Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity markets showcased volatile trade on last trading day of week and ended in red amid foreign fund outflows. Initially, markets made negative start but managed to wipe out all their losses, as traders preferred to buy stocks. However, in late afternoon session, indices failed to protect their gains and entered to red, as traders were cautious ahead of Union Budget 2025. 

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

President Donald Trump called for lower interest rates: Traders took some support as President Donald Trump lobbed his first volley at the Federal Reserve, saying that he will apply pressure to bring down interest rates.

Forthcoming Union Budget 2025: During the day, markets went through volatility as investors worried ahead of upcoming Union Budget 2025. The government is set to unveil the Union Budget for the financial year 2025-26 on February 01, 2025. 

Retail inflation eases for farm, rural workers in December: The All-India Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) and Rural Labourers (CPI-RL) for December 2024 eased to 5.01 per cent and 5.05 per cent from 5.35 per cent and 5.47 per cent, respectively, in November 2024.

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in green with investors digesting French and Eurozone PMI data. Slightly easing worries about tariff threats contribute as well to the positive sentiment in the market. Asian markets ended mixed after U.S. President Donald Trump said that his recent conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping was friendly and that he would rather not impose tariffs on China, suggesting a potentially softer stance on tariffs against the country.

The BSE Sensex ended at 76,190.46, down by 329.92 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 76,091.75 and 76,985.95. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.60%, while Small cap index was down by 2.23%. (Provisional)

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.27% and TECK up by 0.24%, while Realty down by 2.50%, Oil & Gas down by 2.30%, Industrials down by 2.22%, Healthcare down by 2.19% and Energy was down by 1.95% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 1.98%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.75%, Nestle up by 0.70%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.61% and ICICI Bank up by 0.58%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.94%, Zomato down by 2.75%, Tata Motors down by 2.48%, Indusind Bank down by 2.11% and Reliance Industries down by 1.42% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, Moody's Ratings in its report on Corporates' South and Southeast Asia Emerging Markets has said the Indian rupee depreciated by around 5 per cent in the last two years and has fallen by 20 per cent in the last five years (since January 2020) making it one of the weakest performing currencies in South and South East Asia. Of the 23 rated Indian companies, Moody's assessed only six to be exposed to the effects of dollar strength, but these companies have sufficient mitigating factors. 

These companies are the three oil refining and marketing companies (OMCs), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), building materials producer UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel and ride sharing company ANI Technologies.

The CNX Nifty ended at 23,092.20, down by 113.15 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 23,050.00 and 23,347.30. There were 18 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.00%, Britannia up by 1.77%, Eicher Motors up by 1.76%, Grasim Industries up by 1.20% and Tata Consumer up by 0.86%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 5.04%, Trent down by 4.24%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.95%, Adani Enterprises down by 2.93% and BPCL down by 2.75% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC rose 81.46 points or 1.02% to 7,974.07 and Germany’s DAX was up by 103.79 points or 0.48% to 21,515.32. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 25.91 points or 0.3% to 8,539.29.

Asian markets settled mixed on Friday. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, US President Donald Trump has warned global business leaders they will face tariffs for products made outside of the US, while also said he would press the US Federal Reserve to lower interest rates immediately and ask OPEC and Saudi Arabia to bring down the cost of oil. Chinese and Hong Kong shares gained after US President Donald Trump said that his recent conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping was friendly and that he would rather not impose tariffs on China, suggesting a potentially softer stance on tariffs against the country. Meanwhile, the Chinese government is urging local mutual funds and insurers to increase their stock investments, aiming to improve its struggling equity market amid escalating trade tensions with the United States. Japanese shares ended almost unchanged as the Bank of Japan hiked the short term rate target by 25 basis points as expected and new data showed core inflation rose last month at the fastest pace in 16 months.