The domestic equity benchmarks erased all gains and traded with moderate losses in the early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,300 level. Consumer durable shares witnessed selling demand for the second consecutive trading session.
At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, shed 48.31 points or 0.06% to 80,196.59. The Nifty 50 index lost 76.20 points or 0.31% to 24,258.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.67% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.17%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,660 shares rose and 2,089 shares fell. A total of 181 shares were unchanged.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, advanced 2.89% to 18.75. The Nifty 29 May 2025 futures were trading at 24,345.80, at a premium of 87.80 points as compared with the spot at 24,258.
The Nifty option chain for the 29 May 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 39.5 lakh contracts at the 25,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 55.7 lakh contracts was seen at 24,000 strike price.
Economy:
India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection spiked 12.6% Y-o-Y to an all-time high of about Rs 2.37 lakh crore in April. The GST collection was Rs 2.10 lakh crore in April 2024 -- the second highest collection ever since the roll-out of the indirect tax regime on July 1, 2017. In March 2025, the collection was Rs 1.96 lakh crore, thereby leading to an around 20% surge in tax collection on monthly basis.
The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI edged up to 58.2 in April 2025 from 58.1 in March, slightly below the flash estimate of 58.4, marking the strongest sector improvement in ten months. Output grew at the fastest pace since June 2024, driven by robust domestic and foreign demand. Similarly, international orders recorded their second-steepest rise since March 2011, boosting sales and supporting solid job creation. Purchasing activity surged alongside new orders, lifting input inventories to an eight-month high, while post-production stocks fell at the fastest pace in nearly three and a half years. Backlogs increased slightly, and vendor delivery times shortened marginally. In terms of prices, output charges rose at the fastest rate since October 2013, even as input cost inflation remained moderate, led by higher expenses in building, labor, and raw materials. Lastly, business confidence stayed strong, underpinned by demand strength, marketing efforts, and new client enquiries.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Consumer Durables index dropped 1.08% to 36,698.50. The index fell 1.94% in two consecutive trading sessions.
Blue Star (down 3.12%), Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals (down 3.1%), Whirlpool of India (down 1.85%), Havells India (down 1.54%), PG Electroplast (down 1.35%), Kalyan Jewellers India (down 1.26%), Voltas (down 1.05%), Titan Company (down 0.89%), Century Plyboards (India) (down 0.87%) and Bata India (down 0.62%) declined.
On the other hand, Dixon Technologies (India) (up 1.14%), Amber Enterprises India (up 0.87%) and V-Guard Industries (up 0.10%) edged higher.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Madhav Infra Projects hit an upper circuit of 20% after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 12.07 crore in Q4 FY25, steeply higher than Rs 2.63 crore for Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations surged 104.49% year on year to Rs 308.31 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.
TVS Motor Company rose 1.34% after the company’s total sales jumped 16% to 443,896 units in April 2025 as against 383,615 units in April 2024.
Escorts Kubota shed 0.08%. The tractor manufacturer announced that its agri-machinery business division sales fell 1.2% to 8,729 units in April 2025 as against 8,839 units sold in April 2024.