Market split: benchmarks steady, broader indices extend losses

The domestic equity benchmarks closed marginally lower Tuesday, with the Nifty settling below 22,950 amid mixed global signals. Midcap and smallcap weakness initially drove the Nifty down to 22,801.50, but a mid-session recovery limited losses. IT and energy sectors outperformed, while FMCG and auto sectors declined. Market sentiment remained subdued, with continued FII selling and limited positive catalysts. Investors were also keenly awaiting the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes on February 19.

The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 29.47 points or 0.04% to 75,967.39. The Nifty 50 index declined 14.20 points or 0.06% to 22,945.30.

Tech Mahindra (up 2.38%), Infosys (up 0.48%) and HDFC Bank (up 0.31%) supported the indices.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.19% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 1.71%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,032 shares rose and 2,918 shares fell. A total of 114 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.36% to 15.67.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.06% to 6.797 as compared with the previous close of 6.801.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.9600, compared with its close of 86.8850 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 April 2025 settlement were added 0.51% to Rs 85,485.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.21% to 106.95.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.67% to 4.506.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2025 settlement gained $1.01 or 1.35% to $75.75 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Most European indices ended higher on Tuesday as traders kept an eye on geopolitical tensions in the region. Geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Europe are likely to remain in focus for European markets this week as U.S. officials prepare for talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, with officials in Kyiv and Europe being left out of the discussions.

European leaders held an emergency summit in Paris on Monday to discuss how to respond to the apparent decision to sideline Europe, and while they agreed on increasing defense spending, there was no alignment over whether to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine after any peace deal.

Most Asian stocks ended higher as investors assessed Chinese President Xi's comments in a meeting with top executives. He signaled support to the country's private sector and urged businesses to show their talents.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut rates by 25 basis points to 4.1%. This marks the RBA's first rate cut in over four years

Optimism around China surged on Monday (Feb 17) after President Xi Jinping met with business leaders, including Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, fueling expectations that Beijing's years-long crackdown on the private sector may be coming to an end. Additionally, DeepSeek's breakthrough in artificial intelligence has sparked a rally of over US$1 trillion in Chinese stocks.

Meanwhile, US markets remained closed on Monday, February 17, 2025, for Presidents' Day, honoring the birth anniversary of George Washington.

Investor focus remains on President Donald Trump's plans for additional trade tariffs, as well as the trajectory of interest rates following last week's stubborn inflation data.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bharti Airtel shed 0.43%. The company said that Indian Continent Investment Limited (ICIL), a promoter-group entity of Bharti Airtel, has sold nearly 0.84% stake (approximately 5.11 crore shares) in the company through a market transaction.

ABB India declined 1.92%. The company's net profit increased 56% to Rs 528.41 crore in Q4 CY24, compared to Rs 338.68 crore in the same period last year. Revenue from operations jumped 22% to Rs 3,364.93 crore in the fourth quarter of the calendar year 2024 as against Rs 2,757.49 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Meanwhile, the company declared a final dividend of Rs 33.50 per share. The record date has been set for 3 May 2025. This is in addition to the Rs 10.66 interim dividend per equity share declared in Q2 CY2024.

Power Grid Corporation of India rose 1.37% after the company announced that it has been declared the successful bidder under tariff-based competitive bidding for two projects to establish an inter-state transmission system on a build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) basis.

Patel Engineering (PEL) tumbled 3.62%. The company said that its joint venture has been declared the lowest bidder (L-1) for a Rs 1,090.45 crore project awarded by the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation, Pune.

SBI Cards and Payment Services rose 1.34% after the company said that its board has appointed Salila Pande as the managing director (MD) & CEO with effect from 1 April 2025.

Meanwhile, SBI Cards has declared an interim dividend of Rs 2.50 per share for the financial year 2024-25. The record date for dividend eligibility is 25 February 2025, and payments will be processed by 18 March 2025.

Max Healthcare Institute climbed 2.24% to Rs 1038.10, fueled by an upgrade from a foreign brokerage firm. The broker revised its rating on the healthcare chain from Neutral to Buy and increased the target price to Rs 1,200.

Persistent Systems rose 4.71% to Rs 5796.55 after a foreign broker issued an 'outperform' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 7,200 per share.

LTI Mindtree added 3.14% after the IT firm collaborated with Eurobank S.A., a subsidiary of Eurobank Ergasias Services and Holdings S.A., to enhance customer experience by improving banking operations for Eurobank and its subsidiaries.

Yasho Industries slipped 4.38% after the company announced the resignation of Deepak Kaku as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Key Managerial Personnel (KMP), effective from 17 February 2025.

CLN Energy shed 0.35%. The company said that it has received a purchase order for supply of lithium ion batteries from a telecom industry public sector undertaking worth Rs 77 crore.

Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporation declined 2.08%. The company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Deepak Mining Solutions (DMSL), has increased its shareholding in its Australian subsidiary, Platinum Blasting Services Pty, from 65% to 85%.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Quality Power Electrical Equipments received bids for 1,43,04,056 shares as against 1,11,12,530 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on 18 February 2025. The issue was subscribed 1.29 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 14 February 2025 and it will close on 18 February 2025. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 401 and Rs 425 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 26 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

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