| The equity barometers ended with major gains on Friday, rising for the fourth consecutive session as anticipation of favorable moves in the upcoming Union Budget, which have also bolstered market sentiment. The Nifty closed above the 23,500 level.
All the sectoral indices on the NSE were ended in the green, with consumer durables, FMCG and realty shares gaining the most.
As per provisional closing, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 740.76 points or 0.97% to 77,500.57. The Nifty 50 index added 258.90 points or 1.11% to 23,508.40. In the past four consecutive sessions, the Sensex and Nifty rallied by 2.83% and 2.98% respectively.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 1.76% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.83%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,719 shares rose and 1,203 shares fell. A total of 125 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 6.56% to 16.25.
Economy:
India is expected to record GDP growth of 6.3-6.8 per cent in the financial year 2025-26 on the back of strong fundamentals, calibrated fiscal consolidation and stable private consumption, said the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament on Friday.
India’s economic prospects for FY26 are balanced going ahead, the economic survey stated. Headwinds to growth include elevated geopolitical and trade uncertainties and possible commodity price shocks. Overall, India will need to improve its global competitiveness through grassroots-level structural reforms and deregulation to reinforce its medium-term growth potential.
India needs a continued step-up of infrastructure investment over the next two decades to sustain a high rate of growth, states the Economic Survey 2024-25, presented by Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament today.The Economic Survey states that building infrastructure – physical, digital and social - has been a central focus area for the Government in the last five years.
It states that public capital alone cannot meet the demands of upgrading the country’s infrastructure commensurate with the requirements of Viksit Bharat@2047. We need to ensure increasing private participation in infrastructure by improving their capacity to conceptualize projects and their confidence in risk and revenue-sharing mechanisms, contract management, conflict resolution, and project closure.
IPO Update:
The initial public offer (IPO) of Dr. Agarwals Health Care received bids for 8,20,92,325 shares as against 5,35,26,172 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:54 IST on 31 January 2025. The issue was subscribed to 1.53 times.
The issue opened for bidding on 29 January 2025 and it will close on 31 January 2025. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 382 and Rs 402 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 35 equity shares and in multiples thereof.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Consumer Durables Index rallied 2.44% to 37,591.10. The index slipped 1.84% in the past trading sessions.
Kalyan Jewellers India (up 14.17%), Titan Company (up 3.65%), Amber Enterprises India (up 2.78%), Bata India (up 2.52%) and Century Plyboards (India) (up 2.28%), Dixon Technologies (India) (up 2.22%), Cera Sanitaryware (up 1.52%), Havells India (up 1.44%), Blue Star (up 1.09%) and Rajesh Exports (up 0.76%) advanced.
On the other hand, Whirlpool of India (down 9.6%), Voltas (down 0.67%) and Kajaria Ceramics (down 0.48%) edged lower.
Kalyan Jewellers India surged 14.17% after the company’s consolidated net profit rallied 21.15% to Rs 218.82 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 180.61 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 39.51% YoY to Rs 7,287 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Nestle India gained 4.25% after the FMCG major's standalone net profit rose 6.18% to Rs 696.13 crore on 3.9% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 4,779.73 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24. Total sales stood at Rs 4,762.13 crore in the December 2024 quarter, up 3.89% from Rs 4,583.63 crore recorded in the same period a year ago.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) gained 4.33% after the company reported a 13.96% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,358.84 crore in Q3 FY25 compared with Rs 2,947.36 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 17.31% YoY to Rs 64,667.78 crore in Q3 FY25
Vedanta added 2.11% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 70.01% to Rs 4,876 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 2,868 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 10.18% to Rs 38,526 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 34,968 crore in Q3 FY24.
Bank of Baroda declined 4.07%. The bank’s standalone net profit increased 5.6% to Rs 4,837.3 crore in Q3 FY25, compared with Rs 4,579.3 crore in Q3 FY24. Total income jumped 10.38% YoY to Rs 34,676.47 crore in Q3 FY25.
UPL rallied 6.28% after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 828 crore in Q3 FY25, compared with net loss of Rs 1,217 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations rose 10% YoY to Rs 10,907 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.
Biocon advanced 1.51%. The company’s consolidated net profit tumbled 96.2% to Rs 25.1 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 660 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations fell 3.35% YoY to Rs 3,821.4 crore during the quarter.
Protean eGov declined 3.55% after the company’s consolidated net profit rose 4% while revenue from operations shed 1% in Q3 FY25. Revenue from tax services grew by 3% YoY, primarily driven by an increase in market share, which rose from 52.1% in Q3 FY24 to 59.2% in Q3 FY25
Marico shed 0.07%. The company reported a 4.17% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 399 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 383 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 15% YoY to Rs 2,794 crore in Q3 FY25
Tata Consumer Products added 5.89%. The company’s consolidated net profit was flat at Rs 278.88 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 278.87 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 16.82% year on year (YoY) to Rs 4,443.56 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.
Parag Milk Foods added 3.14% after the company reported a 6% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 36 crore on a 10% increase in revenue to Rs 885 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Q3 FY24.
Astral added 2.68% after its standalone net profit jumped 4.82% to Rs 125.90 crore on a 2.22% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 1,270.5 in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.
Global Markets:
The US Dow Jones index futures were currently up 70 pts, signaling a positive opening for US stocks today.
European shares advanced on Friday following the European Central Bank's decision to implement a quarter-point interest rate cut on Thursday, lowering its main rate to 2.75%.
Most Asian stocks advanced, mirroring the Wall Street rally, as investors assessed the earnings of major tech companies.
The Tokyo consumer price index, excluding fresh food, rose 2.5% year on year in January, compared with 2.4% in the previous month. Japan’s unemployment rate for December fell to 2.4% from 2.5% in the previous month.
Additionally, Japan’s retail sales for December climbed 3.7% from the previous year, while its industrial output figures for December grew at 0.3%, month on month, from the 2.2% drop in the month before.
Hong Kong and Chinese markets remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Overnight, U.S. benchmark indexes ended with decent gains as investors assessed Apple's earnings report and other well-known companies earnings.
The US economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.3 percent in Q4 2024, down from 3.1 percent in Q3. Notably, US initial jobless claims fell by 16,000 to 207,000 for the week ending January 25th as compared with 223,000 in 18th Jan 2025.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.38% to close at 44,882.13, the S&P 500 rose 0.53% to end at 6,071.17, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.25% to end at 19,681.75. |