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Informist, Friday, May 16, 2025

By Akash Mandal

MUMBAI – Benchmark indices took a breather and ended slightly lower Friday after witnessing a sharp rise Thursday. Indices faced selling pressure at higher levels after a week of strong gains, with the Nifty 50 rising over 4% this week. 

Friday, the Nifty 50 moved in a relatively narrow range of around 120 points compared with an over 600-point range Thursday. The India VIX, the fear gauge of the Street, fell 2% to end at 16.55. India VIX fell over 23% this week after rising 18% last week during the conflict between India and Pakistan.

The Nifty 50 closed at 25019.80 points, down 42 points or 0.2%, while the Sensex ended 0.2% lower at 82330.59 points. A fall in telecom major Bharti Airtel and information technology stocks such as Infosys and HCL Technologies led to the decline in benchmark indices. Bharti Airtel ended 2.9% lower and was the worst hit in the Nifty 50 after Singapore Telecommunications sold around 1.2% of its direct stake in the company for INR 131.70 billion, media reports said.

Defence stocks soared for the sixth straight session as the Nifty India Defence rose over 6% to an all-time high of 8377.25 points during the day. The index has risen 21% in the past six sessions. Defence stocks such as Bharat Electronics, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, and Bharat Dynamics hit all-time highs during the session and ended 2-11% higher. Defence companies have risen on hopes that a strong push by the government towards manufacturing indigenous defence equipment will translate to higher order inflows for these companies and better execution of orders, analysts said., analysts said.

"Defence companies are already sitting over AONs (acceptance of necessities) of around INR 1.4 trillion as of December... orders have always been steady but execution has been the challenge," Jyoti Gupta, equity research analyst at Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities, said.

Broader market indices ended 1-2% higher, outperforming benchmark indices. Sectoral indices ended mixed, with information technology stocks being the worst hit. Nifty Healthcare, Nifty Infrastructure, and Nifty Metal were among the other sectoral indices that ended down.

Intraday, shares of IndusInd Bank fell 4% after an internal audit found irregularities totalling INR 6.74 billion in the microfinance business of the bank. Brokerage CLSA downgraded the stock and cut its estimates for the bottom line for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) and FY27. The stock came off lows to end the session flat.

Several stocks also reacted to their March quarter earnings. JSW Energy ended 3.4% higher after its consolidated net profit for the quarter beat analysts' estimates by a wide margin. "JSW is poised for significant growth, led by steady operations and robust financials, sturdy balance sheet and cash flows, and internal accruals sufficient to support growth," Elara Securities said in a report.

PB Fintech ended 1.2% lower after having risen to a four-month high in early trade. The company's net profit for the March quarter nearly tripled on year. Neuland Laboratories ended nearly 7% lower and was the worst hit in the Nifty 500 after its top line and bottom line both fell on year in the March quarter. Global Health declined 3.4% after its bottom line for the quarter fell short of the Street's view. 

Shares of SKF India rose 8% intraday to a five-month high after the company's bottom line for the March quarter came in much above analysts' expectations. The stock was off its highs and ended nearly 6% higher. IFCI surged nearly 18% intraday to a three-month high after its bottom line for the quarter rose sharply on year. Kaynes Technology India came off highs after rising nearly 8% to a four-month high early in the session. The company reported a better-than-expected bottom line for the March quarter, up significantly on year.

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 25 rose and 25 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 16 rose and 14 fell

* On the NSE, 1,969 stocks rose, 911 fell, and 91 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 2,607 stocks rose, 1,380 fell, and 139 were unchanged

* Nifty India Defence: up 5.6%; Nifty Realty: up 1.6%; Nifty IT: down 0.8%

BSE                                               NSE

Sensex: 82330.59, down 200.15 points or 0.2%      Nifty 50: 25019.80, down 42.30 points or 0.2%

End

Edited by Saji George Titus

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