Nifty 50 closed at 24,039.35 (-207.4, -0.9%), BSE Sensex closed at 79,212.53 (-588.9, -0.7%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 21,848.15 (-332.5, -1.5%). Market breadth is highly negative. Of the 2,433 stocks traded today, 320 were on the uptrend, and 2,092 went down.
Indian indices closed in the red, weighed down by declining hotel, port infrastructure, and aviation stocks amid rising India-Pakistan tensions. The Indian volatility index, Nifty VIX, rose 5.6% and closed at 17.2 points. LIC Housing Finance announced a 25 bps reduction in its housing prime lending rate (HPLR) to 8%, effective April 28.
Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 closed in the red, following the benchmark index. Nifty High Beta 50 & Nifty Media were among the top index losers today. According to Trendlyne’s Sector dashboard, Hardware Technology & Equipment emerged as the worst-performing sector of the day, with a fall of 4.5%.
Asian indices closed higher, except Indian indices. European indices are trading in the green. US index futures traded higher, indicating a positive start to the trading session. Google’s parent company, Alphabet reported Q1 revenue of $90.2 billion, beating the analyst estimates by 1.2%. Google Services revenue climbed 10% YoY to $32.7 billion, thanks to strong performance across Google Search, Google subscription, platform & devices, and YouTube ads.
Relative strength index (RSI) indicates that stocks like Solar Industries, MRF, GMR Airports and L&T Finance are in the overbought zone.
Hindustan Zinc's net profit surges 47.4% YoY to Rs 3,003 crore in Q4FY25, helped by inventory destocking. Revenue increases 20.4% YoY to Rs 9,087 crore, driven by higher sales from the zinc, lead and silver segment during the quarter. The company appears in a screener of stocks where mutual funds increased their shareholding over the past two months.
Maruti Suzuki India falls as its Q4FY25 net profit falls 1% YoY to Rs 3,911.1 crore due to higher raw materials, employee benefits and other expenses. Revenue rises 6.4% YoY to Rs 40,920.1 crore during the quarter. The company features in a screener of stocks where mutual funds decreased their shareholding over the past quarter.
VST Industries falls sharply as its Q4FY25 net profit declines 39.7% YoY to Rs 53 crore. Revenue falls by 8.2% YoY to Rs 463.2 crore during the quarter. It appears in a screener of stocks with zero debt.
HP India partners with Dixon Technologies to start local production of laptops, desktops, and all-in-one PCs in May. HP India's Senior VP & MD, Ipsita Dasgupta, expects this to nearly double HP’s manufacturing output in India. HP is among 27 companies approved under the Rs 17,000-crore IT hardware PLI scheme launched in 2023.
KR Choksey maintains its 'Hold' call on Jio Financial Services, with a lower target price of Rs 268 per share. This indicates a potential upside of 5.7%. The brokerage remains cautiously optimistic about the company due to near-term pressures from expansion and ongoing investments.
Interglobe Aviation falls sharply as tensions rise between India and Pakistan. Pakistan shuts its airspace to Indian carriers, impacting flights from cities like Delhi, Amritsar, and Jaipur, leading to longer routes.
L&T Technology Services falls sharply as its Q4FY25 net profit declines 3.5% QoQ to Rs 311.1 crore due to higher employee benefits, finance, and depreciation & amortisation expenses. However, revenue grows 12.8% QoQ to Rs 3,031.7 crore owing to improvements in the mobility, sustainability, and tech segments. It shows up in a screener of stocks with increasing trend in non-core income.
Nuvama Institutional Equities expects Reliance Industries to post a Q4 profit of Rs 17,435.6 crore, down 8% YoY from Rs 18,951 crore in the same quarter last year. It projects a 2% YoY increase in consolidated EBITDA, driven by strong performance in the digital and retail businesses.
LIC Housing Finance announces a 25 bps reduction in its housing prime lending rate (HPLR), effective April 28. The revised home loan rates will now start from 8%, down from the earlier 8.25%.
HBL Engineering secures five orders worth Rs 762.6 crore from Central Railway to implement Kavach systems across 413 stations, covering 3,900 km.
Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) is rising as its Q4FY25 net profit grows 21.1% YoY to Rs 117.1 crore. Revenue increases 17% YoY to Rs 174.6 crore, driven by an improvement in traded electricity volume on the back of increased demand. It features in a screener of stocks with negative to positive growth in sales and profit, and strong price momentum.
Hotel stocks such as IHCL, Lemon Tree, and ITC Hotels decline following reported cancellations after the terror attack in Pahalgam (Jammu & Kashmir) during the peak season. ICICI Securities expects a temporary drop in tourist arrivals to Kashmir, with domestic travellers likely shifting to alternative destinations in the near term.
Aavas Financiers' net profit grows 7.8% YoY to Rs 153.7 crore in Q4FY25. Revenue increases 16.5% YoY to Rs 636.2 crore due to higher interest income and fees & commission income. The company appears in a screener of stocks with an increasing trend in non-core income.
