The key equity indices recovered all their losses and traded with limited gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 23,100 level after hitting day’s low of 22,798.35 in morning trade.
Banking and metal shares advanced while realty, oil & gas and IT shares declined
At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE ,Sensex, advanced 99.49 points or 0.13% to 76,392.51. The Nifty 50 index added 50.10 points or 0.22% to 23,121.90.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.11%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 0.17%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,651 shares rose and 2,240 shares fell. A total of 113 shares were unchanged.
Gainers & Losers:
SBI Life Insurance Company (up 3.24%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 2.77%), Bajaj Finserv (up 2.72%), Adani Enterprises (up 2.39%) and Tata Consumer Durables (up 2.39%) were the major Nifty gainers.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M)(down 2.42%), Reliance Industries (down 1.41%), Infosys (down 1.08%), Powergrid Corporation of India (down 1.03%) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) (down 1%) were the major nifty losers.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Indo Count Industries surged 13.64% after the company‘s consolidated net profit jumped 30% to Rs 75 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 58 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 30% YoY to Rs 1,151.55 crore in Q3 FY25.
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation’s (IRCTC) added 0.95% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 13.7% to Rs 341.09 crore on a 9.79% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 1,224.66 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.
Lupin shed 0.40%. The company’s consolidated net profit jumped 38.81% to Rs 858.86 crore on 10.60% increase in sales to Rs 5,618.6 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.
Gopal Snacks tumbled 4.30% after the company’s standalone net profit slipped 70.31% to Rs 5.31 crore as against Rs 17.89 crore posted in Q3 FY24. However, revenue from operations rose 7.07% to Rs 393.57 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.
Astrazeneca Pharma India advanced 1.25% after the company’s standalone net profit surged to Rs 54.68 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 15.80 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 44% to Rs 440.29 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 305.79 crore in Q3 FY24.
Vodafone Idea declined 3.63%. The company has reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 6,609.3 crore in Q3 FY25 as against a net loss of Rs 6,985.9 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations rose by 4.16% to Rs 11,117.3 crore in the third quarter from Rs 10,673.1 crore recorded in the same period last year.
Global Markets:
European markets advanced as global investors awaited the release of the latest US Consumer Price Index report for January, scheduled for publication on Wednesday.
Most Asian stocks traded higher on Wednesday as investors digested the impact of recent U.S. trade policy changes on regional economies.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell re-emphasized on Tuesday the central bank’s focus on curbing inflation and signaled that policymakers were not in a rush to push interest rates lower.
In the U.S., the three major averages closed mixed. The S&P 500 added 0.03%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.36%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.28%.
Tesla Inc was a major weight on tech stocks, losing 6.3% during Tuesday’s session as investors fretted over a slew of headwinds for the stock, including heightened competition from Chinese EV makers, as well as concerns that CEO Elon Musk’s focus may be too diluted.
Investors were still digesting the impact of recently imposed higher trade tariffs, which are expected to potentially underpin inflation and weigh on economic growth in the coming months. Further trade policy changes have also been signaled.
The Fed Chair is set to testify before Congress on Wednesday, where he is likely to be questioned about the impact of these policies on the economy and inflation.