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Informist, Wednesday, Jul. 16, 2025

By Gopika Balasubramanium

MUMBAI – Indian equity indices closed marginally higher on Wednesday after moving in a thin range throughout the session with no fresh triggers for movement on either side. Benchmark indices were slightly lower after opening but recouped their losses in the latter half of the session, supported by buying in index heavyweights. Metal and pharmaceutical stocks were the biggest drag on these indices.  

The Nifty 50 closed at 25212.05 points, up 16.25 points or nearly 0.1%. Gains from select index heavyweights such as HDFC Bank and Infosys prevented the Nifty 50 from falling. The BSE Sensex closed at 82634.48 points, up 63.57 points or 0.1%. Broader market indices were marginally higher. Buying interest was more in the Nifty Smallcap 250 index than its peers, with the index closing 0.2% higher.

Most large-cap information technology stocks closed higher for the second consecutive session, after having declined for four consecutive sessions. These stocks declined as sentiment was hit due to disappointing earnings and guidance cut by their peers--Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies. Wipro, whose earnings are due Thursday, closed 2% higher, while Tech Mahindra, whose earnings are due post market close, ended 1.8% higher. The Nifty IT index closed at 37660.70 points, up 0.6%.  

Meanwhile, shares of pharmaceutical companies closed lower. Shares of companies such as Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Lupin, Mankind Pharma, and Cipla closed 1.0-1.5% lower. The Nifty Pharma and the Nifty Healthcare indices were among the worst-hit indices and closed 0.3% lower each. Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump had said that he may levy duties on pharmaceutical imports entering the US by Aug. 1. At the beginning of the month, Trump in a cabinet meeting had said that pharma products entering the US coast would attract levies as high as 200%, media reports said.

Metal stocks such as Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Hindalco Industries, and Jindal Stainless closed 1-2% lower. The Nifty Metal was the worst-hit index and closed at 9360.70 points, down 0.6%. 

The Nifty PSU Bank closed 1.8% higher and was the top gainer among sectoral indices. All the 12 index constituents closed higher. Punjab National Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, and Indian Overseas Bank gained 2-3%. Media reports said the government will decide on increasing foreign investment in state-owned banks after the Reserve Bank of India reviews norms on voting rights and shareholding limits. Currently, the government mandatorily holds a minimum 51% stake in public sector banks with overseas investors limited to 20%.  

Among individual stocks, shares of HDFC Life Insurance Co. closed slightly lower, reversing all gains. The stock had risen nearly 3% to an intraday high of INR 776.90 after both net profit and net premium income for the June quarter rose on year. Shares of Ashok Leyland plunged 51% on Wednesday as the stock traded ex-bonus for the first time. The stock ended at INR 124.60, down 50.3%. The commercial vehicles-maker had fixed Wednesday as the record date for its proposed 1:1 bonus share issue, approved by company shareholders on Jul. 7. The 50% fall in share price comes as the price of each share has halved due to the bonus issue. 

Shares of State Bank of India closed 1.9% higher, after rising over 2% to an intraday high of INR 834.20, which is also their highest level since Apr. 22. Earlier in the day, the state-owned bank's board had approved raising INR 200 billion through the issuance of Basel-III compliant additional tier-I and tier-II bonds in 2025-26 (Apr-Mar). The stock extended gains for the fourth straight session. 

Shares of Vedanta closed 0.6% lower and were down after three sessions of gains. Earlier in the day, US-based Viceroy Research made fresh allegations against Vedanta, and said that the Agarwal family seems to have hidden stake in the company through undisclosed fronts--employee welfare tryst Bhadram Jahnit Shalika Trust and its subsidiary PTC Cables Pvt. Ltd. "Over INR 14.99 billion of Vedanta dividends were paid to entities we believe remain under control of the Agarwal family, and function more akin to political lobbying fronts for influence peddling, and to plug promoter vehicles with cash," the short seller said in its latest report.

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 29 rose and 21 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 16 rose and 14 fell

* On the NSE, 1,660 stocks rose, 1,269 fell, and 89 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 2,301 stocks rose, 1,742 fell, and 173 were unchanged

* Nifty PSU Bank: up 1.8%; Nifty Media: up 1.3%; Nifty Metal: down 0.5%

BSE                                               NSE

Sensex: 82634.48, up 63.57 points or 0.1%        Nifty 50: 25212.05, up 16.25 points or 0.1%

End

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

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