Market Commentary - Mid-Session
The domestic equity indices traded with limited cuts in early trade as global markets remained under pressure. The drop was primarily driven by increasing concerns over US President Donald Trump's tariffs, which are feared to slow down the US economy. The Nifty traded below the 22,550 mark. Media, metal, and auto shares advanced while IT, private bank, and bank shares declined.
At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 116.64 points, or 0.18%, to 74,202.11. The Nifty 50 index shed 19.90 points, or 0.09%, to 22,524.80.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.10%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.64%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,040 shares rose and 900 shares fell. A total of 113 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,377.32 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,617.80 crore in the Indian equity market on 6 March 2025, provisional data showed.
Stocks in Spotlight:
K&R Rail Engineering added 2.98% after the company entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation to execute large-scale projects, fostering seamless growth for both organizations within India and abroad.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) shed 0.57%. The company signed an expanded deal with Northern Trust, a global financial institution, to centralize and standardize its custody operations across 99 direct and global markets. TCS will deploy its comprehensive TCS BaNCS Global Securities Platform for Northern Trust, which has $17.4 trillion in assets under custody and administration as of December 2024.
Power Grid Corporation of India rose 0.56%. The company has been declared the successful bidder to establish an inter-state transmission system in Andhra Pradesh. It has received a Letter of Intent for the project, which comprises the augmentation of transformation capacity at the existing Kurnool-III substation and extension works at the existing C'peta substation, along with a 765kV D/C transmission line.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was up 1.78% to 6.800 as compared with previous close 6.789.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 87.1275, compared with its close of 87.1200 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 4 April 2025 settlement shed 0.36% to Rs 85,725.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.16% to 104.04.
The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.72% to 4.251.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2025 settlement rose 14 cents, or 0.20% to $69.60 a barrel.
Global Markets:
US Dow Jones index futures were up 62 points, indicating a positive opening in US stocks today.
Most Asian shares fell on Friday after Wall Street traders navigated falling stocks amid whipsawing tariff headlines.
US stocks closed sharply lower Thursday amid uncertainty around President Donald Trump's tariff policies, while investors remained cautious ahead of a key employment report expected to provide insights into the nation's economic health. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1%, while the NASDAQ Composite dropped 2.6%. The S&P 500 also declined 1.8%.
Technology stocks experienced significant losses. NVIDIA Corporation stock plunged 5.7%, while Tesla Inc. closed 5.6% lower. Broadcom Inc. closed 6.3% lower after jumping 13% in early trade on Thursday. The company reported upbeat guidance for the current quarter and better-than-expected first-quarter results on growing AI-led demand for its custom chips.
U.S. jobless claims fell more than expected last week to 221,000, signaling a strong labor market. For the week ending February 22, initial claims under the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees program rose to 1,634, up from 614 the previous week.
Investors now await Friday's employment report for insights on the economy and potential Fed rate moves amid tariff concerns and rising factory costs.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve, a day before meeting with executives from the crypto currency industry at the White House. The reserve will be capitalized with bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News