Closing Bell: Sensex falls 200 pts, Nifty below 23,450; IT index outshines

Indian equity indices ended on a negative note on January 10 with Nifty below 23,450. At close, the Sensex was down 241.30 points or 0.31 percent at 77,378.91, and the Nifty was down 95 points or 0.40 percent at 23,431.50.

We wrap up today’s edition of the Moneycontrol live market blog, and will be back Monday morning with all the latest updates and alerts. Please visit https://www.moneycontrol.com/markets/global-indices for all the global market action.

Markets witnessed heightened volatility, continuing their downward trend, and ended nearly half a percent lower. Despite a partial recovery from intraday lows, driven by a rally in IT stocks following TCS's results, sector-wide weakness resulted in a negative close. Except for IT, all other sectors faced selling pressure, with pharma, banking, and realty leading the declines. Broader indices suffered even steeper losses, falling around 2%-2.5%.

The market remains under strain, with even minor pullbacks attracting selling pressure. In the absence of any clear signs of a trend reversal, particularly in the banking index, traders are advised to use rebounds as shorting opportunities. Caution should remain a priority, with a focus on robust risk management. Additionally, as the earnings season kicks off, erratic market swings are likely to intensify. Adopting a hedged approach and maintaining disciplined position sizing is recommended for navigating the current conditions.

Markets continued its downward trajectory as rupee scaling new lows due to strengthening dollar has further dampened investors’ sentiment. Amid concerns of subdued economic growth and expectations of a slowdown in the quarterly earnings, investors cut their bet on banking and mid & small cap stocks. With expensive valuations of Indian markets at large still a concern, investors would mostly resort to stock specific activities.

Domestic market sentiment remained subdued due to rising crude oil prices, driven by supply concerns, and a strengthening dollar index. Despite the IT sector's resilience following positive early Q3 results, broader indices bled due to uncertainties surrounding Trump policies and high valuations. Consolidation may persist in the near term, yet investors are closely watching the US non-farm payroll data today for further guidance.

The Indian equity markets underperformed most of the global markets. Sensex and Nifty index declined by ~2% this week. The correction was more severe in the midcap and the small cap stocks. BSE Midcap index and Smallcap index declined by 5% during the week. Almost all major sectors saw decline in this week with BSE Capital Goods, BSE Power and BSE Reality indices witnessing weekly loss in excess of 5%.

On the contrary, BSE IT index gained post TCS results. TCS reported flat revenues and 40 bps increase in EBIT margin, broadly in line with our estimates. Deal TCV grew sharply qoq and yoy for TCS.

Crude oil price continued its uptrend during the week and any significant further increase can pose some challenge to the economy. Upcoming inflation data would be an important macro data to watch out. Stock specific action is expected over the next few weeks as the companies declare their Q3FY25 results.

Indian rupee ended at fresh record low at 85.97 per dollar on Friday versus Thursday's close of 85.86.

Indian equity indices ended on a negative note on January 10 with Nifty below 23,450.

At close, the Sensex was down 241.30 points or 0.31 percent at 77,378.91, and the Nifty was down 95 points or 0.40 percent at 23,431.50. About 777 shares advanced, 3048 shares declined, and 87 shares unchanged.

TCS, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Infosys, HCL Technologies were among major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Shriram Finance, IndusInd Bank, Adani Enterprises, NTPC and Bharat Electronics.

BSE midcap index shed 1.2 percent and smallcap index slipped 2.4 percent.

Except IT, all other sectoral indices ended in the red with power, PSU, realty, healthcare, PSU Bank down 2 percent each.

Indian Rupee hit another record low on Friday as domestic markets continue to slide and sustained outflows by FIIs. A strong US Dollar and surge in crude oil prices also pressurised the Rupee.

Weak tone in the domestic markets, a strong greenback and persistent FII outflows may continue to put downside pressure on the Rupee. Rising crude oil prices, as well as surge in the US treasury yields may further weigh on the domestic unit. However, any RBI intervention may support Rupee at lower levels.

