Sensex, Nifty trade with major cuts; broader mkt underperforms; VIX rallies 7.64%

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with significant losses in early afternoon trade, driven by worries over disappointing corporate earnings, uncertainty around U.S. trade policy, and persistent foreign outflows. The Nifty tanked below the 22,950 mark. Pharma shares extended losses for the two consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 499.19 points or 0.66% to 75,692.19. The Nifty 50 index declined 160.40 points or 0.69% to 22,934.70.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 2.28%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 3.29%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 522 shares rose and 3,423 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's forex reserves dropped by $1.88 billion to $623.983 billion in the week ended January 17, the RBI said on Friday.

The forex reserves had increased to an all-time high of $704.885 billion in end-September.

For the week ended January 17, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $2.878 billion to $533.133 billion, the data released on Friday showed.

Gold reserves increased by $1.063 million to $68.947 billion during the week. The special drawing rights (SDRs) were up by $01 million to $17.782 billion, the RBI said.

India's reserve position with the IMF was down by $74 million at $4.122 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 7.64% to 18.03. The Nifty 30 January 2025 futures were trading at 22,916.70, at a discount of 18 points as compared with the spot at 22,934.70.

The Nifty option chain for the 30 January 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 121.9 lakh contracts at the 24,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 100 lakh contracts was seen at 22,000 strike

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index fell 2.49% to 21,327.50. The index declined 4.54% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Laurus Labs (down 12.34%), Gland Pharma (down 7.03%), Natco Pharma (down 5.36%), Granules India (down 4.6%) and Ajanta Pharma (down 4.45%), Mankind Pharma (down 4.35%), Ipca Laboratories (down 3.71%), Biocon (down 3.41%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 3.29%) and Divis Laboratories (down 2.8%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

RPG Life Sciences surged 9.86% after the pharmaceutical company's net profit jumped 32.01% to Rs 34.93 crore on 12.36% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 172.71 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.

Trident slumped 4.96% after its consolidated net profit slipped 26.73% to Rs 79.70 crore on 9.17% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 1,667.09 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.

Alkyl Amines Chemicals slipped 2.14% after the company's consolidated net profit declined 7.79% to Rs 43.76 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 47.46 crore posted in Q2 FY25. Revenue from operations slipped 10.53% to Rs 371.20 crore in the December 2024 quarter as against Rs 414.89 crore reported in the preceding quarter of the same year.

Central Depository Services (India) (CDSL) tumbled 9.03% after the company's consolidated net profit declined 19.85% to Rs 129.80 crore on 13.7% fall in revenue from operations to Rs 278.10 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q2 FY25.

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