The key equity barometers traded near flat line in mid-afternoon trade. The movement came after India and the European Union clinched a landmark free trade agreement (FTA) following 18 years of stalled negotiations. The Nifty traded below the 25,100 level.
Auto shares declined for three consecutive trading sessions.
At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 118.09 points or 0.14% to 81,419.61. The Nifty 50 index fell 3.90 points or 0.02% to 25,043.15.
The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.41% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.54%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,556 shares rose and 2,673 shares fell. A total of 188 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 6.29% to 14.19.
India-EU Trade Deal:
India and the European Union have signed the “mother of all deals”, PM Modi said on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the signing of the free trade agreement between India and the European Union and said that the deal represented “25 per cent of the global GDP and 1/3rd of global trade”.
The Narendra Modi government is said to have agreed to immediately lower duties on up to 200,000 European cars a year priced above €15,000, or about Rs 16.5 lakh. Electric vehicles are excluded.
Automobile tariffs will fall sharply, with duties on cars gradually reduced from 110% to as low as 10%, and car parts tariffs fully eliminated within five to ten years. Agri-food tariffs will drop significantly, including wine tariffs cut from 150% to 75% initially and as low as 20% later, and olive oil tariffs reduced from 45% to zero over five years.
The pact includes strong sustainability and climate commitments, alongside plans for an EU–India climate cooperation platform and up to €500 million in EU support for India’s green transition. On tariffs overall, Sefcovic said the aim is 97–99% partial or full tariff liberalisation, which could generate savings of around €4 billion a year and help double bilateral trade within five years.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index fell 2.05% to 26,255.65. The index dropped 3.15% in the past three consecutive trading sessions.
Mahindra & Mahindra (down 4.32%), Tube Investments of India (down 2%), Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (down 1.87%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 1.85%), Exide Industries (down 1.65%), Ashok Leyland (down 1.41%), Uno Minda (down 1.29%), Hero MotoCorp (down 1.12%), Bosch (down 0.47%) and TVS Motor Company (down 0.34%) declined.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was advanced 0.47% to 6.695 as compared with the previous close of 6.664.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 91.6875 compared with its close of 91.9050 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2025 settlement advanced 1.71% to Rs 1,58,710.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.22% to 97.25.
The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.26% to 4.240.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2025 settlement shed 34 cents or 0.52% to $65.25 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Marine Electricals (India) surged 6.38% after the company announced that it has received orders worth Rs 284.39 crore from multiple clients.
The company has secured an order from Digital Edge DC (India) for the supply of power distribution systems for the BOM-2 Data Center Project. The order is to be executed over a period of 6–8 months. Marine Electricals has also received an order from Crescon Projects & Services for the supply of power distribution systems for the LBOM-12 Data Center Project, with deliveries expected to be completed within 1–2 months. In addition, the company bagged an order from SHM Shipcare for the supply of power distribution systems, which is to be executed over a period of 4–5 months.
Kirloskar Pneumatic Company rallied 3.19% after the company was provisionally selected by the Government of India in the latest round of the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for white goods.
According to an official release dated January 23, the PLI scheme for white goods, covering air conditioners and LED lights, is expected to attract investments of Rs 11,198 crore from 85 companies over the scheme period. In the fourth round, five applicants were provisionally selected with a combined committed investment of Rs 863 crore, while eight other applications were referred to a committee of experts for further evalu