Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended in a negative territory on Friday, following a sharp rally in the previous session. After a cautious start, markets slipped into red and remained lower throughout the day, due to profit booking and selling in heavyweight stocks. Traders largely ignored Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal’s statement that the negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement between India and the US are progressing well. 

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

India’s trade deficit expands to $26.42 billion in April: Traders were cautious after India's trade deficit expanded sharply to a five-month high of $26.42 billion in April, up from $21.54 billion in March, amid global trade and supply chains being upended by United States' President Donald Trump's tariff hikes on its trading partners. 

UN revises down India's GDP forecast to 6.3% for 2025: Some weakness also prevailed in markets as the United Nations (UN) has said India's economic growth forecast for 2025 has been revised downward to 6.3 per cent.

India's unemployment rate at 5.1% in April 2025: Traders took a note of the data released by government showed that unemployment rate for persons of all ages during April 2025 worked out to be 5.1 per cent in April 2025.  

Global front: European markets were trading in green, amid recent reports about a positive progress in the EU bloc's discussions with the U.S. for tariff reductions.  Asian markets ended mixed after new data showed Japan's economy contracted an annualized 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2025, marking the first contraction in four quarters.

The BSE Sensex ended at 82330.59, down by 200.15 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 82146.95 and 82514.81. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.85%, while Small cap index up by 1.18%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 1.80%, Realty up by 1.72%, Capital Goods up by 1.63%, PSU up by 1.49% and Utilities up by 1.44%, while TECK down by 1.29%, IT down by 0.71%, Healthcare down by 0.29%, Metal down by 0.20% and Bankex down by 0.15% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 1.20%, Asian Paints up by 0.97%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.89%, ITC up by 0.80% and Indusind Bank up by 0.60%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.76%, HCL Technologies down by 2.03%, SBI down by 1.90%, Infosys down by 1.50% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.79% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation in its latest press release titled ‘Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) - Monthly Bulletin April 2025’ has said that Unemployment Rate (UR) for persons of age 15 years and above was 5.1% in April, 2025. The male UR was higher at 5.2% compared to the female UR of 5.0% at the country level.

This new monthly data, gathered through the Current Weekly Status (CWS) metric of the Periodic Labour Force Survey, aims to offer quicker and more detailed insights into India's job market. Previously, the labour force survey was only published on a quarterly and annual basis.

According to the report, unemployment among ages 15-29, was recorded at 13.8% nationwide. Urban areas reported an unemployment rate of 17.2%, while rural areas stood at 12.3%. Further, the unemployment rate for women aged 15-29 was 14.4% nationwide, with a rate of 23.7% in urban areas and 10.7% in rural areas.

The CNX Nifty ended at 25019.80, down by 42.30 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 24953.05 and 25070.00. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 3.85%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.88%, Tata Consumer Products up by 1.81%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.39% and Eternal up by 1.31%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.85%, HCL Technologies down by 2.13%, SBI down by 1.94%, JSW Steel down by 1.59% and Infosys down by 1.46% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; Germany’s DAX gained 175.46 points or 0.74% to 23,871.05, France’s CAC rose 54.06 points or 0.69% to 7,907.53 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 48.22 points or 0.56% to 8,681.97.

Asian markets ended mixed on Friday as investors awaited clarity on how the global economy would be impacted by US tariffs on its trading partners. Meanwhile, downside surprises on US economic data this week sparked speculation that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates twice this year to prevent a recession. Reports showed that the US producer price index unexpectedly fell by 0.5% in April and missed the 0.2% increase forecast, while US retail sales growth slowed in April as consumers pulled back on spending amid tariff concerns. Chinese and Hong Kong shares dropped as market sentiment came under pressure from renewed US-China tech tensions and a disappointing earnings report from Alibaba. Japanese shares ended flat after data showed Japan's economy contracted an annualized 0.7% in the first quarter of 2025, marking the first contraction in four quarters.