifty, on the other hand, opened at 23,675 level, but soon turned lower by 82 points to hit a low of 23,608.
23 of the 30 Sensex stocks were in the red today, led by Tata Motors, L&T, Zomato, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Power Grid, SBI, Bajaj Finance, and ICICI Bank. On the upside, Kotak Bank, M&M, Infosys, Asian Paints, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Nestle India, and HUL were trading up to 1.5 per cent higher.
On the Nifty50 index, only 9 stocks eked out gains, while 40 stocks were in the red.
Meanwhile, in the broader markets, the Nifty MidCap index fell by 0.28 per cent and the Nifty SmallCap index by 0.06 per cent.
Among sectors, the Nifty FMCG index was seen holding gains of 0.1 per cent, and the Media index by 1 per cent. All other indices were nursing losses. The Nifty Realty index was down 1.4 per cent, the Nifty Metal 0.5 per cent, and the Nifty Bank 0.3 per cent.
In the primary market, Standard Glass Lining IPO allotment will be finalised today. Besides, Quadrant Future Tek IPO and Capital Infra Trust IPO will close for subscription today. In the SME segment, Avax Apparels IPO, Delta Autocorp IPO, and BR Goyal Infrastructure IPO will close for subscription today.
Also, Indobell Insulation IPO allotment will be finalised today. Parmeshwar Metal IPO (SME), Davin Sons IPO (SME), meanwhile, will list in the markets today.
Notably, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has approved the initial public offerings (IPOs) of four companies: Regreen-Excel EPC India, Dr Agarwal’s Health Care, Casagrand Premier Builder, and Highway Infrastructure. However, two other companies—Amruta Healthcare and Mouri Tech—that had filed their draft documents have withdrawn their applications.
That apart, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), unlisted firms recorded sales growth of 8.34 per cent in the financial year 2023-24, compared to just 1.69 per cent for listed companies. READ MORE
On the earnings front, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), IREDA, Tata Elxsi, and GTPL Hathway will announce their October-December quarter (Q3FY25) results today.
According to analysts, the revenue of TCS in Q3 is expected to grow by 6.3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), on an average, to Rs 6,445.63 crore as compared to Rs 6,060 crore a year ago. On a quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) basis, revenue is forecasted to grow marginally by 0.24 per cent.
Overall, India Inc could report a modest recovery in revenue and earnings growth in Q3FY25. According to estimates by various brokerages, the combined net profit of the Nifty 50 companies could grow 7.9 per cent year-on-year — the fastest rate in three quarters and a big improvement from the 1.8 per cent in Q2FY25, but a deceleration from the 15.4 per cent recorded in Q3FY24.
Meanwhile, India’s dematerialised (demat) account tally in 2024 rose by 46 million, marking an average addition of 3.8 million accounts per month. New demat additions saw a 33 per cent rise from the previous year, taking the total tally to 185.3 million.
Further, six equity mutual fund (MF) NFOs have already opened for subscription so far in 2025, including industry-first offerings like ICICI Prudential MF’s Rural Opportunities Fund and WhiteOak Capital MF’s Quality Equity Fund. Other new launches include the Mirae Asset Smallcap Fund, Bandhan Nifty Alpha Low Volatility 30 Index Fund, Kotak Nifty Smallcap 250 Index Fund, and UTI Quant Fund.
On the regulatory front, Sebi has revised timelines for credit rating agencies (CRAs) to enhance the ease of doing business by introducing the term “working days” instead of “days” for compliance deadlines. That apart, it has issued guidelines on the regulatory framework for research analysts and investment advisers to bolster investor protection and ensure transparency.
The NSE, meanwhile, has announced the expansion plans for its colocation facility under which it is targeting addition of around 2,000 new racks.
Global Markets Today
Asia-Pacific markets declined on Thursday, tracking a volatile session on Wall Street on Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve meeting minutes signaled interest rates could stay higher for longer due to sticky inflation.
Federal Reserve officials seemed concerned about inflation at the December policy meeting, and also worried about the impact that President-elect Donald Trump’s policies could have on inflation, indicating that they would be moving more slowly on interest rate cuts because of the uncertainty, minutes released Wednesday showed.
Without naming Dinald Trump, the meeting summary featured at least four mentions about the effect that changes in immigration and trade policy could have on the US economy.
FOMC members voted to lower the central bank’s benchmark borrowing rate to a target range of 4.25-4.5 per cent. However, they reduced their outlook for expected cuts in 2025 to two from four in the previous estimate at September’s meeting.
Nearer home, China’s consumer prices in December edged up 0.1 per cent year-on-year, in line with expectations. The pace of rise, however, was slower than the previous month, stoking deflation concerns.
China’s producer price inflation fell by 2.3 per cent year-on-year in December, declining for the 27th month.
The ongoing near-zero consumer inflation indicates that China continues to struggle with weak domestic demand that has raised the specter deflation.
Against these developments, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.2 per cent, China’s Shanghai Composite and Australia’s ASX200 fell 0.6 per cent each, and Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.8 per cent.
Overnight, the S&P500 index gained 0.16 per cent to close at 5,918.25, while the Dow added 0.25 per cent to finish at 42,635.20. The Nasdaq Composite was little moved, ending at 19,478.88.
The US 10-year Treasury yields briefly topped 4.7 per cent after Fed minutes revealed concerns on inflation.