The key equity benchmarks traded with moderate gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 23,300 level after hitting the day's low of 23,102.90 in the morning trade. Metal shares witnessed buying demand for the second consecutive trading session. At 12:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 324.77 points or 0.44% to 76,876.48. The Nifty 50 index gained 102.15 points or 0.44% to 23,307.50.
The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.34% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.96%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,365 shares rose and 2,365 shares fell. A total of 162 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
The HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index, which measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of India's manufacturing and service sectors, fell from a final reading of 59.2 in December to 57.9 in January. This indicated the weakest rate of expansion in 14 months. However, the headline figure remained well above its long-term average of 54.7.
While the slowdown at the composite level, driven by the service sector, was evident, there was a pickup in growth among goods producers. The HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI, a snapshot of factory business conditions based on new orders, output, employment, supplier delivery times, and stocks of purchases, rose from 56.4 in December to 58.0 in January, reflecting the best improvement in the sector's health since July 2024.
Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC, said: 'India's manufacturing sector started the year strong, with output and new orders bouncing back from a relatively weak third fiscal quarter. The rise in new export orders was especially noticeable, and the easing of input cost inflation is also good news for manufacturers. The cooling in growth in new domestic business in the services sector, however, highlights a potentially emerging weak spot in the economy. New export business for service providers, on the other hand, looks set to maintain its growing momentum.'
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.64% to 16.59. The Nifty 30 January 2025 futures were trading at 23,345.20, at a premium of 37.7 points as compared with the spot at 23,307.50.
The Nifty option chain for the 30 January 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 102.6 lakh contracts at the 24,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 87.3 lakh contracts was seen at 23,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index advanced 0.96% to 8,597. The index rallied 1.5% in two consecutive trading sessions.
JSW Steel (up 1.94%), Tata Steel (up 1.79%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.35%), Vedanta (up 1.11%), Hindalco Industries (up 0.9%), Steel Authority of India (up 0.84%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.78%), National Aluminium Company (up 0.44%), Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (up 0.34%) and Jindal Stainless (up 0.29%) advanced.
On the other hand, NMDC (down 1.19%), Welspun Corp (down 0.12%) and APL Apollo Tubes (down 0.09%) declined.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Capri Global Capital (CGCL) rallied 12.45% after the NBFC's consolidated net profit surged 88.41% to Rs 128.08 crore on a 35.63% increase in total income to Rs 821.83 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.
KFin Technologies surged 9.81% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 34.9% to Rs 90.18 crore in Q3 FY25 as against 66.83 crore recorded in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 32.6% year on year (YoY) to Rs 290.02 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.
V2 Retail hit the upper circuit of 5% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 117.2% to Rs 51.19 crore in Q3 FY25 compared with Rs 23.57 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 58.1% to Rs 590.94 crore in Q3 FY25, compared with Rs 373.76 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
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