Barometers edge higher; breadth strong

The key equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in early trade. The Nifty traded above the 23,000 level. Barring the FMCG index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE were traded in green.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 207.39 points or 0.27% to 76,103.76. The Nifty 50 index added 56.10 points or 0.24% to 23,013.35.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.74% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 1.86%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,234 shares rose and 729 shares fell. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 16,086.55 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 19,735.28 crore in the Indian equity market on 28 January 2025, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bajaj Auto rallied 4.72% after the company's standalone net profit rose 3.27% to Rs 2,108.73 crore on a 5% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 13,142 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services declined 2.43%. The company's standalone net profit jumped 63% to Rs 899 crore on a 19% increase in total income to Rs 4144 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.

JSW Energy tumbled 5.66% after the company's consolidated net profit declined 32.2% to Rs 157.5 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 232.2 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue fell 5.6% YoY to Rs 2,400 crore during the quarter.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.56% to 6.785 as compared with the previous close of 6.789.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.6050, compared with its close of 86.5725 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for the 5 February 2025 settlement were added 0.05% to Rs 80,333.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.06% to 107.84.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.66% to 4.519.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2025 settlement declined 11 cents or 0.14% to $77.38 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures were currently down by 32 points, signaling a negative opening for US stocks today.

Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday following minutes from the Bank of Japan's December meeting revealed that members discussed neutral interest rates and monetary policy actions. The BOJ has been debating how far borrowing costs should be raised as inflation remains above its 2% target while wage hikes broaden due to labor shortages.

Japan's central bank had hiked interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.5% in its meeting last week. This increase brings Japan's policy rate to its highest level since 2008.

Most of the Asian markets, including China and South Korea, were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that inflation rose 0.2% in the December quarter and 2.4% annually.

On Monday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 surged 0.92% and 2.03%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, added 136.77 points, or 0.31%, to 44,850.35.

In the U.S., key stock indexes regained some of their losses overnight, following the sell-off caused by Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's challenge to the U.S. AI sector.

All eyes were on Nvidia, which gained momentum to close nearly 9% higher. The chipmaker had previously lost 17%, or nearly $600 billion in market value, in the prior session, marking the largest one-day drop in value ever recorded for a U.S. company.

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