Post Session: Quick Review

In volatile trading session, Indian equity benchmarks ended flat, primarily due to the monthly F&O expiry. After making a positive start, soon indices turned volatile with minor fluctuations observed throughout the trading session, as ongoing concerns about potential US tariffs and continued FIIs selling weighed on market sentiments. Traders took a note of Moody's Ratings’ statement that India has a lower overall exposure to the US relative to others in the APAC region, although certain sectors such as food, textiles and pharmaceutical products face risks.

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

Ongoing selling pressure from FIIs: Sentiments were downbeat after the Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling on fifth day in a row, as they sold equities worth Rs 3529 crore on February 25.

Uncertainty over Trump's trade policies: Indices were struggling for direction due to prevailing uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies.

EPFO adds 16.05 lakh new members in December: Traders took note of report that monthly payroll data released by the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has showed that the EPFO has added 16.05 lakh net new members in December 2024, which is 9.69 per cent higher compared to November 2024. 

Global front: Most of the European markets were trading in red, after U.S. President Donald Trump accused the European Union of cheating the United States, sparking tensions and threats of new tariffs. Asian markets ended mixed, as Malaysia's producer prices increased for the second straight month in January. The figures from the Department of Statistics showed that producer prices climbed 0.8 percent year-on-year in January, reversing a 0.5 percent rise in December. The expected increase was 0.7 percent.

The BSE Sensex ended at 74612.43, up by 10.31 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 74520.78 and 74834.09. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.97%, while Small cap index down by 2.09%. (Provisional)

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.70% and Telecom up by 0.11%, while Industrials down by 2.47%, Realty down by 2.06%, Power down by 1.80%, Capital Goods down by 1.58% and Auto down by 1.57% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.29%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.09%, Sun Pharma up by 1.63%, Zomato up by 1.48% and Tata Steel up by 1.20%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 4.65%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.13%, Tata Motors down by 2.12%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.43% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.28% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that ship-building opportunities in the country are high and the government is looking at ways to promote the sector. He also urged the industry to suggest ways to make flagging of vessels in India attractive. He noted that India has the advantage to allow cabotage of vessels and promote imports coming in Indian flagged vessels permitted within the WTO rules, but does not have enough flagged vessels to take advantage of the regulations. He urged the participants to suggest ways at the state and central levels to help companies come in flagged vessels in India. 

Goyal further stated that India has doubled its port capacity in the last decade and has significantly brought down the turnaround time of ships, and added that the work remains towards strengthening the logistics ecosystem. Noting that as much as 95 per cent of India's trade volume goes through ports and the 7,500 km coastline acts as a major enabler for the trade, he stressed the immense potential the sector has to grow over the next few years. He also stressed the need for the logistics system to be more conducive to handling the current traffic at ports. 

The minister said Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) has been introduced to aid logistics, but more ideas are needed to provide the whole ecosystem-linked logistics at ports. He further called for a hybrid mode of training to meet the growing demand of seafarers in the sector. He said container ownership, container manufacturing, faster speed of exports, and ease of congestion are the areas that need improvement. He noted that India stands out as an oasis amidst the global trade turmoil, and hoping the country would continue to grow and contribute towards the greater good of the world. He pointed out the maritime trade and logistics sector as the backbone of the Viksit Bharat mission. 

The CNX Nifty ended at 22545.05, down by 2.50 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 22508.40 and 22613.30. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 5.18%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.69%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.55%, Sun Pharma up by 2.10% and Hindalco up by 2.02%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 4.71%, Trent down by 3.12%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.20%, Tata Motors down by 2.10% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.85% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in red; Germany’s DAX lost 200.87 points or 0.89% to 22,593.24 and France’s CAC fell 23.1 points or 0.28% to 8,120.82, while UK’s FTSE 100 increased 10.86 points or 0.12% to 8,742.32.

Asian markets ended mostly down on Thursday tracking mixed cues from Wall Street overnight after US President Donald Trump floated a 25% reciprocal tariff on European cars and other goods and signaled another month-long extension for looming levies on Canada and Mexico. Hong Kong shares declined as a tech-driven rally took a breather following Nvidia's upbeat earnings forecast and amid concerns over US tariffs on semiconductor chips and key exports. However, Japanese shares rose as a weaker yen helped lift export-related shares. Chinese shares gained ahead of the National People's Congress next week.