Nifty slides below 24,800; metal shares decline

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with moderate losses in the early-afternoon trade despite positive global cues, as fund outflows triggered by large block deals and heightened primary market activity weighed on investor sentiment. The Nifty traded below the 24,800 level. Metal shares extended losses for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 149.44 points or 0.19% to 81,402.19. The Nifty 50 index shed 47.05 points or 0.19% to 24,779.15.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.24% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.68%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,066 shares rose and 1,686 shares fell. A total of 192 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 1.56% to 18.25. The Nifty 29 May 2025 futures were trading at 24,786.10, at a premium of 6.95 point as compared with the spot at 24,779.15.

The Nifty option chain for the 29 May 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 240.3 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 122.5 lakh contracts was seen at 24,000 strike price.

Economy:

Foreign direct investment in India fell 24.5% year-on-year to $9.34 billion in the January-March quarter of 2024-25 but grew 13% at $50 billion during the entire previous financial year, according to the government data released on Tuesday. FDI inflows during January-March 2023-24 stood at $12.38 billion. These were $44.42 billion in the full 2023-24 fiscal. During the October-December quarter of 2024-25 also, the inflows were contracted by 5.6% year-on-year to $10.9 billion due to global economic uncertainties.

IMD Forecasts:

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, has issued its updated Long-Range Forecast for the 2025 Southwest Monsoon season (June?September) along with the Monthly Rainfall and Temperature Outlook for June 2025. According to the forecast, the seasonal rainfall across the country as a whole is likely to be 106% of the Long Period Average (LPA), with a model error of ?4%, indicating a high probability of above-normal rainfall during the monsoon season.

Regionally, the rainfall is most likely to be above normal over Central India and the South Peninsular region, while Northwest India is expected to experience normal rainfall levels (ranging between 92-108% of LPA). In contrast, Northeast India is likely to receive below-normal rainfall (<94% of LPA).

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index slipped 0.64% to 9,235.40. The index declined 1.03% in past two consecutive trading sessions.

NMDC (down 2.21%), JSW Steel (down 1.26%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.15%), Steel Authority of India (down 0.77%), Vedanta (down 0.71%), Tata Steel (down 0.49%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 0.4%), APL Apollo Tubes (down 0.38%), Adani Enterprises (down 0.32%) and Jindal Stainless (down 0.32%) declined.

On the other hand, Welspun Corp (up 2.85%), Hindustan Copper (up 1.68%) and Hindustan Zinc (up 0.68%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

ITI surged 8.04% after the company?s consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 4.38 crore in Q4 FY25, compared with net loss of Rs 238.82 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 73.9% YoY to Rs 1,045.70 crore in Q4 FY25.

JK Lakshmi Cement shed 0.45%. The company reported a 3.08% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 137.96 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 142.35 crore posted in the same quarter last year. However, revenue from operations increased by 5.52% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1,738.82 crore in the fourth quarter.

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