Indices trade with minor gains; European mkt decline

The key equity indices traded with small gains in the afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,550 mark. Media, oil & gas, and metal shares advanced while realty, IT, and consumer durables shares declined.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 50.73 points, or 0.07%, to 74,389.71. The Nifty 50 index added 22.50 points, or 0.10%, to 22,567.20.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.19% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.91%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,495 shares rose and 1,360 shares fell. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.85% to 13.47.

Gainers & Losers:

Reliance Industries (up 3.29%), Nestle India (up 1.35%), Bharat Electronics (up 1.33%), Bajaj Auto (up 1.15%), and Britannia Industries (up 1.05%) were the major Nifty gainers.

Indusind Bank (down 3.74%), NTPC (down 2.29%), Shriram Finance (down 2.07%), Infosys (down 1.97%), and Power Grid Corporation of India (down 1.69%) were the major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Inox Wind jumped 12.25% after the company secured a 153 MW order from a prominent renewable energy developer, a member of a large global clean energy company.

Kalpataru Projects International rallied 2.85% after the company and its international subsidiaries secured new orders worth Rs 2,306 crore.

Bharat Electronics added 1.67% after the company announced that it has secured additional orders worth Rs 577 crore since 20 February 2025.

Gensol Engineering slipped 3.40% after the company announced the resignation of its chief financial officer (CFO) and key managerial personnel, Ankit Jain, effective from 6 March 2025.

Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) added 1.51% after the company announced that it has received a letter of acceptance (LoA) for an EPC contract worth Rs 156.35 crore from South Western Railway.

Kamat Hotels surged 9.63% after the company signed an agreement for the management and operations of the Orchid Hotel in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand.

Global Markets:

European markets traded lower on Friday, rounding off a volatile week marked by whipsawing policy on U.S. tariffs, the latest rate cut from the European Central Bank, German fiscal reforms, and a regional defense spending boost.

Most Asian shares fell after Wall Street after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff concessions failed to calm investors.

Traders were also worried by economic data from the U.S., which raised alarm that Trump's policies could hinder the U.S. economy.

China's export growth slowed more than expected at the start of the year, according to data from the customs authority released on Friday, as higher U.S. tariffs partly offset momentum in the country's rare bright spot. Exports in the January to February period rose 2.3% in U.S. dollar terms from a year earlier, significantly undershooting expectations of a 5% increase.

US stocks closed sharply lower Thursday amid uncertainty around President Donald Trump's tariff policies, while investors remained cautious ahead of a key employment report expected to provide insights into the nation's economic health. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1%, while the NASDAQ Composite dropped 2.6%. The S&P 500 also declined 1.8%.

Technology stocks experienced significant losses. NVIDIA Corporation stock plunged 5.7%, while Tesla Inc. closed 5.6% lower. Broadcom Inc. closed 6.3% lower after jumping 13% in early trade on Thursday. The company reported upbeat guidance for the current quarter and better-than-expected first-quarter results on growing AI-led demand for its custom chips.

U.S. jobless claims fell more than expected last week to 221,000, signaling a strong labor market. For the week ending February 22, initial claims under the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees program rose to 1,634, up from 614 the previous week.

Investors now await Friday's employment report for insights on the economy and potential Fed rate moves amid tariff concerns and rising factory costs.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve, a day before meeting with executives from the crypto currency industry at the White House. The reserve will be capitalized with bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings.

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