| The key domestic indices traded with significant losses in the afternoon trade, weighed down by concerns over potential U.S. retaliatory tariffs and continued foreign selling, which dampened risk sentiment. The Nifty hovered below the 22,800 level. Media shares declined after rising for two consecutive trading sessions.
At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 511.84 points or 0.67% to 75,225.75. The Nifty 50 index declined 141.35 points or 0.63% to 22,767.95.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 1.27% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.57%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,620 shares rose and 2,246 shares fell. A total of 139 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
India's private sector activity witnessed its fastest expansion since August 2024, according to the HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index. The index rose to 60.6 in February, up from 57.7 in January, signaling a significant acceleration in combined manufacturing and services output.
However, while overall private sector activity surged, growth in the manufacturing sector moderated slightly. The HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI slipped to 57.1 in February from 57.7 in January. Despite the decline, the manufacturing PMI remained above its long-run average of 54.1.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Media index declined 1.28% to 1,490.80. The index gained 1.23% in the past two consecutive trading sessions.
Network 18 Media & Investments (down 3.29%), Dish TV India (down 2.7%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 2.6%), Tips Music (down 1.63%), Sun TV Network (down 1.31%), Den Networks (down 0.83%), Saregama India (down 0.62%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 0.56%), Nazara Technologies (down 0.31%) and PVR Inox (down 0%) declined.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.82% to 6.825 as compared with the previous close of 6.812.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.7225, compared with its close of 86.6400 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 4 April 2025 settlement were down 0.35% to Rs 85,719.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.21% to 106.57.
The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.19% to 4.480.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2025 settlement shed 45 cents or 0.59% to $76.03 a barrel. |