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Informist, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025

By Akash Mandal

MUMBAI – Benchmark indices ended sharply lower Tuesday, extending their fall to the fifth straight session. The sentiment was dampened after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose a flat 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminium effective from Mar. 4. The tariffs may lead to increased dumping of cheaper steel into the Indian market by major producers such as China. Investors will await to see the outcome of Prime Minister Narendra Narendra Modi's visit to the US, where India might seek an exemption from tariff increases, various media reports said. 

Investors will also await further steps by Trump after the US president threatened countries with a threat of an 'eye-for-eye' tariff. India, Thailand, and China have higher relative tariff rates on US exports and are thus at a risk of higher reciprocal tariffs, securities firm Nomura said in a report. 

India levies a 9.5% weighted average effective tariff on US imports, the highest among Asian economies, compared to the 3% tariff on India's exports to the US, the report said. However, India is expected to reduce tariffs on over 30 items and is preparing to increase the purchase of defence equipment and energy from the US, according to media reports. 

The Nifty 50 ended at 23071.80 points, down 309.80 points or 1.3%, and the BSE Sensex ended at 76293.60 points, down 1018.20 points or 1.3%. The Nifty 50 ended off its day's low after it had fallen below 23000 points for the first time in almost two weeks. The Nifty 50 and the Sensex have fallen nearly 3% over the past five sessions. 

Only four of the Nifty 50 constituents ended in green Tuesday--Adani Enterprises, Grasim Industries, Trent, and Bharti Airtel. Overall, nearly 87% of the stocks listed on the National Stock Exchange and 85% of the stocks listed on the BSE ended in the red. Broader market indices saw an even sharper fall, with the Nifty Smallcap and Nifty Midcap indices ending down 3.0-3.5% each. 

Among the Nifty 50 constituents, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise fell over 6% to end at 6,317.35 despite its earnings for the December quarter beating analysts' estimates. Eicher Motors plunged 7% and was the worst hit in the index after global brokerage UBS downgraded its rating on the stock to 'neutral' from 'buy' and cut the target price to INR 5,650 from INR 5,950. The automobile maker reported a consolidated net profit of INR 11.71 billion for the December quarter on revenues of INR 49.73 billion after market hours on Monday. Analysts had expected the company's net profit to be INR 11.91 billion.

While the earnings for the quarter for Eicher Motors were good, its margins missed estimates and was a negative shock, an analyst tracking the sector at a large international brokerage said. "The margins were down around 150 bps (basis points) in the previous quarter due to higher marketing costs, and was supposed to have bottomed out... however, margins missed estimates by around 120 bps this time too," the analyst said.

Most Adani group companies lost intraday gains made after the US President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Justice to pause enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, under which Gautam Adani was booked in November. Six US Congressmen also wrote to the newly appointed attorney general, demanding a probe into the previous Department of Justice's indictment of Adani group officials under former president Joe Biden's reign, media reports said. Adani Enterprises and Adani Power both ended over 1% higher. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Green Energy, Adani Energy Solutions, and Adani Total Gas fell 1-2% trading higher during the session. 

All sectoral indices ended in the red for the second straight day. Nifty Realty was the worst-hit among sectoral indices and fell over 3%. Oberoi Realty, Sobha, Mahindra Lifespace Developers all fell over 5%. Almost all stocks in the Nifty Healthcare ended lower. The healthcare index fell 2.5%, dragged down by Apollo Hospitals Enterprise. The Nifty FMCG ended in the red for the seventh straight session after rising briefly earlier in the session.

Among stocks, HBL Engineering declined nearly 9% after its consolidated net profit for the December quarter fell over 18% on year. Varroc Engineering fell 5.5% after the company posted a consolidated net loss for the quarter, compared to a profit in the year-ago period. Varun Beverages fell over 5% after its Oct-Dec earnings. KFin Technologies, Elecon Engineering Co. and Godfrey Phillips India fell 8-10% and were among the worst hit in the Nifty 500. 

CRISIL rose nearly 5% after its consolidated net profit for the December quarter rose 6.9% on year. Happiest Minds Technologies and Timken India ended 6% and 5% higher, respectively, and were among the top gainers in the Nifty 500. 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 4 rose and 46 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 1 rose and 29 fell

* On the NSE, 326 stocks rose, 2,532 fell, and 60 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 525 stocks rose, 3,478 fell, and 94 were unchanged

* Nifty Realty: down 3.1%; Nifty Media: down 2.9%; Nifty Bank: down 1.2%

BSE                                                      NSE

76293.60 points, down 1018.20 points or 1.3%             23071.80 points, down 309.80 points or 1.3%

End

US$1 = INR 86.83

Edited by Saji George Titus

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