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Market Commentary - Mid-Session

Indices trade with limited losses; PSU bank shares advance

12-Feb-2025, 12:32
The key equity indices traded with modest losses in early afternoon trade as concerns over persistent foreign institutional investor (FII) selling and escalating trade war tensions continued to weigh on market sentiment. The Nifty traded below the 23,050 mark.

PSU Bank shares advanced after declining for four consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 269.69 points or 0.35% to 76,023.91. The Nifty 50 index lost 56.80 points or 0.27% to 23,009.20.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.76%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 0.88%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,295 shares rose and 2,552 shares fell. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, advanced 3.05% to 15.33. The Nifty 27 February 2025 futures were trading at 23,103.00, at a premium of 93.8 points as compared with the spot at 23,009.20.

The Nifty option chain for the 27 February 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 57.9 lakh contracts at the 23,500 strike price. Maximum put OI of 58.7 lakh contracts was seen at 23,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 0.79% to 6,049.40. The index dropped 4.42% in the previous four consecutive trading sessions.

Union Bank of India (up 3.16%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 1.06%), Indian Bank (up 1.04%), Canara Bank (up 0.84%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.84%), Punjab & Sind Bank (up 0.68%), Punjab National Bank (up 0.68%), State Bank of India (up 0.59%), Bank of India (up 0.52%) and Central Bank of India (up 0.42%) advanced.

On the other hand, Indian Overseas Bank (down 0.81%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Indo Count Industries surged 12.81% 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.

Astrazeneca Pharma India rose 0.73%. 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.

Lupin shed 0.88%. The company's consolidated net profit jumped 38.81% to Rs 858.86 crore on a 10.60% increase in sales to Rs 5,618.6 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24. Profit before tax (PBT) spiked 45.53% YoY to Rs 1,071.3 crore in Q3 FY25.