Sensex advance 127 pts, Nifty above 24,600; India VIX tanks 4.95%

The headline equity indices traded with minor gains in the afternoon trade, supported by softer-than-expected WPI, retail, and U.S. inflation data. Metal, media and IT shares advanced while bank, private bank and FMCG shares declined. The Nifty traded above the 24,650 mark.

At 13:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 126.79 points or 0.16% to 81,265.89. The Nifty 50 index jumped 67.70 points or 0.28% to 24,646.05.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.97% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.41%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,687 shares rose and 1,163 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tanked 4.95% to 17.30.

Gainers & Losers:

Tata Steel (up 3.83%), Bharat Electronics (up 2.65%), Hindalco Industries (up 2.09%), Shriram Finance (up 1.85%) and Eternal (up 1.80%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

Tata Motors (down 2.01%), Asian Paints (down 1.71%), Cipla (down 1.52%), Power Grid Corporation of India (down 1.12%) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.09%) were the major Nifty50 Losers.

Tata Motors declined 2.01% after the consolidated net profit from continuing operations declined 51.74% to Rs 8,470 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Rs 17,552 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 0.39% YoY to Rs 1,19,503 crore in Q4 FY25.

Economy:

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) eased to 0.85% in April 2025 as compared with 2.05% in March 2025. Positive rate of inflation in April, 2025 is primarily due to increase in prices of manufacture of food products, other manufacturing, chemicals and chemical products, manufacture of other transport equipment, manufacture of machinery and equipment, etc.

India's retail inflation in April fell to 3.16% from 3.34% in March, showed official data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Tuesday. Effectively, headline inflation declined 18 basis points in April 2025 compared to March 2025. According to the government, it is the lowest year-on-year inflation since July 2019. The significant decline in headline inflation and food inflation during the month of April 2025 is mainly attributed to the decline in inflation of vegetables, pulses & products, fruits, meat and fish, personal care and effects and cereals and products.

Monsoon Onset:

The southwest monsoon is progressing as anticipated, having reached the Andaman Sea and parts of the southern Bay of Bengal. This marks the initial entry point for the southwest monsoon, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Thiruvananthapuram. The IMD had forecast the onset of the monsoon for May 13, and it arrived on schedule. Over the next four to five days, it is expected to advance northward, covering additional areas of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal and extending into the Andaman Islands and most parts of the Andaman Sea.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bharti Airtel rose 0.53%. The telecom major's consolidated net profit soared 432.04% to Rs 11,021.8 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 2,071.6 crore reported in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 27.33% YoY to Rs 47,876.2 crore in Q4 FY25.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) rallied 17.61% after the company's standalone net profit surged 118.87% to Rs 244.24 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Rs 111.59 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 61.66% YoY to Rs 1642.03 crore during the quarter ended 31st March 2025.

ITD Cementation India surged 8.69% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 26.9% to Rs 113.55 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Rs 89.51 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 9.8% YoY to Rs 2,479.72 crore in the quarter ended 31st March 2025.

Tata Elxsi rose 1.85% after the company announced a strategic collaboration with Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) to support engineering and software development for Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs).

VIP Industries declined 3.46% after the company's consolidated net loss widened to Rs 27.36 crore in Q4 FY25 as against a net loss of Rs 23.88 crore reported in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations declined 4.28% year on year (YoY) to Rs 494.21 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.

Sterling Tools jumped 4.35% after the company announced the signing of a technology licensing agreement with UK-based Advanced Electric Machines (AEM) to manufacture magnet-free motors in India.

VST Tillers Tractors fell 0.89%. The company's consolidated net profit slipped 29.72% to Rs 24.42 crore in Q4 FY25, compared with Rs 34.75 crore reported in Q4 FY24. However, revenue from operations jumped 10.23% year on year to Rs 301.43 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.

Global Markets:

European stocks opened lower as investors are looking ahead to earnings updates from Imperial Brands, Experian, Compass Group, Telefonica and EON.

Germany's annual harmonized inflation rate stood at 2.2% in April, data from the country's Federal Statistical Office showed on Wednesday.

Asian shares traded mixed on Wednesday following a rebound in key Wall Street indices, driven by easing U.S.-China trade tensions and lower-than-expected inflation data.

Unemployment in South Korea dropped to 2.9% in April from the previous month, marking its fourth straight month of decline and its lowest point since November 2024. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.7% in April, down from 2.9% in March.

Data from the country's national statistics site revealed that the economically active population grew to 29.74 million people, up 0.6% year on year.

South Korea's labor force participation rate stood at 65.1% in April, up 0.1 percentage points year on year.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 gained 0.7%, and the NASDAQ Composite advanced 1.6%. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.6%.

The U.S. headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.3% year-on-year in April, with a monthly increase of 0.2%. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, also rose 0.2% month-on-month, indicating contained inflationary pressures.

The U.S. and China agreed to temporarily reduce tariffs for 90 days. The U.S. will lower its tariff on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China will reduce its retaliatory tariff from 125% to 10%. Additionally, the U.S. will reduce tariffs on lower-value imports from China.

NVIDIA Corporation shares rose 5.6% after CEO Jensen Huang announced the sale of over 18,000 advanced AI chips to Humain, an artificial intelligence startup backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The chips will support the development of a 500-megawatt data center in the region. The development may influence investor sentiment towards Asian semiconductor stocks.

Boeing Co. shares gained more than 2% after reports indicated that China has lifted a month-long ban on local airlines accepting deliveries of its aircraft.

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