Key gauges end marginally lower amid high volatility

Indian equity benchmarks erased most of their initial losses but ended marginally lower on Wednesday as traders remained on sidelines ahead of domestic economic data - consumer price index (CPI) and index of industrial production (IIP). Muted Q3 earnings growth and trade war fears continued to unnerve investors.  

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

Persistent foreign fund outflows: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,486.41 crore in the capital markets on a net basis on Tuesday, according to exchange data. The latest U.S. tariff developments have worsened outflows, which were already weighing on sentiment.  

Sliding rupee: Indian rupee failed to sustain its recovery and depreciated 14 paise to trade at 86.94 (provisional) against the US dollar due to a firm American currency and unending outflow of foreign funds.  

Speedy rebound in growth on strong foundation: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said growth in India is witnessing a speedy rebound on account of a strong economic foundation and the government will take measures to ensure that it remains the fastest-growing economy.

Oil prices retreated: Oil prices fell in Asian trading after hitting a two-week high, as an unexpected surge in U.S. crude stockpiles eased supply disruption fears arising from sanctions. 

Global cues remained positive: Asian markets ended mostly higher as bond yields jumped after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments on interest rates and economic stability. European markets were trading higher with investors indulging in some selective buying ahead of U.S. consumer price inflation data, due later in the day. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 122.52 points or 0.16% to 76,171.08, and the CNX Nifty was down by 26.55 points or 0.12% to 23,045.25.      

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 76,459.72 and 75,388.39 respectively. There was 13 stock advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.45%, while Small cap index was down by 0.49%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.68%, Basic Materials up by 0.35%, Bankex up by 0.28%, Capital Goods up by 0.16% and Industrials up by 0.06%, while Realty down by 2.58%, Auto down by 0.84%, Consumer Disc down by 0.75%, Energy down by 0.70% and IT down by 0.65% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.64%, Tata Steel up by 1.65%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.51%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.41% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.35%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.20%, ITC down by 2.14%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.61%, Reliance Industries down by 1.53% and Indusind Bank down by 1.52% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in its latest data has showed that net direct tax collection grew 14.69 per cent to over Rs 17.78 lakh crore so far this fiscal (April 1, 2024, and February 10, 2025). Gross direct tax mop up till February 10 grew 19.06 per cent to more than Rs 21.88 lakh crore.

As per the data released by CBDT, mop up from net non-corporate taxes, which include mainly personal income tax, grew 21 per cent year-on-year to about Rs 9.48 lakh crore. Net corporate tax collection rose more than 6 per cent to over Rs 7.78 lakh crore between April 1, 2024, and February 10, 2025. Net collections from securities transaction tax (STT) jumped 65 per cent to Rs 49,201 crore so far this fiscal.

Refunds worth more than Rs 4.10 lakh crore were issued during the period, a 42.63 per cent increase against the year-ago period. In the revised estimates (RE) for the current fiscal, the government has pegged income tax collections at Rs 12.57 lakh crore, up from the budget estimate of Rs 11.87 lakh crore. The collection from STT is pegged at Rs 55,000 crore in this fiscal in RE, higher than the budget estimate (BE) of Rs 37,000 crore. Corporate tax collection target was revised lower at Rs 9.80 lakh crore, down from the budget target of Rs 10.20 lakh crore. In total, the RE pegs direct tax collections at Rs 22.37 lakh crore, higher from Rs 22.07 lakh crore in BE.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 23,144.70 and 22,798.35. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.  

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.72%, SBI Life Insurance up by 2.04%, Shriram Finance up by 1.87%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.66% and Tata Steel up by 1.64%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.20%, Eicher Motors down by 2.36%, Bharat Electronics down by 2.13%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.55% and Indusind Bank down by 1.53% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 9.13 points or 0.1% to 8,786.52, France’s CAC rose 17.17 points or 0.21% to 8,046.07 and Germany’s DAX gained 45.5 points or 0.21% to 22,083.33.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday as regional markets continued to watch the potential impact of US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff escalation. But investors were cautiously awaiting key US consumer inflation reading after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the central bank is in no rush to cut interest rates. Chinese shares gained after Chinese automaker BYD said it would integrate self-driving features across 21 vehicles using DeepSeek AI in some. Hong Kong shares surged after reports that Apple is partnering with Alibaba to introduce artificial intelligence features for iPhone users in China. Japanese shares rose as the yen remained on track for its longest losing streak in more than a month amid heightened concerns Japan may be included in the US President's tariff plan.