Nifty drops below 24,400 level; European mrkt advance

The key benchmark indices witnessed profit booking in afternoon trade, as Fed Chair Jerome Powell cautioned that persistent tariff hikes could slow growth and drive long-term inflation. Investor sentiment was also weighed down by rising Indo-Pak tensions. The Nifty slipped below the 24,400 level. Market volatility was heightened due to the weekly expiry of the Nifty F&O series today.

Metal, pharma and realty shares witnessed selling pressure while media, private bank and IT stocks advanced.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, shed 52.86 points or 0.07% to 80,693.92. The Nifty 50 index lost 52.30 points or 0.21% to 24,362.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.40% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index jumped 0.67%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,306 shares rose and 1,447 shares fell. A total of 150 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 2.40% to 18.60.

. Gainers & Losers:

Titan Company (up 1.42%), Axis bank (up 1.40%), Trent (up 1.27%), HCL Technologies (up 1.26%) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.18%) were the major Nifty gainers.

Eternal (down 3.76%), Tata Consumer Products (down 2.91%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.59%), ONGC (down 2.27%) and Eicher Motors (down 2.08%) were the major nifty losers.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) slipped 2.59%. The company said that its total production jumped 20.26% to 85,925 units in the month of April 2025, compared with 71,445 units produced in the same period last year.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Coal India added rose 0.07% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 12.04% to Rs 9,604.02 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 8,572.14 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations increased 0.31% YoY to Rs 34,156.35 crore in Q4 FY25.

Blue Star declined 2.97%. The company reported consolidated net profit stood at Rs 194 crore in Q4 FY25, recording growth of 21.47%, compared with Rs 159.71 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations increased by 20.77% to Rs 4,018.96 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2025, as against Rs 3,327.77 crore during the same period the previous year,

Dabur India declined 2.80% after the company's consolidated net profit tumbled 8.34% to Rs 312.73 crore in Q4 FY25, compared with Rs 341.22 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations was at Rs 2,830.14 crore in the fourth quarter of FY25, marginally up 0.55% year on year.

Symphony rallied 7.41% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 64.58% to Rs 79 crore on 46.99% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 488 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24.

Sonata Software advanced 1.44% after the IT company's consolidated net profit rose 2% to Rs 107.5 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Rs 105 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations fell 7.94% QoQ to Rs 2,617.20 crore during the quarter ended 31st March 2025.

United Breweries fell 1.55%. The company's consolidated net profit jumped 19.88% to Rs 97.76 crore in Q4 FY25, compared to Rs 81.55 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) rose 8.89% YoY to Rs 2,322.98 crore in the March 2025 quarter.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures were currently up by 201 points, signaling a positive opening for US stocks today.

Most of the European market avdanced on Thursday as traders digest a flurry of earnings and anticipate rate decisions from regional central banks and a potential U.K.-U.S. trade deal.

On the corporate front, earnings are coming from Maersk, Siemens Energy, Heidelberg Materials, Henkel, Infineon, Lanxess, Puma, Rheinmetall, Bosch, Norwegian Air, Swisscom, Zurich Insurance, Adecco Group, InterContinental Hotels Group and Banco Sabadell.

Monetary policy announcements are also due from Riksbank, Norges Bank and the Bank of England on Thursday, with the latter widely expected to cut interest rates.

Most Asian markets advanced on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, maintaining its benchmark overnight rate in the range of 4.25% to 4.5%, where it has remained since December. The move was widely anticipated by market participants.

In a post-meeting press conference, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned that the existing tariff increases could weigh on economic growth and contribute to higher long-term inflation if they remain in place.

Investors are closely monitoring developments ahead of the upcoming U.S.-China trade talks. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart in Switzerland later this week to discuss trade and economic issues.

U.S. equities closed higher on Wednesday, supported by gains in semiconductor stocks. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 5,631.27, the NASDAQ Composite gained 0.3% to 17,738.16, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.7% to 41,113.97.

Markets responded to reports suggesting the Trump administration may reverse restrictions imposed during the Biden administration on the export of advanced artificial intelligence chips. These restrictions were originally intended to maintain U.S. leadership in AI technology and limit China's access to such products. A rollback could benefit U.S.-based chipmakers by enabling broader overseas sales.

Shares of Nvidia rose 3.1% on the news, though the stock declined slightly in after-hours trading. U.S.-listed shares of TSMC gained 1.3% and were unchanged after hours. Intel ended the session up 1.9%.

Separately, President Donald Trump announced via social media that he will hold a press conference on Thursday to unveil a 'major trade deal' with representatives of a 'big and highly respected country.' Media reports suggest the country involved is the United Kingdom, which has been engaged in ongoing trade negotiations with the U.S.

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