At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 460.59 points or 0.60% to 76,582.23. The Nifty 50 index slipped 131.10 points or 0.56% to 23,180.70.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.21% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.29%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,781 shares rose and 1,989 shares fell. A total of 145 shares were unchanged.

Gainers & Losers:

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) (up 2.70%), Reliance Industries (up 2.52%), Bharat Electronics (BEL) (up 2.34%), Power Grid (up 2.13%) and Nestle India (up 2.11%) were the major Nifty gainers.

Infosys (down 5.66%), Axis Bank (down 5.12%), Shriram Finance (down 3.27%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 2.71%) and ICICI Bank (down 2.13%) were the major Nifty losers.

Reliance Industries (RIL) added 2.52% after the company reported a 12% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to a record high of Rs 21,930 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2024. This strong performance was driven by robust growth across its key business segments: digital services, retail, and oil-to-chemicals. RIL's Q3 revenue grew 7.7% to Rs 2.67 lakh crore.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation rallied 2.70% after the company informed that it has executed a loan agreement of Rs 31,802 crore with State Bank of India consortium on 16 January 2024, to finance the projects planned at Bina.

Infosys declined 5.66%. The company reported a 4.61% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 6,806 crore on a 1.89% increase in revenues to Rs 41,764 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q2 FY25. The total contract value (TCV) of large deal wins was $2.5 billion in Q3 of FY25, with a net new of 63%. It has raised FY25 guidance to 4.5%-5% in constant currency.

However, a foreign brokerage predicted a 1% sequential revenue decline in Q4, citing factors like potential reductions in third-party items or cautious management positioning. During the post-earnings call, Infosys management acknowledged the possibility of a softer Q4, citing potential headwinds such as slight furloughs, fewer working days, and reversals of third-party revenue. Additionally, investor concerns were heightened by uncertainty surrounding the potential margin impact of the company's planned two-phase wage hike.

Axis Bank slipped 5.12%. The bank's standalone net profit increased 3.83% to Rs 6,303.77 crore on a 10.17% jump in total income to Rs 36,926.14 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24. Net interest income (NII) grew 9% YoY to Rs 13,606 crore. Net Interest Margin (NIM) stood at 3.93% in Q3 FY25.

The bank's 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.

Global Markets:

European stocks advanced on Friday as investors await more economic data while most Asian shares traded higher as traders parse a slew of economic data out of China.

China's economy grew by 5% year-on-year in 2024, with a notable upswing in the final quarter of the year. China's industrial production grew 6.2% year on year in December, government data showed on Friday. It compares to a 5.4% rise seen in the prior month. Meanwhile, Chinese retail sales rose 3.7% in December, accelerating sharply from the 3.0% rise seen in November.

Shares in Japan fell as the yen largely held onto gains from earlier in the week.

US markets weakened on Thursday after initial optimism surrounding softer-than-expected inflation data was tempered by robust retail sales and a resilient labor market. These data points suggested that the Federal Reserve may have more room to gradually slow down interest rate cuts.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 5,937.33 points, while the NASDAQ Composite slid 0.9% to 19.338.29 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 43,153.13 points.

US retail sales climbed by 0.4% in December, reaching $729.2 billion, according to the US Census Bureau's report on Thursday. This figure was lower than November's 0.8% increase.

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week but remained at levels consistent with a healthy labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 217,000 for the week ended Jan. 11, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 256,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% from 4.2% in November.

Investor attention also focused on the potential impact of President-elect Trump's policies, particularly his plans for increased trade tariffs.

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