Markets pare gains to trade flat in late trade

Indian equity markets pared all of their gains to trade flat in late trade as traders opted to book profits ahead of meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. The market participant will keenly be observing PM Modi’s visit to USA, which expected to address multiple bilateral matters. Earlier, markets were traded with traction following the better-than-expected decline in retail inflation to a five-month low of 4.31 percent in January, driven by drop in food inflation, strengthened market participant’s expectations of RBI’s possible early rate-cut in April. Further, optimism raised in domestic markets in early deals as the crude oil prices continued to decline with Brent crude slipping to $74.66 per barrel and rupee trading at Rs 86.81 against dollar due to RBI’s intervention.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76157.88, down by 13.20 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 76013.43 and 76764.53. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green and red; the BSE Mid cap index up by 0.17%, while Small cap index was down by 0.34%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.24%, Realty up by 0.91%, Healthcare up by 0.73%, Power up by 0.52% , Capital Goods up by 0.36%, while, IT down by 0.74%, FMCG down by 0.49%, TECK down by 0.48%, Oil & Gas down by 0.42% ,Auto down by 0.41% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharmaceutical Industries up by 3.28%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.12%, Tata Steel up by 2.84%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.96% and Zomato up by 1.51%. On the flip side, Adani Ports down by 1.15%, Infosys down by 0.88%, SBI down by 0.74%, HDFC Bank down by 0.71% and TCS down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has extended the due date for implementation of revised Schedule M -- good manufacturing practices provision, for small and medium pharmaceutical firms with turnover of Rs 250 crore or less, till December 31, 2025. It has given three months from February 11, 2025, to the small and medium pharmaceutical firms to submit their plan for upgradation to the central license approving authority in order to be eligible to qualify for Schedule M deadline extension. 

The ministry said on December 28, 2023, the Centre notified revised 'Schedule M' requirements wherein ‘good manufacturing practices’ was upgraded to ‘good manufacturing practices and requirements of plan and equipment for pharmaceutical products’. Under this, manufacturers were divided into two groups with the first category of large manufacturers having turnover more than Rs 250 crore. A timeline of six months was given to such manufacturers for compliance and the revised Schedule M requirements have been implemented for these manufacturers from June 28, 2024. 

For small and medium manufacturers with turnover less than or equal to Rs 250 crore, a timeline of 12 months was given for compliance. Small and medium manufacturers had represented for extension of timeline to enable improvement in infrastructure, training of personnel and arranging financial resources. It said the revised Schedule M requirements are a positive step towards ensuring the quality and safety of pharmaceutical products being manufactured in India. The new regulations would enable the pharma companies to not only strengthen their domestic position but also become more competitive globally.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23056.60, up by 11.35 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 22992.20 and 23235.50. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharmaceutical Industries up by 3.29%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.04%, Tata Steel up by 2.81%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.99% and Cipla up by 1.95%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 4.56%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.46%, Adani Ports down by 1.14%, Infosys down by 1.11% and ONGC down by 1.10% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 497.77 points or 1.26% to 39,461.47, KOSPI increased 34.78 points or 1.35% to 2,583.17 and Taiwan Weighted added 109.66 points or 0.47% to 23,399.41, while Hang Seng declined 43.55 points or 0.2% to 21,814.37, Jakarta Composite plunged 29.19 points or 0.44% to 6,616.59, Straits Times fell 4.18 points or 0.11% to 3,870.44 and Shanghai Composite weakened 13.91 points or 0.42% to 3,332.48.

European markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC rose 60.7 points or 0.75% to 8,102.89, Germany’s DAX gained 180.38 points or 0.81% to 22,328.41, while UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 60.5 points or 0.69% to 8,746.94.