1 month ago
Indian equities are bracing themselves for a tumultuous week ahead after US equity futures saw a sharp sell-off on Sunday evening US time in response to US President Donald Trump imposing tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.
As of 6:30 PM Eastern Time, the Dow futures were down over 600 points, the S&P 500 futures sank nearly 2% or over 110 points, while the Nasdaq futures were down over 550 points. The US Dollar too has regained its strength and is back to levels above 109. You can read more on that here.
Following a sustained upmove over the last four trading sessions, the Nifty 50 index witnessed high volatility on Union Budget 2025 in the Parliament. The special trading session on Saturday (February 1) saw the index open on a positive note and moved up further till 11 am.
However, as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began the Budget speech, volatility picked up in the mid-session. Despite this, an upside recovery toward the end helped limit losses, and the market closed with minor cuts, tracking budget proposals.
The market snapped its three-week losing streak, gaining over 1.5%, supported by positive domestic cues. Sentiment remained upbeat from the start, fueled by select heavyweight stocks reacting to earnings and the RBI’s liquidity measures.
However, in the special Saturday, benchmark indices took a breather and ended flat. The Sensex moved up 5 points to 77,506, while the Nifty slipped 26 points to 23,482.
Consumption stocks surged as Nifty FMCG and Tourism were the top gainers, driven by Budget-related consumption boosts. Capex-related stocks saw heavy losses, with Defence, PSU, and Capital Goods indices falling over 3% each.
Meanwhile, Auto stocks rallied on a proposed tax rebate, pushing Nifty Auto up by 2%.
Going ahead, the impact of the Union Budget may continue to influence markets initially, but focus will soon shift to corporate earnings and the upcoming RBI MPC meeting. Market participants will closely monitor the policy review for any indications of further monetary support, following the recent liquidity measures.
Major earnings announcements from Bharti Airtel, ITC, Titan, Hero Motocorp, and M&M, among others, will also be in focus.
Additionally, FII flows, high-frequency economic data, and global cues will remain key factors.
Foreign investors returned to being net sellers in the cash market on Saturday, while domestic investors remained net buyers.
Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said the underlying trend of Nifty remains positive and the market is facing a stiff resistance at around 23,500-23,600 levels. A decisive move above this hurdle could open further upside towards 24,000 levels in the near term. Immediate support is placed at 23,300 levels.
LKP Securities' Rupak De said the Nifty has witnessed a roller-coaster ride during the Budget session. On the daily chart, a small-bodied candle has formed, indicating indecision. The index has support at 23,280, and as long as it remains above this level, the trend might stay positive. On the higher end, the index could move towards 23,700–24,000 in the short term. However, a fall below 23,280 might trigger panic in the market.
"Technically, the 20 DEMA levels of 23400 - 23350 is to be seen as immediate supports and in case of any aberration, 23100 - 22800 are to be treated as key support zones in the coming week. On the upside, the 50 DEMA around 23670-23700 and the upper band of the ‘Falling Wedge’ near 23800 - 24000 are likely to serve as key resistance levels to watch in the upcoming period," said Osho Krishnan of Angel One.
Going ahead, Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking said a decisive move above 23,650 could pave the way for further recovery toward the 23,900–24,200 zone, while on the downside, support at 23,000–23,300 will be critical to hold.
Here are the stocks to watch ahead of Monday's trading session:
Jewellery Stocks | From May 1, the new tariff lines are created based on precious metal content and there is no change to effective real rates.
Eicher Motors | Royal Enfield sales up 19.6% to 91,132 units.
MOIL | Production of 1.6 lakh tonnes of Manganese ore in January. Sales up 17% to 1.57 lakh tonnes. Exploratory core drilling up 10% to 11,099 meters. The company has also raised the price of ore with Manganese Content of Mn-44% and above by 3.5%. Price of ore with Manganese content below 44% increased by 8.2%. Prices of all chemical grades increased by 8.2%.
Aarti Industries | Net profit falls 63% from last year to ₹46 crore. Revenue up 6.2% to ₹1,840 crore. EBITDA down 11.2% to ₹231 crore. EBITDA margin at 12.6% from 15% last year.
Coal India | Production in January down 0.8% to 77.8 MT. Year-to-Date production at 621 MT, still 74% of full year production target. Offtake up 2.2% to 68.6 MT.
Anant Raj | Net profit up 55% to 110.3 crore. Revenue up 36.3% to ₹534.6 crore. EBITDA up 47.1% to ₹133.1 crore. EBITDA margin at 24.9% from 23.1% earlier.
GR Infra | Net profit up 7.8% to ₹261.7 crore. Revenue down 20.6% to ₹1,694.5 crore. EBITDA down 27.1% to ₹370 crore. EBITDA margin at 21.8% from 23.8%.
Neogen Chemicals | Net profit of ₹10 crore from ₹1 crore last year. Revenue up 22.5% to ₹201.4 crore. EBITDA up 71.3% to ₹34.6 crore. EBITDA margin at 17.2% from 12.3%.
Hero MotoCorp | January sales up 2% to 4.42 lakh units. Total domestic sales down 2% to 4.12 lakh units. Exports at 30,495 units from 12,664 units last year.
Lupin | Announces closure of inspection by the USFDA at its Somerset facility with zero observations.
Happiest Minds | Enters into a share purchase agreement to acquire 100% stake in Gavs Technologies Ltd.'s Middle East Business through the acquisition of InnovazIT Technologies LLC, Dubai, Gavs Technologies LLC, Oman and Gavs Technologies Saudi Arabia for Telecommunications and Information Technology, Saudi Arabia for a cash consideration of $1.7 million. The acquisition is likely to be completed by March 15, 2025.
