The headline equity benchmarks traded with small losses in mid-afternoon trade, as Fed Chair Jerome Powell cautioned that persistent tariff hikes could slow growth and drive long-term inflation. Investor sentiment was also weighed down by rising Indo-Pak tensions. The Nifty slipped below the 24,350 mark. Market volatility was heightened due to the weekly expiry of the Nifty F&O series today.
Auto shares witnessed profit booking after advancing in the past three consecutive trading sessions.
At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 81.28 points or 0.10% to 80,661.39. The Nifty 50 index lost 64.90 points or 0.27% to 24,349.50.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.94% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.01%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,866 shares rose and 1,930 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 4.47% to 19.91.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto Index dropped 1.75% to 22,709.45. The index rallied 3.71% in past three consecutive trading sessions.
Exide Industries (down 2.74%), Eicher Motors (down 2.57%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.46%), TVS Motor Company (down 2.27%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 2.23%), Ashok Leyland (down 2.21%), Hero MotoCorp (down 2.14%), Bharat Forge (down 1.95%), Bajaj Auto (down 1.55%) and Tube Investments of India (down 1.55%) declined.
On the other hand, Tata Motors (up 0.72%) and Samvardhana Motherson International (up 0.53%) edged higher.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.20% to 6.448 as compared with previous close 6.435.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.3300, compared with its close of 84.7700 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2025 settlement fell 0.68% to Rs 96,430.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.50% to 99.935.
The United States 10-year bond yield added 0.63% to 4.302.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for July 2025 settlement gained 62 cents, or 0.38% to $61.50 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Shriram Pistons & Rings soared 13.06% after the company reported 22.52% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 146.55 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 119.61 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 15.52% to Rs 988.37 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.
Goa Carbon slipped 1.31% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 6.53 crore in Q4 FY25 as against a net profit of Rs 9.36 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Total income declined 27.11% to Rs 134.06 crore in Q4 FY25, compared with Rs 183.94 crore posted in Q4 FY24.
United Breweries declined 1.08%. The company’s consolidated net profit jumped 19.88% to Rs 97.76 crore in Q4 FY25, compared to Rs 81.55 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) rose 8.89% YoY to Rs 2,322.98 crore in the March 2025 quarter.