Bulls hold the line as geopolitical storm brews; Nifty above 24,400

The headline equity benchmarks ended with marginal gains on Wednesday as investors treaded cautiously amid geopolitical tensions and awaited cues from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Sentiment was weighed by news of Operation Sindoor ' a precision strike by Indian forces on terror sites in Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack. The Nifty rebounded from early lows of 24,220 to close above the 24,400 mark. Buying interest was seen in auto, consumer durables, and realty stocks, while FMCG and pharma shares slipped into the red.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 105.71 points or 0.13% to 80,746.78. The Nifty 50 index added 34.80 points or 0.14% to 24,414.40.

Tata Motors (up 5.05%), Bajaj Finance (up 2.14%) and HDFC Bank (up 0.73%) supported the indices.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 1.36% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 1.16%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2206 shares rose and 1683 shares fell. A total of 157 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.34% to 19.06.

The Indian Armed Forces initiated Operation Sindoor in the early hours of Wednesday, striking nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The operation is a direct response to the recent Pahalgam terror attack that killed 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen. Officials emphasized that the strikes were focused, restrained, and non-escalatory, deliberately avoiding Pakistani military facilities. A detailed briefing is expected later today.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 1.37% to 6.437 as compared with previous close 6.448.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 84.8000, compared with its close of 84.3550 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2025 settlement shed 0.29% to Rs 97,212.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.20% to 99.47.

The United States 10-year bond yield added 1.37% to 6.437.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for July 2025 settlement added 60 cents or 0.37% to $62.52 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures were currently up by 312 points, signaling a positive opening for US stocks today.

European shares declined on Wednesday as traders monitoring regional corporate earnings reports and awaiting the US Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy announcement.

Most Asian markets ended higher, following a series of stimulus announcements from China's central bank and financial regulators. In an effort to support economic growth amid ongoing trade concerns, China will reduced key interest rates and adjusted banking reserve requirements.

The People's Bank of China will cut the seven-day reverse repurchase rate by 10 basis points to 1.4%, a move expected to lower the loan prime rate by a similar margin. Additionally, the central bank will reduce the reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points, a step projected to inject approximately $138.6 billion into the financial system.

Global investors are also awaiting a key policy announcement from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The Fed is widely expected to maintain interest rates at current levels when its two-day meeting concludes later today. While no major policy shifts are anticipated, markets are closely monitoring for signals regarding the Fed's outlook amid persistent economic uncertainty and the impact of U.S. trade policy.

On Wall Street, major indices closed lower on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.95%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.77%, and the NASDAQ Composite fell by 0.87%.

Among individual stocks, Ford Motor Company gained over 2% despite lowering its full-year guidance. The company cited uncertainty related to U.S. trade policy as a significant factor affecting its outlook.

Palantir Technologies shares declined approximately 12% after the company reported quarterly earnings that fell short of elevated market expectations, although it raised its annual revenue guidance.

Tesla shares also dropped more than 1% following a sharp decline in sales volume in Germany for April. Meanwhile, new car registrations in the United Kingdom fell by 62% year-on-year, marking the lowest level in more than two years.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Gokaldas Exports (up 11.74%), KPR Mill (up 8.10%), Welspun Living (up 11.98%), Indo Count Industries (up 11.26%), Vardhman Textiles (up 4.66%) and Arvind (up 2.69%) surged after India and the United Kingdom officially concluded negotiations on a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA), aimed at eliminating trade barriers and boosting bilateral commerce. At the core of this investor enthusiasm is the scrapping of the 8'12% UK import duty on textiles and garments under the FTA'putting Indian exporters on par with Bangladesh and giving them a 12% tariff advantage over China. This is expected to enhance India's competitiveness in the UK market, a key destination for apparel and textile exports.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) rallied 6.81% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 361.9% to Rs 494.42 crore in Q4 FY25 compared with Rs 107.04 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 74.94% YoY to Rs 846.64 core during the quarter ended 31st March 2025.

Nazara Technologies rose 5.30% after its subsidiary, Absolute Sports, signed definitive agreements to acquire TJRWrestling.net and ITRWrestling.com. The $1.25 million (~Rs 10.5 crore) all-cash deal will be executed through the company's U.S. arm, Sportskeeda Inc., and is expected to close within 45 days. The assets are being acquired from Titan Insider Digital.

Aarti Drugs hit an upper circuit of 20% after the pharmaceutical company's consolidated net profit jumped 32.76% to Rs 62.8 crore in Q4 FY25, compared with Rs 47.3 crore recorded in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations rose 9% to Rs 678.6 crore in the fourth quarter of FY25, compared with Rs 621.1 crore posted same period a year ago.

Angel One advanced 3.05% after the broker announced that its client base surged 37% to 31.48 million in April 2025, compared with 22.99 million in April 2024.

Cartrade Tech slipped 2.61%. The company reported an 84.7% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 46.10 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Rs 24.96 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 16.69% YoY to Rs 169.51 crore in Q4 FY25.

MRF rallied 4.23% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 32.99% to Rs 492.74 crore on an 11.43% rise in net sales to Rs 7,074.82 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24.

KEI Industries rallied 3.18% after the company's consolidated net profit spiked 34.45% to Rs 226.55 crore on 25.10% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 2,914.8 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24.

Mahanagar Gas advanced 2.5% after the company's standalone net profit rose 11.90% to Rs 252.19 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 225.37 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations gained 5.70% to Rs 2,039 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q3 FY25.

Radico Khaitan declined 3.4%. The company reported a 59.76% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 90.71 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Rs 56.78 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) jumped 20.9% YoY to Rs 1,304.08 crore during the quarter ended 31st March 2025.

Godrej Consumer Products shed 0.45%. The company has reported 65% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 432.10 crore on a 6.3% rise in net sales to Rs 3,577.81 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Q4 FY24.

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