The domestic equity benchmarks pared some losses but traded in negative zone in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 23,200 level. Bank shares declined after advancing in past three consecutive trading sessions. At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 331.25 points or 0.41% to 76,710.92. The Nifty 50 index slipped 75.25 points or 0.32% to 23,236.55.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.03% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.25%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,781 shares rose and 1,989 shares fell. A total of 145 shares were unchanged.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 4.42% to 16.15. The Nifty 30 January 2025 futures were trading at 23,296.90, at a premium of 60.35 points as compared with the spot at 23,236.55
The Nifty option chain for the 30 January 2025 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 58.1 lakh contracts at the 24,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 45.5 lakh contracts was seen at 23,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Bank index dropped 1.58% to 48,499.75. The index rallied 2.79% in past three trading sessions.
Axis Bank (down 4.98%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 2.87%), ICICI Bank (down 1.89%), HDFC Bank (down 1.1%), IndusInd Bank (down 0.90%), Federal Bank (down 0.88%), State Bank of India (down 0.56%), Punjab National Bank (down 0.49%), Bank of Baroda (down 0.48%) and AU Small Finance Bank (down 0.17%) declined.
Axis Bank slipped 4.98%. The bank's standalone net profit increased 3.83% to Rs 6,303.77 crore on 10.17% jump in total income to Rs 36,926.14 in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.
Axis Bank's Q3 results, which fell short of analyst expectations across all key metrics, triggered downgrades. Key concerns included higher slippages driven by agriculture and unsecured loans, elevated credit costs remaining the highest among the top 5 banks, and the slowest deposit growth compared to peers. While Q3 earnings appeared in line due to lower operating expenses offsetting higher provisions, analysts anticipate some weakness in the stock price. A domestic brokerage noted a slight deterioration in asset quality, with sequential increases in slippages, although NPA ratios remained relatively stable.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Surana Telecom and Power rose 0.71%. The firm received a letter of award (LoA) for supply of 54 MW power from solar project at an estimated project cost of Rs 190 crore.
Bajaj Healthcare soared 13.29% after the company said that it has received exclusive rights for manufacturing, distribution & sales of the finished formulation of the product magnesium L Threonate (Magtein) in India from Threotech LLC.
Radhika Jeweltech hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 45.1% to Rs 22.73 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 15.67 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations rose 17.2% year on year (YoY) to Rs 206.06 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.
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