Market Commentary - Mid-Session
The headline equity benchmarks pared all early losses and traded with modest gains in mid-morning trade, following the Monetary Policy Committee's unanimous decision to reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25%. This marked the first rate change in two years, driven by easing inflation and slowing economic growth. The committee highlighted its neutral stance, focusing on aligning inflation with targets while supporting economic growth. The Nifty traded above the 23,650 mark. Metal shares advanced after declining for the previous trading sessions.
At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 228.58 points or 0.29% to 78,293.57. The Nifty 50 index rose 78.55 points or 0.33% to 23,681.85.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.65% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.08%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,816 shares rose and 1,810 shares fell. A total of 190 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Friday cut the repo rate'the rate at which the RBI lends to other banks'by 25 basis points to 6.25% after keeping it unchanged for two years. This is the first rate cut initiated by the RBI in five years, the last one being in May 2020. RBI, however, continues with the neutral monetary policy stance and remains unambiguously focused on a durable alignment of inflation with the target while supporting growth. The decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4% within a band of +/- 2% while supporting growth, the central bank noted. This was the first RBI policy under the new Governor Sanjay Malhotra and also the first RBI MPC meeting after the Union Budget 2025-2026 was presented on February 1.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index added 2.41% to 8,565.20. The index declined 0.75% in the previous trading session.
Jindal Steel & Power (up 4.03%), Tata Steel (up 3.06%), JSW Steel (up 2.49%), NMDC (up 2.46%), National Aluminium Company (up 2.44%), Welspun Corp (up 2.01%), Vedanta (up 1.98%), Steel Authority of India (up 1.8%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.6%), and Hindustan Copper (up 1.44%) added.
On the other hand, Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (down 2.19%) and Hindustan Zinc (down 0.37%) declined.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Hero MotoCorp rose 0.54%. The company reported a 12.1% increase in standalone net profit to Rs 1,202.84 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 1,073.38 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations rose 5% to Rs 10,210.78 crore in Q3 FY25.
PG Electroplast rallied 4.51% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 108.7% to Rs 40.14 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 19.24 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations surged 81.9% to Rs 967.69 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.
ITC fell 1.78%. The company reported a 1.2% rise in net profit to Rs 5,638 crore on a 8.6% increase in net revenue to Rs 17,726 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Q3 FY24.
Bharti Airtel jumped 4.71% after the telecom major's consolidated net profit soared 460.93% to Rs 16,134.6 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 2,876.4 crore reported in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 19.07% YoY to Rs 45,129.3 crore in Q3 FY25, driven by strong momentum in India and continued underlying growth in constant currency in Africa.
Global Markets:
Asian stocks were mixed on Friday as investors awaited India's interest rate decision and assessed Japan's household spending data.
The Reserve Bank of India is likely to trim the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% as it concludes its policy meeting later in the day.
A robust labor market could strengthen the Fed's resolve to maintain current interest rates, as the central bank has indicated its intention to do, citing concerns about persistent inflation.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5%, while the S&P 500 added 0.36%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed, declining 0.28%.
Amazon.com Inc. shares fell over 4% in after-hours trading after the e-commerce giant projected first-quarter 2025 sales between $151 billion and $155.5 billion, missing analysts' expectations.
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