The domestic equity benchmarks declined on Thursday, mirroring a cautious mood in the market as investors held their breath ahead of TCS' quarterly results. Adding to the jitters, concerns about a potential slowdown in U.S. interest rate cuts cast a shadow over the sentiment. The Nifty slipped below the 23,550 mark, painting a somber picture. With the lone exception of the NSE FMCG index, every sectoral index on the NSE ended up wearing shades of red, signaling a broad-based sell-off.
The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 528.28 points or 0.68% to 77,620.21. The Nifty 50 index tumbled 162.45 points or 0.69% to 23,526.50.
Larsen & Toubro (down 1.88%), HDFC Bank (down 1.56%) and Reliance Industries (down 0.77%) were major drags.
The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.96% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.17%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1211 shares rose and 2750 shares fell. A total of 106 shares were unchanged.
Also Read
 "Adani Wilmar")
 "Farooq Abdullah, Farooq, Abdullah")
 "auto exports, exports, car export")
 "India squad announcement")
 "apple, apple logo")
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 1.33% to 14.66.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.07% to 6.883 as compared with the previous close of 6.878.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.8700, compared with its close of 85.9100 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for the 5 February 2025 settlement added 0.28% to Rs 77,963.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.12% to 109.13.
The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.51% to 4.669.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for the March 2025 settlement gained 9 cents or 0.12% to $76.25 a barrel.
Global Markets:
Most European stocks advanced while the Asian market tumbled on Thursday. Investors awaited the inflation outlook in the U.S., Asia, and Europe due this week, with markets grappling with concerns about persistent inflationary pressures.
Chinas consumer price inflation in December slipped to 0.1% year on year from 0.2% in November, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
The Wall Street traders remained cautious ahead of Friday's crucial jobs report, which will provide further insights into the state of the US labor market.
US markets are closed today for a national day of mourning to honor the passing of former President Jimmy Carter.
Wall Street indexes moved in a tight range on Wednesday after marking a weak start to 2025.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 5,917.30 points on Wednesday, while the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.1% to 19,475.93 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 42,635.20 points.
Technology stocks weighed on Wall Street sentiment as investors booked profits after a strong 2024 performance. Market participants are now keenly awaiting the start of the fourth-quarter earnings season next week, with major banks set to release their results.
The minutes of the Federal Reserve's December meeting revealed that policymakers are increasingly inclined towards a slower pace of interest rate cuts this year, citing concerns about persistent inflationary pressures.
The minutes reiterated the central bank's hawkish stance, confirming a reduction in the projected number of rate cuts for 2025 from four to two. Some Fed officials expressed concerns that protectionist policies implemented under the Trump administration could continue to fuel inflation and hinder economic growth. The minutes highlighted the potential impact of "changes in trade and immigration policy" on the inflation outlook, suggesting that the fight against inflation may be more prolonged than initially anticipated.
Stocks in Spotlight:
TCS fell 1.72%. The IT major reported a 12% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit for the December quarter, reaching Rs 12,380 crore. Its revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 63,973 crore, marking a 5.6% YoY increase (4.5% in constant currency). The operating margin was 24.5%, reflecting a YoY decline of 50 basis points but a sequential improvement of 40 basis points. The net margin for the quarter was 19.4%.
TCS announced a total dividend of Rs 76 per share, including a special dividend of Rs 66 per share. The record date for the dividend is January 17, 2025, and the payment date is February 3, 2025.
Tata Elxsi fell 0.45%. The design led technology service provider reported 3.59% decline in net profit to Rs 199 crore on 2.72% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 939.17 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the company's net profit and revenue were lower by 13.26% and 1.66%, respectively.
Tata Motors declined 1.86%. The company said that its global wholesales in Q3 FY25, including Jaguar Land Rover, were at 3,41,791 units, higher by 1% as compared to Q3 FY24.
Meanwhile, the company said that its wholly owned subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover (UK), reported a 3% increase in wholesale volumes to 104,427 units in Q3 FY25 as compared with 101,043 units in Q3 FY24.
Mahindra & Mahindra rose 1.38% to Rs 3127.35 after a foreign broker maintained its 'overweight' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 3336.
OK Play India advanced 4.80% after the company said that its board of directors is scheduled to meet on 14 January 2025 to approve the proposal for raising funds by way of the issue of one or more instruments.
Anand Rathi Wealth rose 2.63% after the companys board scheduled a meeting on 13 January 2025 to consider a proposal of a bonus issue.
Richa Info Systems hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company announced that it has signed a supply and services agreement with Roopyaa Tradebizz for Rs 100 crore.
Borosil Renewables hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company announced plans to expand its solar glass manufacturing capacity by 50% of its present capacity in manufacturing of solar glass.
PNG Jewellers fell 1.12%. The company announced that it has witnessed a consolidated YoY growth of around 24% in Q3 FY25, driven by a strong increase in same store sales growth, festive demand in Dussehra, Diwali, and the wedding season.
Keystone Realtors shed 1.13%. The company said that it had recorded 40% growth in its pre-sales to Rs 863 crore in Q3 FY25 from Rs 616 crore in Q3 FY24. The area sold during the period under review aggregated to 0.41 million square feet, which is higher by 10% as compared with the area of 0.37 million square feet sold in the same period last year.
Manappuram Finance shed 0.61% after the Reserve Bank of India lifted the restrictions imposed on Asirvad Micro Finance with respect to sanction or disbursal of loans with immediate effect.
Ajmera Realty & Infra India tumbled 1.10%. The infrastructure company registered collections of Rs 167 crore in Q3 FY25, up by 10% from Rs 151 crore recorded in Q3 FY24.
IPO Update:
The initial public offer (IPO) of Quadrant Future Tek received bids for 1,07,76,76,050 shares as against 57,99,999 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on 9 January 2025. The issue was subscribed to 185.81 times.
The issue opened for bidding on 7 January 2025, and it will close on 9 January 2025. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 275 and Rs 290 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 50 equity shares and in multiples thereof.
Capital Infra Trust's IPO received bids for 24,71,89,650 shares as against 8,83,83,750 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on 9 January 2025. The issue was subscribed to 2.80 times.
The issue opened for bidding on 7 January 2025, and it will close on 9 January 2025. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 99 and Rs 100 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 150 equity shares and in multiples thereof.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
