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EQUITY
Post Session: Quick Review
Mar-13-2025

Indian equity benchmarks ended in negative territory on Thursday, driven by ongoing global trade tensions along with selling pressure ahead of the long weekend. Indices made a positive start, as investors took comfort from softer-than-expected inflation data in both the U.S. and India. However, markets gave up all their early gains and settled deeply in the red, as concerns over the ongoing tariff war led by U.S. President Donald Trump and its potential impact on global growth.

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

Sustained FII selling raises concerns: Traders were cautious as exchange data showed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,627.61 crore on a net basis on Wednesday. 

Tariff tensions rise as Canada, EU retaliate: Tariff worries kept investors on the edge after Canada and the EU swiftly retaliated against U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs and President Trump vowed to respond to the countermeasures.

India's retail inflation eases to 3.61% in February: Traders overlooked Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation slipped to a seven-month low of 3.61 per cent in February mainly due to easing prices of vegetables, eggs, and other protein-rich items, creating space for the RBI to go for another cut in interest rate next month.  

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in green, as markets weigh macroeconomic concerns against optimism that U.S. negotiators could secure a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Most of the Asian markets ended in red, after Malaysia's industrial output growth eased to a 10-month low in January amid a contraction in the mining sector.

The BSE Sensex ended at 73828.91, down by 200.85 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 73770.59 and 74401.11. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.77%, while Small cap index down by 0.62%. (Provisional)

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.14%, PSU up by 0.09% and Power up by 0.03%, while Realty down by 1.79%, Auto down by 0.97%, Consumer Disc down by 0.87%, Metal down by 0.80% and Basic Materials down by 0.69% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 0.75%, ICICI Bank up by 0.49%, Power Grid up by 0.45%, NTPC up by 0.27% and Tata Steel up by 0.27%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.00%, Indusind Bank down by 1.78%, Zomato down by 1.34%, Asian Paints down by 0.98% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.94% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, credit rating agency Icra has said that the Indian IT companies are expected to see moderate revenue growth of 4-6% in FY26, with hiring likely to remain subdued until growth accelerates towards the end of the fiscal year. The agency projected attrition level to average 12-13% over the near term. During first nine months of FY2025, Icra’s sample set of Indian IT services companies which account for 60% of the industry in revenue terms has exhibited 3.6% year-on-year revenue growth in US dollar terms. As per Icra, the growth was part of a gradual recovery over the past three quarters, aided by a lower base from FY2024. Moreover, the slight rise in discretionary spending by customers in the BFSI and retail sectors in certain markets, along with investments in Generative AI initiatives contributed to new orders.

Icra expects the growth momentum for its sample set of IT services companies to remain muted over the near term, owing to the looming uncertainty related to the imposition of the US trade tariffs and macroeconomic headwinds across the key markets of the US and Europe. It added that the policy changes by the US government for key sectors catered to by Indian IT services companies as well as future interest rate trajectory will remain the key factors to be monitored. It also added that the IT industry experienced relief due to reduced attrition rates and wage cost inflation, which were significant concerns during FY2023 and the first half of FY2024 and it expects hiring to remain low in the near term until the growth momentum picks up by the end of FY2026. It suggested that the lower hiring activity can also be correlated with higher investments by the industry in GenAI and the expected benefits in terms of increased productivity and cost savings.

While explaining about the developments regarding Generative AI in IT industry, Icra has said that major Indian IT services companies have trained a significant number of their employees in Generative AI skills and are now expanding their capabilities and service offerings to provide GenAI-based solutions to their clients. Furthermore, this started to show results as the inflow of GenAI-related deals for major industry players has risen in recent quarters and is expected to pick up materially over the medium term, as overall technology adoption is more pervasive. The healthcare and BFSI sectors remain the early adopters of AI/GenAI capabilities and continue to invest in the same.

The CNX Nifty ended at 22397.20, down by 73.30 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 22377.35 and 22558.05. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 1.17%, SBI up by 0.66%, NTPC up by 0.53%, Cipla up by 0.52% and ICICI Bank up by 0.49%. On the flip side, Shriram Finance down by 2.73%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.25%, Tata Motors down by 2.03%, Hindalco down by 1.81% and Indusind Bank down by 1.80% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 36.58 points or 0.43% to 8,577.55 and France’s CAC rose 5.36 points or 0.07% to 7,994.32, while Germany’s DAX lost 17.39 points or 0.08% to 22,659.02. 

Asian markets settled mostly down on Thursday on tariff related worries and concerns over a potential recession in the United States. Market sentiments weakened further, even after a key US inflation report showed consumer prices increased at a slower-than-expected pace last month and bolstered the case for more Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts this year. Chinese shares dropped amid signs of deepening deflationary pressures in the country. Moreover, Japanese shares declined marginally as the yen strengthened after comments from the Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda bolstered interest rate hike expectations. Seoul shares fell marginally after the Bank of Korea said in a monetary policy report that US President Donald Trump's escalating trade war could drag on longer than expected and increase the risk of capital outflows while also raising volatility in the US Dollar - Korean Won Exchange Rate.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,358.73

-13.19

-0.39

Hang Seng

23,462.65

-137.66

-0.59

Jakarta Composite

6,647.42

-17.63

-0.27

KLSE Composite

1,510.03

25.20

1.70

Nikkei 225

36,790.03

-29.06

-0.08

Straits Times

3,837.52

4.45

0.12

KOSPI Composite

2,573.64

-1.18

-0.05

Taiwan Weighted

21,961.68

-316.68-1.44
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