The headline equity benchmarks traded near the flat line with some negative bias in early afternoon trade as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) began its three-day monetary policy meeting. Investors remain cautious, awaiting a widely anticipated rate cut aimed at boosting growth. With global trade uncertainties in the backdrop, all attention is focused on the RBI's decision, which is set to be announced on Friday. The Nifty traded below the 23,750 mark. Media shares extended gains for the second consecutive trading session.
At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 139.86 points or 0.21% to 78,443.95. The Nifty 50 index shed 2.75 points or 0.01% to 23,736.50.
The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.09% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.54%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,607 shares rose and 1,165 shares fell. A total of 172 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
In January, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index stood at 56.5, indicating a sharp rate of expansion in business activity compared to the previous month. However, the headline figure declined from 59.3 in December to its lowest level since November 2022. This drop suggests a slowdown in the pace of growth within the sector.
India's private sector economy lost some growth momentum in January, as a quicker increase in factory production was more than offset by a softer expansion in service activity. The HSBC India Composite Output Index dropped from 59.2 in December to a 14-month low of 57.7. Despite the decline, the latest figure remained above the long-run series average, indicating that the economy is still experiencing a robust upturn.
Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC, commented, India's services sector lost growth momentum in January, although the PMI remained well above the 50-breakeven level. The business activity and new business PMI indices eased to their lowest levels since November 2022 and November 2023, respectively. That said, new export business partly countered the downtrend and continued to rebound from a dip in late-2024, in line with official data which showed India's services exports shining in December and capturing a larger share of global trade.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.24% to 13.98. The Nifty 27 February 2025 futures were trading at 23,801.30, at a premium of 64.80 points as compared with the spot at 23,736.50.
The Nifty option chain for the 27 February 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 49.4 lakh contracts at the 24,500 strike price. Maximum put OI of 61.7 lakh contracts were seen at 23,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Media index jumped 2.15% to 1,656.50. The index rallied 2.90% in two consecutive trading sessions.
Tips Music (up 5.43%), Network 18 Media & Investments (up 3.32%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (up 2.44%), Dish TV India (up 2.34%), PVR Inox (up 2.27%), Nazara Technologies (up 1.94%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (up 0.95%), Saregama India (up 0.78%), Den Networks (up 0.70%) and Sun TV Network (up 0.59%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Torrent Power shed 0.27%. The company's consolidated net profit jumped 32.19% to Rs 475.66 crore in Q3 FY25 as against with Rs 359.83 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations grew by 2.09% year on year to Rs 6,499.38 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.
Kirloskar Ferrous Industries rose 0.73%. The company reported 48.4% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 54.31 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs Rs 105.33 crore posted in Q3 FY24. However, revenue from operations rose 3.8% YoY to Rs 1,607.60 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.
PC Jeweller rallied 4.94% after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 147.96 crore in Q3 FY25 compared with net loss of Rs 197.98 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations surged to Rs 639.45 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 40.06 crore in Q3 FY24.
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