BAROMETERS TRADE WITH DEEP CUTS; PRIVATE BANK SHARES DROP

The frontline equity benchmarks traded with substantial losses in the mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 25,900 level. Investor sentiment remained weak amid persistent foreign institutional investor (FII) selling and a depreciating rupee. Additionally, mixed economic data further weighed on market mood, while participants continued to keep an eye on ongoing IPO activity.

Private bank shares witnessed profit booking after advancing in the past three consecutive trading sessions.

At 14:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 528.79 points or 0.62% to 84,684.57. The Nifty 50 index fell 163.50 points or 0.62% to 25,863.05.

The broader market underperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.86% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.67%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,594 shares rose and 2,493 shares fell. A total of 158 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty private bank index dropped 1.20% to 28,471.95. The index rallied 1.20% in the past three consecutive trading sessions.

Axis Bank (down 4.62%), RBL Bank (down 1.99%), Bandhan Bank (down 1.5%), Yes Bank (down 1.42%), IndusInd Bank (down 0.89%), Federal Bank (down 0.89%), IDFC First Bank (down 0.51%), ICICI Bank (down 0.09%) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 0.01%) declined.

On the other hand, HDFC Bank (up 0.02%) edged higher.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.09% to 6.588 compared with previous session close of 6.594.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.9800 compared with its close of 90.7800 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2025 settlement slipped 0.25% to Rs 133,799.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.05% to 97.900.

The United States 10-year bond yield lost 0.43% to 4.163.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2025 settlement dropped 84 cents or 1.39% to $59.72 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Goel Construction Company advanced 2.31% after the company secured an Rs 86.50 crore service order from Dalmia Cement (Bharat) for the execution of the main plant civil works contract for post-clinkerization work at Kadapa L2, Andhra Pradesh.

Senores Pharmaceuticals rose 0.21%. The company announced that it has signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire 100% of the share capital of Apnar Pharma in two tranches.

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