The headline equity benchmarks traded with minor gains in early afternoon trade, supported by RBI’s move to ease liquidity norms. Investor sentiment remained positive, aided by continued foreign institutional inflows. The Nifty traded above the 24,150 mark. FMCG shares advanced after declining for the previous trading session.
At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex added 238.85 points or 0.30% to 79,638.90. The Nifty 50 index rose 70.60 points or 0.28% to 24,192.65.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 0.94% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.92%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,597 shares rose and 1,162 shares fell. A total of 177 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
In a relief to banks, the Reserve Bank of India has finalized its Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) guidelines, reducing the proposed additional run-off factor on internet and mobile banking-enabled retail deposits to 2.5%, effective 1 April 2026. Under the new norms, stable and less stable retail deposits will now attract run-off factors of 7.5% and 12.5%, respectively. The RBI also lowered the run-off rate on wholesale funding from non-financial entities like trusts and LLPs to 40% from 100%, aiming to better reflect funding stability. These changes are expected to improve banks' LCR by about 6% while ensuring continued compliance with minimum regulatory
The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 3.8% (provisional) in March 2025, as compared to 3.4% in February 2025. The production of cement, fertilizers, steel, electricity, coal, and refinery products recorded positive growth in March 2025. India’s core sector registered a moderate growth of 4.4% in FY25, easing from the stronger 7.6% expansion seen in FY24.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 1.59% to 15.27. The Nifty 24 April 2025 futures were trading at 24,187.60, at a discount of 5.05 points as compared with the spot at 24,192.65.
The Nifty option chain for the 24 April 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 185.7 lakh contracts at the 25,500 strike price. A maximum put OI of 99.7 lakh contracts was seen at 23,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty FMCG index added 1.35% to 56,889.55. The index slipped 0.96% in the previous trading session.
Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 4.6%), Emami (up 2.98%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 2.51%), Marico (up 2.22%), Tata Consumer Products (up 1.83%), Radico Khaitan (up 1.75%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.38%), United Spirits (up 1.36%), Dabur India (up 1.19%), and Varun Beverages (up 0.96%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Indag Rubber slipped 3.55% after the company reported a 66.45% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 1.07 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 3.19 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations fell 10.19% YoY to Rs 55.07 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.
Aditya Birla Money was locked in a lower circuit of 2% after the company reported a 43.31% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 9.33 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 16.46 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Total income fell by 13.76% year on year (YoY) to Rs 99.89 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.
Lotus Chocolate Company was locked in a lower circuit of 5% after the company’s standalone net profit tumbled 64.5% to Rs 1.42 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 4 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations surged 139.21% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 157.45 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.
H.G. Infra Engineering advanced 1.25% after the company announced that it had been declared a qualified bidder for a major battery energy storage project in Gujarat.