MphasiS is rising as its Q4FY25 net profit grows 4.4% QoQ to Rs 446.5 crore. Revenue increases 4% QoQ to Rs 3,770 crore, driven by improvements in the banking & financial services, technology, media & telecom, and insurance segments. It appears in a screener of stocks with increasing revenue for the past four quarters.
Paras Defence and Space Technologies' board of directors schedules a meeting on April 30 to consider and approve a proposal for the sub-division / split of equity shares. The board will also announce the company's Q4FY25 and FY25 results during the meeting.
Vodafone Idea declines over 5% as 104 crore shares (1.4% equity), amounting to Rs 823 crore, reportedly change hands in a block deal
Prestige Estates board approves an offer for sale of up to Rs 1,000 crore in its subsidiary, Prestige Hospitality Ventures (PHVL). The company files a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for an IPO to raise Rs 2,700 crore.
Cyient’s Q4FY25 net profit grows 39.3% QoQ to Rs 170.4 crore, driven by improvement in project execution and cost control. Revenue increases 2.1% QoQ to Rs 1,950 crore due to order wins. The firm appears in a screener of stocks where mutual funds increase stakes in Q4FY25.
PB Fintech invests Rs 539.4 crore in its subsidiary, PB Healthcare Services, by subscribing to equity shares. This is the first round of seed funding, with external investors and PB Fintech investing a total of Rs 1,461.6 crore in the subsidiary.
Nuvama maintains its 'Buy' rating on SBI Cards with a higher target price of Rs 1,070. The brokerage notes improved asset quality for SBI Cards in Q4FY25 after two years of decline. It highlights the CEO's guidance of 12–14% loan growth and stable NIM. While a rate cut cycle may reduce the cost of funds, the brokerage believes it could also lower EMI product yields.
Patel Engineering surges as it secures two contracts worth Rs 2,037 crore for civil construction work for a 240 MW hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh and a 1,209-metre dam in Maharashtra.
Macrotech Developers is rising as its net profit grows 38.5% YoY to Rs 921.7 crore in Q4FY25, aided by lower depreciation and amortisation expenses. Revenue increases 5.1% YoY to Rs 4,224.3 crore during the quarter. The company appears in a screener of stocks outperforming their industry price change in the quarter.
Axis Bank is falling as its net profit declines marginally by 0.2% YoY to Rs 7,117.5 crore in Q4FY25. Revenue increases 6.9% YoY to Rs 31,242.5 crore, driven by improvements in the wholesale and retail banking segments. The bank's asset quality improves during the quarter as its gross NPAs contract by 15 bps YoY.
Tech Mahindra's Q4FY25 net profit grows 18.7% QoQ to Rs 1,166.7 crore, led by lower sub-contracting and impairment of goodwill expenses, and a deferred tax return of Rs 176.9 crore. Revenue increases 1.9% QoQ to Rs 13,556.7 crore, helped by an improvement in the IT segment. It features in a screener of stocks outperforming their industries over the past month.
Nifty 50 was trading at 24,344.80 (98.1, 0.4%), BSE Sensex was trading at 79,941.24 (139.8, 0.2%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 22,242.15 (61.5, 0.3%).
Market breadth is in the red. Of the 1,932 stocks traded today, 814 were on the uptrend, and 1,058 went down.
Riding High:
Largecap and midcap gainers today include SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd. (1,695.10, 5.4%), MphasiS Ltd. (2,538.60, 2.9%) and Persistent Systems Ltd. (5,273.50, 2.3%).
Downers:
Largecap and midcap losers today include SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd. (867.55, -6.4%), ACC Ltd. (1,938, -6.2%) and Shriram Finance Ltd. (655.20, -6.0%).
Volume Shockers
19 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.
Top high volume gainers on BSE included SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd. (1,695.10, 5.4%), Dr. Lal Pathlabs Ltd. (2,911.20, 4.4%) and Archean Chemical Industries Ltd. (656.70, 3.0%).
Top high volume losers on BSE were SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd. (867.55, -6.4%), Cyient Ltd. (1,170.80, -5.8%) and L&T Technology Services Ltd. (4,256.10, -5.0%).
Indian Energy Exchange Ltd. (190.50, -0.2%) was trading at 16.8 times of weekly average. Jubilant Ingrevia Ltd. (695.65, 2.3%) and Esab India Ltd. (4,604.50, -1.2%) were trading with volumes 8.7 and 7.1 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.
BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages
7 stocks made 52 week highs,
Stocks touching their year highs included - JK Cement Ltd. (5,245.30, -0.3%), Solar Industries India Ltd. (1,2757, -3.7%) and UltraTech Cement Ltd. (12,237, 0.6%).
7 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Archean Chemical Industries Ltd. (656.70, 3.0%) and Jubilant Ingrevia Ltd. (695.65, 2.3%). 35 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. (694.90, -8.1%) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. (1,616.80, -6.5%).