The key equity benchmarks traded with major losses in early trade due to ongoing FII selling and concerns over the tariffs situation. The Nifty dropped below 22,350 mark. All the sectoral indices on the NSE were traded in red with IT, auto and metals shares declining the most.
At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 751.63 points or 1% to 73,865. The Nifty 50 index dropped 224.55 points or 1% to 22,320.50.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 1.13% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.96%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 606 shares rose and 2,253 shares fell. A total of 183 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 556.56 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,727.11 crore in the Indian equity market on 27 February 2025, provisional data showed.
SEBI Leadership Change:
Tuhin Kanta Pandey has been appointed as the 11th chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for a three-year term. The current Finance Secretary will replace Madhabi Puri Buch, who will complete her tenure as SEBI's first woman chairperson on Friday, February 28, 2025.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.65% to 6.820 as compared with the previous close of 6.818.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 87,3750, compared with its close of 87.1800 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 4 April 2025 settlement were fell 0.39% to Rs 84,874.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.08% to 107.38.
The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.75% to 4.281.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2025 settlement shed 30 cents or 0.41% to $73.74 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Sanofi India jumped 3.79% after the company’s standalone net profit jumped 31% Rs 91.3 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Rs 69.7 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue increased 9.7% YoY to Rs 514.9 crore in Q4 FY25.
Schaeffler India added 3.25% after the company’s consolidated net profit increased 13.2% YoY to Rs 237.3 crore in Q4 FY25. Revenue jumped 14% YoY to Rs 2,136 crore in Q4 FY25.
KSB rallied 6.59% after the company’s reported 33.2% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 73.1 crore on 20.5% jump in revenue to Rs 726.4 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24.
Global Market:
Asian stocks fell on Friday after US President Donald Trump announced an additional 10% tax on Chinese imports, compounding the 10% tariff imposed earlier this month.
Trump also reaffirmed plans to implement a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, set to take effect on March 4.
In Japan, factory output dipped 1.1% in January from the previous month, while retail sales climbed 3.9% year-over-year. Meanwhile, core consumer prices in Tokyo rose 2.2% in February.
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Thursday, dragged down by a selloff in chip stocks and signs of a cooling economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.45% to 43,239.50, while the S&P 500 declined 1.59% to end at 5,861.57. The Nasdaq closed 2.78% lower at 18,544.42.
Nvidia shares plunged 8.5% to $120.15, despite strong Q4 earnings that beat expectations. Investors remain wary of shrinking profit margins and rising costs tied to its Blackwell AI chip rollout.
The US economy expanded at a 2.3% annualized rate in Q4 2024, unchanged from initial estimates but slower than Q3's 3.1% growth. For the full year, GDP grew 2.8%, slightly below 2023's 2.9%.
Meanwhile, jobless claims surged unexpectedly, with 242,000 new applications filed last week--up 22,000 from the previous period.
On a brighter note, new orders for US-manufactured capital goods jumped 0.8% in January, following a downwardly revised 0.2% rise in December.