Market Commentary - Quick Review
The key equity indices ended with robust gains on Wednesday, driven by positive global market sentiment. The Nifty ended above the 22,300 level. All sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green, with metal, media, and PSU Bank stocks gaining the most.
As per provisional closing, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 740.30 points or 1.01% to 73,730.23. The Nifty 50 index added 254.65 points or 1.15% to 22,337.30.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 2.66% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index jumped 2.80%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 3,246 shares rose and 768 shares fell. A total of 87 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 1.15% to 13.67.
Economy:
The HSBC India Services PMI was revised to 59.0 in February 2025 from 61.6 (flash), up from January's 26-month low of 56.5, marking 43 straight months of expansion.
New business inflows remained strong, driving one of the sharpest job growth rates since records began in 2005.
Backlogs of work rose, with outstanding business increasing at the fastest pace since May 2024.
Input cost inflation eased to a four-month low, while output price inflation stayed above the long-term average as firms passed costs onto customers. However, business confidence slipped to a six-month low.
The HSBC India Composite PMI eased to 58.8 in February 2025 from 60.6 (flash) but stayed above January's 57.7, marking 43 consecutive months of expansion. Services activity accelerated, while manufacturing hit a 14-month low.
New orders rose strongly, led by services, and employment growth stayed near record levels.
Cost pressures were the softest since last October, with lower inflation in manufacturing than services. However, selling prices for goods and services saw the sharpest rise in three months.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index added 4.04% to 8,685.20. The index jumped 4.36% in the three consecutive trading sessions.
Hindustan Copper Ltd (up 7.25%), Welspun Corp Ltd (up 6.43%), National Aluminium Company Ltd (up 5.91%), Vedanta Ltd (up 5.18%) and NMDC Ltd (up 5.06%), Tata Steel Ltd (up 4.55%), Adani Enterprises Ltd (up 4.53%), Steel Authority of India Ltd (up 4.41%), Hindustan Zinc Ltd (up 3.92%), JSW Steel Ltd (up 3.48%) added.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Coforge surged 8.42% after the company's board approved sub-division or stock split of equity shares in the ratio of 1:5.
The company's board approved sub division of one existing equity share having face value of Rs 10 each into five equity shares of Rs 2 each, subject to approval of the members of the company. The record date for sub-division / split of existing equity shares will be intimated in due course. The sub division is expected to be completed within three months from the approval of the members.
Meanwhile, the company's wholly owned subsidiary, Coforge Inc., has agreed to enter into a stock purchase agreement with Rythmos Inc. and its stockholders to acquire all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Rythmos Inc.
Further, the company's wholly owned -owned step-down subsidiary, Coforge Technologies Australia Pty, has agreed to enter into a share sale agreement with TMLabs Pty Ltd and its shareholders to acquire all of the outstanding shares of TMLabs Pty Ltd.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose 0.93%. The company has announced that its Building & Factories (B&F) vertical has secured significant orders from a reputed developer for the construction of residential towers in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai.
Force Motors gained 3.80% after the company reported 46.28% increase in auto sales to 3,600 units in February 2025 as compared with 2,461 units sold in February 2024.
Refex Industries was locked in 5% upper circuit after the company said that Refex eVeelz would expands its EV Fleet with 1,000 electric cars as part of a strategic partnership with leading ride-hailing platform.
Z-Tech (India) was locked in upper circuit of 5% at Rs 525.15 after the company announced that it received orders totaling Rs 9.43 crore from two separate entities.
Bondada Engineering hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company announced that its subsidiary, Bondada Green Engineering has successfully completed its first export order.
Walchandnagar Industries hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company entered into share subscription and shareholders' agreement to acquire 60.3% stake in Aicitta Intelligent Technology Private (Aicitta).
Solex Energy jumped 3.22% after the company successfully commenced full-scale commercial production of solar photovoltaic modules with an 800 MW capacity in Surat, Gujarat.
Power Grid Corporation of India rose 4.72% after the company won tariff-based competitive bids for three build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) inter-state transmission projects.
RHI Magnesita India added 2.43% after the firm's wholly owned subsidiary, Intermetal Engineers (India) (Intermetal), entered into a share purchase agreement (SPA) with Ashwath Technologies to acquire a 100% stake from its shareholders.
Global Markets:
European stocks advanced on Wednesday amid optimism that U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% duties on Canada and Mexico could be relaxed, and that German fiscal rules will be reformed to allow higher defense and infrastructure spending.
Most Asian stocks ended higher as investors assessed China growth and inflation targets amid U.S. tariffs and escalating global trade tensions weighing down sentiment.
Investors are also focused on China's 'Two Sessions,' an annual parliamentary gathering, with the meeting of its top legislature, the National People's Congress, kickstarting Wednesday.
China on Wednesday set its GDP growth target for 2025 at around 5%. The country has also lowered its inflation expectations to 'around 2%.'
Trump's 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada took effect Tuesday. The president also imposed an additional 10% duty on Chinese goods, bringing the total new tariffs on China to 20%.
China's Caixin services PMI came in at 51.4 in February, above expectations for a 50.8 print. The reading was higher than the 51.0 seen in January.
Australia's gross domestic product rose 0.6% quarter-on-quarter, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday. The print picked up from the 0.3% seen in the prior quarter. GDP grew 1.3% year-on-year, above expectations of 1.2% and higher than the 0.8% seen in the prior quarter.
United States equities fell on Tuesday, as losses in the Dow Jones Telecommunications, Dow Jones Financials and Dow Jones Consumer Goods sectors led shares lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.55% to hit a new 1-month low, while the S&P 500 index declined 1.22%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.35%.
Among financials, Morgan Stanley led losses with a 5.7% decline, while JPMorgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs fell nearly 4%, each. In automakers, Ford Motor Company slipped 2.9%, while Stellantis NV declined 4.4%, and General Motors Company lost 4.6%. NVIDIA's stock rose 1.6%, after entering a bear market territory in the last session with an over 8% fall.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News