Traders may take cues from the non-farm payrolls report and consumer sentiment data from the US. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 85.80 to Rs 86.15.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) have signed an MoU for exploring joint projects and collaboration in the area of New and Renewable Energy business, including Fuel Cell, Electrolyser and Battery Energy Storage System based Projects.

The Sensex was down 309.75 points or 0.40 percent at 77,310.46, and the Nifty was down 120.10 points or 0.51 percent at 23,406.40. About 637 shares advanced, 2828 shares declined, and 57 shares unchanged.

Dishman Carbogen Amcis' wholly owned subsidiary namely CARBOGEN AMCIS AG, has successfully completed the Swissmedic Inspection of its Vionnaz facility, Switzerland.

#1 Profit jumps 26.8% to Rs 425.4 crore Vs Rs 335.5 crore, YoY

#2 Net interest income grows 38.9% to Rs 622.3 crore Vs Rs 448.1 crore, YoY

#1 Company has a diverse set of operations with an iron ore (high grade) mining capacity of 10 mt

#2 Iron Ore (High Grade) mining capacity is proposed to be extended to 25 mt by 4QFY25

#3 Company will be moving up in steel value chain by setting up integrated steel facilities

#4 Expect EBITDA to rise at a CAGR of 91 percent from FY25 To FY27

#5 EBITDA to be driven by higher ore volumes & improving value-added mix

#1 CESC Q3 revenue Rs1940 crore, up 6.6% YoY

#2 Total costs Rs 2080 crore, down 1.4% YoY

#3 Other income Rs49 crore vs Rs 22 crore YoY

#4 Dividend of Rs 4.5 a share

The Sensex was up 81.12 points or 0.10 percent at 77,701.33, and the Nifty was down 2.85 points or 0.01 percent at 23,523.65. About 753 shares advanced, 2671 shares declined, and 73 shares unchanged.

The company has entered into a sale deed for a land parcel of 13.91 acres in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, for Rs 13.05 crore. SAV Readymix Concrete, Muthukumar Enterprises, Sri Athisaya Vinayagar Blue Metals, and PMK Builders are the buyers of the land parcel.

#1 Q3 results missed expectations

#2 Weakness in European transportation continues

#3 Significant recovery in media & healthcare remains elusive

#4 With limited growth visibility, potential cut to consensus numbers & high valuations

#5 Stock could continue to underperform

#1 Company saw signs of upcycle with higher & broad-based deal momentum

#2 Management outlook is upbeat

#3 While Q3 was in-line, deal wins grew 19 percent QoQ & 26 percent YoY

#4 Management highlighted sales cycle has shrunk, discretionary is reviving

#5 Revenue conversion likely to improve, as per company

The company has delivered the sixth Scorpene-class submarine, Vaghsheer, of Project P-75 to the Indian Navy. Vaghsheer can undertake various missions, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, and area surveillance.

Gold is up 1.3% and Silver is up more than 3% so far in the weak, despite a stronger U.S. dollar in the overseas market. The bullions have remained supported by safe-haven buying ahead of Jan. 20 - the day Donald Trump starts his Presidency and focus will remain on his policy layout, while additional support is seen from fresh buying among ETF investors.

Data to focus during the intra-day would be the U.S NFP and employment data.

On Chart.... trend remains positive with support at 78000/ 77750, while on the upside resistance is seen at 78500/ 78700.

The bank has increased interest rates for savings account customers, effective January 10. Balances up to Rs 1 lakh will continue to earn an interest rate of 3%, while balances between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakh will earn 5%. Balances above Rs 10 lakh and up to Rs 25 lakh will earn 7%. Another new slab for balances ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore offers an interest rate of 7.25%, and balances from Rs 1 crore to Rs 25 crore will earn 7.50%. For balances above Rs 25 crore, the existing rate of 7.80% remains unchanged.

The company's subsidiary, NTPC Renewable Energy, has commissioned the second part of its capacity of 60 MW out of the 320 MW Bhainsara Solar PV project, and 50 MW out of the 220 MW Shajapur Solar project (Unit-II). With this, the subsidiary has now commissioned a total capacity of 220 MW for Bhainsara Solar and 100 MW for Shahpur Solar.

