Nifty trades above 24,350; oil & gas shares advance for 3rd day

The frontline indices continued to trade near flatline with some positive points in the early afternoon trade as border tensions weighed on investor sentiment, offsetting positive developments such as FII inflows and progress in global trade talks. The Nifty traded above the 24,350 mark after hitting the day's low of 24,268.80. Oil & gas shares witnessed buying demand for the third consecutive trading session.

The weekly Nifty50 Futures & Options (F&O) series expiry has been shifted to today due to the market holiday tomorrow in observance of Maharashtra Day.

At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 93.31 points or 0.11% to 80,371.67. The Nifty 50 index added 18.55 points or 0.08% to 24,354.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.05% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.81%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,179 shares rose and 2,517 shares fell. A total of 157 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, advanced 2.87% to 17.87. The Nifty 29 May 2025 futures were trading at 24,434, at a premium of 79.50 points as compared with the spot at 24,354.50.

The Nifty option chain for the 29 May 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 38.8 lakh contracts at the 24,500 strike price. Maximum put OI of 49.8 lakh contracts was seen at 24,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index gained 0.73% to 11,265.65. The index jumped 4.42% in three consecutive trading sessions.

Indraprastha Gas (up 5.33%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 2.05%), Mahanagar Gas (up 1.92%), Petronet LNG (up 1.73%), Oil India (up 1.42%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 1.06%), GAIL (India) (up 0.65%), Reliance Industries (up 0.48%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (up 0.24%) and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (up 0.03%) advanced.

On the other hand, Gujarat Gas (down 2.16%), Gujarat State Petronet (down 1.35%) and Castrol India (down 1.11%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bajaj Finserv slumped 5.79%. The company's consolidated net profit jumped 16.44% to Rs 4756.32 crore on 14.21% increase in total income to Rs 36,596.43 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24.

Bajaj Finance tumbled 5.55%. The company reported 17.12% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,479.57 crore on 23.68% rise in total income to Rs 18,468.74 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24.

Meanwhile, the company's board has declared a special interim dividend of Rs 12 per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2025. The dividend will be credited or dispatched on or around 26 May 2025. The record date for determining eligible shareholders has been set as 9 May 2025.

Further, the company's board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 44 per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2025. If approved by shareholders at the upcoming Annual General Meeting, the dividend will be credited or dispatched on or around 28 July 2025. The record date for determining eligible shareholders has been set as 30 May 2025.

Furthermore, the company's board has proposed splitting each equity share of face value Rs 2 into two shares of face value Rs 1 each (fully paid-up). Additionally, the company has proposed issuing bonus shares in a 4:1 ratio, meaning shareholders will receive four bonus shares of Rs 1 each for every one share they currently hold.

UTI Asset Management Company declined 2% after the company's consolidated net profit tanked 46.26% to Rs 87.46 crore in Q4 FY25, compared with Rs 162.76 crore in Q4 FY24. Total revenue from operations fell 9.65% YoY to Rs 375.91 crore during the quarter.

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