Bourses trim some losses in early afternoon session

In volatile trading session, Indian equity markets came off from day’s low levels in early afternoon session but continued to trade in red. As for boarder indices, BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index traded deep in red. Losses got trimmed after Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest data has showed that the output of eight key infrastructure sectors rose by 4.6 per cent in January against a 4.2 per cent expansion in the same month of last year. The key infrastructure sectors’ output had expanded by 4.8 per cent in December 2024. The production of Cement, Refinery Products, Coal, Steel, Fertilizers and Electricity recorded positive growth in January, 2025. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as Japan's manufacturing activity continued to contract in February albeit at a slower pace. The au Jibun Bank manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 49.0 in February from 48.7 in January.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72999.10, down by 199.00 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 72784.54 and 73649.72. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.37%, while Small cap index was down by 2.67%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 0.68% and IT was up by 0.39%, while Energy down by 2.26%, Oil & Gas down by 1.57%, Industrials down by 1.26%, Metal down by 1.26% and Realty was down by 1.18% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.84%, Infosys up by 1.58%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.39%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.32% and ICICI Bank up by 0.85%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 3.13%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.73%, Indusind Bank down by 2.68%, Adani Ports down by 2.15% and Asian Paints down by 1.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ministry of commerce & industry in its latest data has showed that the output of eight key infrastructure sectors rose by 4.6 per cent in January against a 4.2 per cent expansion in the same month of last year. The key infrastructure sectors’ output had expanded by 4.8 per cent in December 2024. The production of Cement, Refinery Products, Coal, Steel, Fertilizers and Electricity recorded positive growth in January, 2025. The cumulative growth rate of Eight Core Industries during April to January, 2024-25 is 4.4 percent (provisional) as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Coal production having 10.33 per cent weight increased by 4.6 per cent in January, 2025 over January, 2024. Its cumulative index increased by 6.0 per cent during April to January, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04 per cent weight increased by 8.3 per cent in January, 2025 over January, 2024. Its cumulative index increased by 3.3 per cent during April to January, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Fertilizer production having 2.63 per cent weight increased by 3.0 per cent in January, 2025 over January, 2024. Its cumulative index increased by 1.7 per cent during April to January, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.

Steel production having 17.92 per cent weight increased by 3.7 per cent in January, 2025 over January, 2024. Its cumulative index increased by 5.9 per cent during April to January, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Cement production having 5.37 per cent weight increased by 14.5 per cent in January, 2025 over January, 2024. Its cumulative index increased by 4.6 per cent during April to January, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Electricity generation having 19.85 per cent weight increased by 1.3 per cent in January, 2025 over January, 2024. Its cumulative index increased by 5.0 per cent during April to January, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.

On the other hand, Crude Oil production having 8.98 per cent weight declined by 1.1 per cent in January, 2025 over January, 2024. Its cumulative index declined by 2.0 per cent during April to January, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Natural Gas production having 6.88 per cent weight declined by 1.5 per cent in January, 2025 over January, 2024. Its cumulative index increased by 0.5per cent during April to January, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22076.75, down by 47.95 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 22004.70 and 22261.55. There were 23 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 2.77%, Eicher Motors up by 2.35%, Wipro up by 2.16%, Grasim Industries up by 2.13% and Bharat Electronics up by 2.05%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 4.17%, Reliance Industries down by 3.09%, Indusind Bank down by 2.63%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.57% and Bajaj Auto down by 2.25% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 629.97 points or 1.67% to 37,785.47, Jakarta Composite gained 253.1 points or 3.88% to 6,523.70 and Straits Times was up by 15.91 points or 0.41% to 3,911.61. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite weakened 12.06 points or 0.36% to 3,308.84, Hang Seng declined 45.48 points or 0.2% to 22,895.84 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 296.93 points or 1.3% to 22,756.25.