As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 182.34 points or 0.22% to 81,330.56. The Nifty 50 index jumped 88.55 points or 0.36% to 24,666.90.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.19% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.63%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,860 shares rose and 1,124 shares fell. A total of 141 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tanked 5.35% to 17.23.

Monsoon Onset:

The southwest monsoon is progressing as anticipated, having reached the Andaman Sea and parts of the southern Bay of Bengal. This marks the initial entry point for the southwest monsoon, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Thiruvananthapuram. The IMD had forecast the onset of the monsoon for May 13, and it arrived on schedule. Over the next four to five days, it is expected to advance northward, covering additional areas of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal and extending into the Andaman Islands and most parts of the Andaman Sea.

Economy:

India’s wholesale inflation (WPI) eased further to 0.85% in April on an annual basis as against a four-month low of 2.05% in March, the government data showed on Wednesday. Positive rate of inflation in April, 2025 is primarily due to increase in prices of manufacture of food products, other manufacturing, chemicals and chemical products, manufacture of other transport equipment, manufacture of machinery and equipment, etc.

India's retail inflation in April fell to 3.16% from 3.34% in March, according to official data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Tuesday. Effectively, headline inflation declined 18 basis points in April 2025 compared to March 2025. According to the government, it is the lowest year-on-year inflation since July 2019. The significant decline in headline inflation and food inflation during the month of April 2025 is mainly attributed to the decline in inflation of vegetables, pulses & products, fruits, meat and fish, personal care and effects, and cereals and products.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal rose 2.46% to 9,052.10. The index shed 0.89% in the past trading session.

Steel Authority of India (up 5.96%), Jindal Stainless (up 5.1%), Lloyds Metals & Energy (up 4.96%), National Aluminium Company (up 4.88%), Hindustan Copper (up 4.53%), NMDC (up 4.12%), Tata Steel (up 3.93%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 3.58%), Hindalco Industries (up 2.43%) and Hindustan Zinc (up 2.26%) surged.

On the other hand, JSW Steel (down 0.07%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bharti Airtel advanced 1.04% after the telecom major's consolidated net profit soared 432.04% to Rs 11,021.8 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 2,071.6 crore reported in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 27.33% YoY to Rs 47,876.2 crore in Q4 FY25, driven by strong underlying momentum in India, a rebound in reported currency revenue growth in Africa and the full quarter impact of Indus Towers consolidation.

Tata Motors fell 1.02% after the company’s consolidated net profit from continuing operations declined 51.74% to Rs 8,470 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Rs 17,552 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 0.39% YoY to Rs 1,19,503 crore in Q4 FY25.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) rallied 15.61% after the company’s standalone net profit surged 118.87% to Rs 244.24 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Rs 111.59 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 61.66% YoY to Rs 1642.03 crore during the quarter ended 31st March 2025.

ITD Cementation India surged 10.54% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 26.9% to Rs 113.55 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Rs 89.51 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 9.8% YoY to Rs 2,479.72 crore in the quarter ended 31st March 2025.

VIP Industries declined 2.53% after the company’s consolidated net loss widened to Rs 27.36 crore in Q4 FY25 as against a net loss of Rs 23.88 crore reported in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations declined 4.28% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 494.21 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.

Rites surged 4.40% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 29.19% to Rs 141.33 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 109.39 crore posted in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations rose 6.89% to Rs 615.43 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025 from Rs 575.76 crore posted in Q3 FY25.

Apar Industries soared 7.18% to Rs 6,974.35 after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 5.82% to Rs 249.97 crore on a 16.94% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 5,209.76 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24.

K.P. Energy added 3.90% after the company reported an 84% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 46 crore on a 94% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 401 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Q4 FY24.

Metropolis Healthcare shares fell 5.27% after the company reported a 19.96% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 29.14 crore for Q4 FY25, compared to Rs 36.41 crore in Q4 FY24. Despite the dip in profit, revenue from operations rose 4.31% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 345.29 crore for the quarter ended 31 March 2025.

Indo Rama Synthetics (India) hit an upper limit of 20% after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 51.07 crore in Q4 March 2025 as against a net loss of Rs 40.48 crore in Q4 March 2024. Net sales rose 32.55% year-on-year to Rs 1,198.47 crore in Q4 of March 2025.

Aditya Birla Capital advanced 6.14% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 22.11% to Rs 864.60 crore on a 13.30% rise in revenue in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 708 crore in Q3 FY24.

Global Markets:

European stocks traded lower on Wednesday as investors awaited earnings updates from Imperial Brands, Experian, Compass Group, Telefónica, and E.ON.

Germany’s annual harmonized inflation rate stood at 2.2% in April, data from the country’s Federal Statistical Office showed on Wednesday.

Most Asian shares ended higher following a rebound in key Wall Street indices, driven by easing U.S.-China trade tensions and lower-than-expected inflation data.

Unemployment in South Korea dropped to 2.9% in April from the previous month, marking its fourth straight month of decline and its lowest point since November 2024. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.7% in April, down from 2.9% in March.

Data from the country’s national statistics site revealed that the economically active population grew to 29.74 million people, up 0.6% year on year.

South Korea’s labor force participation rate stood at 65.1% in April, up 0.1 percentage points year on year.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 gained 0.7%, and the NASDAQ Composite advanced 1.6%. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.6%.

The U.S. headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.3% year-on-year in April, with a monthly increase of 0.2%. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, also rose 0.2% month-on-month, indicating contained inflationary pressures.

The U.S. and China agreed to temporarily reduce tariffs for 90 days. The U.S. will lower its tariff on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China will reduce its retaliatory tariff from 125% to 10%. Additionally, the U.S. will reduce tariffs on lower-value imports from China.

NVIDIA Corporation shares rose 5.6% after CEO Jensen Huang announced the sale of over 18,000 advanced AI chips to Humain, an artificial intelligence startup backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The chips will support the development of a 500-megawatt data center in the region. The development may influence investor sentiment towards Asian semiconductor stocks.

Boeing Co. shares gained more than 2% after reports indicated that China has lifted a month-long ban on local airlines accepting deliveries of its aircraft.