Domestic equity benchmarks ended higher today, marking the sixth straight session of gains. This resilience came despite negative global cues stemming from tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and the Federal Reserve.
Investor sentiment was supported by the Reserve Bank of India’s relaxation of liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) guidelines, which is expected to enhance credit availability and support growth in the banking and financial sectors.
Foreign institutional investors continued their buying streak for the fourth consecutive day, aided by a weakening U.S. dollar and attractive domestic valuations. On the economic front, easing inflation and growing expectations of further rate cuts by the RBI are seen as likely catalysts for increased consumption and lower borrowing costs, which may contribute positively to corporate earnings in FY26.
The Nifty 50 ended above the 24,160 mark, closing at 24,167.25—up 41.70 points or 0.17%. The S&P BSE Sensex gained 187.09 points or 0.24% to settle at 79,595.59. Over the six trading sessions, the Sensex and Nifty have surged 7.78% and 7.89%, respectively.
Sector-wise, realty, FMCG, and consumer durables witnessed strong buying interest, while IT and energy stocks underperformed.
Leading gainers included ITC (+2.58%), Mahindra & Mahindra (+1.89%), HDFC Bank (+1.78%), and ICICI Bank (+0.47%), all contributing to the indices' upward move.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.81% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.82%, both outperforming the benchmark indices.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,477 shares rose and 1,504 shares fell. A total of 149 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.30% to 15.52.
Economy:
The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 3.8% (provisional) in March 2025, as against 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.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper grew 1.69% to 6.427, compared with the previous close of 6.417.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.1925 compared with its close of 85.1575 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2025 settlement rose 1.15% to Rs 98,400. Gold prices touched the Rs 1 lakh mark in intraday trade today.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.06% to 98.42.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.41% to 4.423.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2025 settlement declined 94 cents or 1.42% to $67.20 a barrel.
Global Markets:
Dow Jones futures jumped 332 points, signaling a bounce-back for U.S. equities after a rocky start to the week.
Most European markets traded lower on Tuesday, amid ongoing concerns about the U.S. economy and global trade.
Most Asian stocks ended higher. But gains were kept in check after Wall Street stumbled, weighed down by President Trump intensifying his public pressure on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell—again raising eyebrows over the Fed’s independence.
Meanwhile, tensions between Washington and Beijing flared up further. China slapped sanctions on several U.S. lawmakers, officials, and NGO leaders, accusing them of “egregious behavior” over Hong Kong-related issues. The move comes on the heels of U.S. sanctions imposed last month on Chinese and Hong Kong officials—an action that Beijing has "strongly condemned," according to foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun.
Back in the U.S., all three major indexes slid overnight as investors digested Trump’s Powell tirade and a lack of progress on global trade talks. The Dow tumbled 2.48%, the S&P 500 sank 2.36%, and the Nasdaq dropped 2.55%.
Powell, for his part, reminded everyone last week that the Fed’s independence is not just tradition—it’s "a matter of law." Markets are now trying to parse whether Trump’s threats are just more rate-cut rhetoric or something more serious.
Adding to the global gloom, a leading brokerage trimmed its global growth forecast on Monday. Blaming the ongoing tariff drama and mounting uncertainty from U.S. trade policy, it now expects global GDP to grow just 2.8% in 2025 and 3% in 2026—down 30 and 20 basis points, respectively, from previous estimates. One-third of the downgrade stems from the U.S., with the rest spread across China, Japan, and emerging markets.
Stocks in Spotlight:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s measured easing of liquidity norms bolsters banking stocks. The Nifty Bank index rose 0.62% to 55,647.20, after hitting a record high of 55,961.20 early today.
HDFC Bank (up 1.71%), Canara Bank (up 1.71%), Punjab National Bank (up 1.10%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.05%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.99%), IDFC First Bank (up 0.86%), State Bank of India (up 0.56%) and ICICI Bank (up 0.30%) surged.
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
IndusInd Bank fell 4.88% after reports surfaced that the lender had appointed Ernst & Young (EY) for a second forensic audit into a Rs 600 crore discrepancy in its microfinance portfolio. According to media reports, the discrepancy—related to the accrual of interest income—was discovered during the ongoing statutory audit for the previous financial year. The statutory auditors allegedly issued an additional communication under Section 143(12) of the Companies Act, 2013, prompting the bank to launch a further investigation via EY.
IndusInd Bank clarified that it has not engaged EY for a forensic audit as reported in the
news item. As a part of the process of finalization of accounts, the bank’s Internal Audit Department (IAD) is conducting a review of the bank's MFI business to examine certain concerns which have been brought to the Bank’s attention. In connection with this exercise, Bank is engaged with EY to assist the IAD in reviewing certain records of the bank. The review by the bank is ongoing.
Anant Raj advanced 2.63% after the company reported 51.5% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 118.64 crore on a 22.2% rise in net sales to Rs 540.65 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Q4 FY24.
Mahindra Logistics added 2.81% after the company’s consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 6.75 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with net loss of Rs 12.85 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 8.19% YoY to Rs 1,569.51 crore in Q4 FY25. Meanwhile, the company’s board recommended a final dividend of Rs 2.50 per equity share for FY25.
Tata Power Company shed 0.63%. The company announced that its subsidiary, Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL), has signed a landmark power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tata Motors to co-develop a 131 MW wind-solar hybrid renewable energy project. The hybrid system will supply clean energy to Tata Motors’ six manufacturing facilities located across Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Coal India shed 0.52%. The company announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) to set up a coal-fired 2×800 MW Ultra Supercritical Power Plant in Jharkhand, with a total investment of Rs 16,500 crore.
Alok Industries zoomed 18.7% after the company’s consolidated net loss stood at to Rs 74.47 crore in Q4 FY25, steeply lower than net loss of Rs 215.93 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations fell 35.14% year on year (YoY) to Rs 952.96 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.
Tata Consultancy Services shed 0.11%. The IT major said that it has entered into an agreement with ICICI Securities for modernizing the latter’s industry leading retail trading and brokerage platform. As part of this initiative, TCS will deploy the trading solution of TCS BaNCS. The solution would help ICICI Securities to improve the agility of its platform.
Rajratan Global Wire hit an upper limit of 20% after the company’s consolidated net profit rose 63.27% to Rs 15.20 crore on a 15.14% increase in revenue to Rs 251.42 crore in Q4 March 2025 over Q3 December 2024. Meanwhile, the board recommended a final dividend of Rs 2 per equity share.
Tata Investment Corporation declined 1.86% after the company’s consolidated net profit slipped 37.62% to Rs 37.72 crore in Q4 FY25, compared with Rs 60.47 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations tanked 71.2% to Rs 16.43 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 57.11 crore posted in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal. Meanwhile, the board recommended a dividend of Rs 27 per ordinary share.
Indag Rubber slipped 3.28% after the company reported 66.45% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 1.07 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 3.19 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations fell 10.19% YoY to Rs 55.07 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.
Lotus Chocolate Company hit a lower limit 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. However, revenue from operations surged 139.21% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 157.45 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.
Aditya Birla Money fell 1.98% after the company reported 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.