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Informist, Thursday, Jun. 5, 2025

By Akash Mandal

MUMBAI – Benchmark indices ended higher Thursday as investors covered short positions ahead of the weekly expiry of the Nifty 50 derivatives contract. Indices were firm through the day and were up over 1% at their intraday highs but were unable to sustain the gains due to selling at the higher levels.

The Nifty 50 ended at 24750.90 points, up 130.70 points or 0.5%. The BSE Sensex closed at 81442.04 points, up 443.79 points or 0.6%. Heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, and HDFC Bank had risen around 2% higher at their day's highs and were the top contributors to the surge in the indices intraday. These stocks eventually ended 1-2% higher. Shares of companies from the capital intensive and rate-sensitive sectors such as real estate, defence, and infrastructure were among the top gainers of the day ahead of an expected rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday.

Shares of Eternal, the operator of food delivery platform Zomato and quick-commerce platform Blinkit, soared over 4% to a four-month high and was the top gainer in the Nifty 50. Global brokerage Morgan Stanley Tuesday revised its estimates for the Indian quick commerce market and said it expects the total addressable market to increase to $57 billion by 2030. It had earlier projected this market for the 10-minute delivery format to be at $42 billion. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories ended 3% higher after brokerage HSBC upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'hold' and raised the target price to INR 1,445 from INR 1,235.

Most sectoral indices ended higher, with the Nifty India Defence, Nifty Realty, Nifty Pharma, and Nifty Healthcare rising 1-2% and were the top gainers. The Nifty India Defence has now risen in 17 of the last 20 sessions, gaining 32%. Analysts attribute this rise to increased focus on order execution, strong earnings in the March quarter, and positive sentiment after the India and Pakistan conflict. "The Akash systems were built a long time ago but were proven during the conflict...this showed how reliable Indian equipment is," an analyst at a leading domestic brokerage said.

Cochin Shipyard soared nearly 13% and was the top Nifty 500 gainer. "Warships played a key role during the conflict (between India-Pakistan) with the INS Vikrant being docked near Karachi...so there are talks of building a third aircraft carrier now. Cochin Shipyard is the only Indian company to have a capacity for building aircraft carriers," the analyst quoted above said.

The Nifty Metal rose for the second straight session despite the US' increased tariffs on steel and aluminium coming into effect Wednesday. Hindustan Zinc, Welspun Corp, and Jindal Stainless ended 3-6% higher. Many analysts are positive on the sector due to high demand expected in the near term. The World Steel Association expects India's steel demand to rise 8.5% to 156 million tonnes in 2026, ET Now said quoting a report by Antique Stock Broking. ET Now said the brokerage also sees exports from China slowing down due to rationalisation of steel production and announcement of stimulus by the Chinese government to counter US tariffs.

Public sector banks were among the worst performers of the day. Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, and Bank of Maharashtra ended 1-2% lower. The Nifty PSU Bank index had risen in 15 of the past 20 sessions, soaring 14% in that period.

Welspun Living ended 5% higher after global brokerage Jefferies initiated coverage on the stock with a 'buy' rating and a target price of INR 185. PNC Infratech ended nearly 5% higher as some analysts are bullish about the company's performance in FY26. The company held its post-earnings conference call Wednesday. "PNC has guided for 20% revenue growth which implies 30% growth over adjusted base of PY (previous year) and expects EBITDA margins of 13% for FY26E...with robust bid pipeline of INR 1.1 tln (trillion), PNC has guided for inflows of INR 150 bln (billion) for FY26E," JM Financial said in a report.

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 32 rose and 18 fell 

* Of the Sensex stocks, 17 rose, 12 fell, and 1 was unchanged

* On the NSE, 1,738 stocks rose, 1,144 fell, and 91 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 2,261 stocks rose, 1,719 fell, and 149 were unchanged

* Nifty India Defence: up 2.3%; Nifty Realty: up 1.8%; Nifty PSU Bank: down 0.6%

BSE                                               NSE

Sensex: 81442.04, up 443.79 points or 0.6%        Nifty 50: 24750.90, up 130.70 points or 0.5%

End

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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