The company has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Metoprolol Tartrate and Hydrochlorothiazide tablets USP, 50 mg/25 mg and 100 mg/25 mg, in the US. Metoprolol Tartrate and Hydrochlorothiazide tablets are indicated for the treatment of hypertension and to lower blood pressure.

The company to announce December quarter earnings on January 16.

#1 Q3 performance was unmemorable, though company was more optimistic for CY25

#2 Saw good deal wins in Q3, early signs of discretionary spend pickup

#3 Performance seems to have bottomed out

#4 Still see downside risk to FY26 consensus

#5 Could relatively underperform other large peers on growth due to higher exposure to Europe

#6 Could relatively underperform on culmination of BSNL deal, supported FY25 growth

#7 Favourable FX & strong recovery discretionary spends are upside risks to estimate

#1 Mixed bag in Q3, growth visibility for FY26 hazy

#2 Decision-making cycle improving

#3 Signs of discretionary demand improving in CY25

#4 Backfill of BSNL revenues in FY26 is hazy

#5 Margin improvement likely in FY26

GMR Airports International B.V. (GAIBV), a subsidiary of GMR Airports has agreed to divest its 50% stake in Megawide GMR Construction JV, Inc., to Megawide Construction Corporation (MCC), for a consideration of an amount of PHP 80.00 mn. (USD 1.365 mn).

The Sensex was up 122.01 points or 0.16 percent at 77,742.22, and the Nifty was up 15.20 points or 0.06 percent at 23,541.70. About 767 shares advanced, 2585 shares declined, and 82 shares unchanged.

Aggregate startup funding numbers at the macro levels is low but at the ground level there is no shortage of ideas. Maybe the valuation expectation has changed.

CESC, PCBL, Just Dial, Valecha Engineering, Vivimed Labs, Brightcom Group, GNA Axles, Hathway Bhawani Cabletel, Shah Metacorp, and Yaari Digital will release their quarterly earnings on January 10.

Antique Stock Broking remains structurally positive on the medium-to-long-term growth prospects of Aditya Birla Real Estate Ltd (ABREL) but notes a minor setback following the Supreme Court ruling on a 10-acre plot in Worli. The brokerage has retained its buy rating with a reduced target price of Rs 3,448 (from Rs 3,804).

The workers' colony land parcel, adjacent to ABREL’s 30-acre freehold land, was under litigation with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Leased to ABREL in 1927 for worker housing, the land was to be transferred to ABREL after the lease expired in 28 years. However, the transfer never occurred, and litigation ensued. While the High Court previously ruled in ABREL’s favor, the Supreme Court reversed the decision on January 7, 2025, directing ABREL to hand over 6.31 acres to BMC. The remaining 3.69 acres are freehold and will remain with ABREL.

The Board of Directors of Apollo Micro Systems, at its meeting held on January 9, 2025 approved to issue upto 3,34,18,806 equity shares of face value Re 1 each at a price of Rs 114 each including premium of Rs 113 per share aggregating to Rs 3,80,97,43,884 on a preferential basis.

And, also approved to issue upto 3,81,67,059 convertible equity warrants of the company each convertible into, or exchangeable for, one equity share of face value Re 1 each within the period of 6 months, at a price of Rs 114 each aggregating upto Rs 4,35,10,44,726.

#1 Q3 in-line with estimates

#2 Encouraged by management commentary on early signs of revival in discretionary spends

#3 Moreover, ramp-down of BSNL deal may provide scope to improve margin

#4 Expect 9 percent EPS CAGR over FY25-27

#5 At 27x PE, valuation is attractive & factors in near-term growth headwinds

The company issued a clarification regarding a media report that SRF and Navin Fluorine shares surged by 13% each on Thursday. SRF clarified that the reported price hike by a US refrigerant gas distributor pertains to the US market. "Changes in prices of refrigerant gases for SRF will remain a function of demand and supply in our relevant market segment."

The share price tumbled 16 percent in the last six trading session.