In the week ended on Friday, 31 January 2025, the S&P BSE Sensex surged 1,310.11 points or 171.95% to settle at 77500.57. The Nifty 50 index jumped 416.20 points, or 180.23% to settle at 23,508.40. The BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 0.89% to close at 43,096.45. The BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.30% to end at 49,958.39.
Weekly Index Movement:
The domestic equity benchmarks witnessed a sharp decline on Monday, pressured by a series of negative factors. The S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 824.29 points or 1.08% to 75,366.17. The Nifty 50 index declined 263.05 points or 1.14% to 22,829.15.
Key equity benchmarks staged a rebound on Tuesday, snapping a two-day losing streak, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced measures to enhance liquidity in the banking system. The S&P BSE Sensex surged 535.24 points or 0.71% to 75,901.41. The Nifty 50 index advanced 128.10 points or 0.56% to 22,957.25.
The key equity benchmarks ended with substantial gains on Wednesday, rising for the second consecutive session. The S&P BSE Sensex rallied 631.55 points or 0.83% to 76,532.96. The Nifty 50 index advanced 205.85 points or 0.90% to 23,163.10.
The domestic equity indices saw healthy gains on Thursday, extending their upward trend for the third consecutive session as investors look ahead to the Union Budget 2025. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 226.85 points or 0.30% to 76,759.81. The Nifty 50 index added 86.40 points or 0.37% to 23,249.50. In three consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex and Nifty added by 1.85% and 1.84%, respectively.
The equity barometers ended with major gains on Friday, rising for the fourth consecutive session as anticipation of favorable moves in the upcoming Union Budget, which have also bolstered market sentiment. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 740.76 points or 0.97% to 77,500.57. The Nifty 50 index added 258.90 points or 1.11% to 23,508.40.
Economy:
India is expected to record GDP growth of 6.3-6.8 percent in the financial year 2025-26 on the back of strong fundamentals, calibrated fiscal consolidation, and stable private consumption, said the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament on Friday.
India’s economic prospects for FY26 are balanced going ahead, the economic survey stated. Headwinds to growth include elevated geopolitical and trade uncertainties and possible commodity price shocks. Overall, India will need to improve its global competitiveness through grassroots-level structural reforms and deregulation to reinforce its medium-term growth potential.
India needs a continued step-up of infrastructure investment over the next two decades to sustain a high rate of growth, states the Economic Survey 2024-25, presented by Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament today.The Economic Survey states that building infrastructure—physical, digital, and social—has been a central focus area for the government in the last five years.
It states that public capital alone cannot meet the demands of upgrading the country’s infrastructure commensurate with the requirements of Viksit Bharat@2047. We need to ensure increasing private participation in infrastructure by improving their capacity to conceptualize projects and their confidence in risk and revenue-sharing mechanisms, contract management, conflict resolution, and project closure.
Stocks in Spotlight:
ICICI Bank added 3.55%. The bank’s standalone net profit increased 14.81% to Rs 11,792.42 crore on 13.03% rise in total income to Rs 48,367.87 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24. Net interest income (NII) increased by 9.06% YoY to Rs 20,371 crore in during the quarter. Net interest margin (NIM) was 4.25% in Q3 FY25 as compared to 4.43% in Q3 FY24.
IDFC First Bank rose 1.56%. The bank’s standalone net profit declined 52.57% to Rs 339.43 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 715.68 crore posted in same quarter previous year. However, total income during the quarter increased by 18.38% YoY to Rs 11,122.87 crore.
Coal India added 3.29%. The company reported 17.04% decrease in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,505.57 crore in Q3 FY25 from Rs 10,253.48 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations fell 1.03% to Rs 35,779.78 crore in the third quarter of FY25 from Rs 36,153.97 crore recorded in the same period last year. Meanwhile, the board has declared the second interim dividend of Rs 5.60 per equity share for the financial year 2024-25 and also fixed Friday, 31 January 2025, as the record date.
JSW Steel rose 1.31%. The company reported a 70.65% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 719 crore in Q3 FY25 compared with Rs 2,450 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations declined 1.32% YoY to Rs 40,793 crore during the quarter.
Central Depository Services (India) (CDSL) tanked 12.48%. The company’s consolidated net profit declined 19.85% to Rs 129.80 crore on 13.7% fall in revenue from operations to Rs 278.10 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q2 FY25. During the Q3 FY 2024-25, approximately 92 lakh new demat accounts were opened.
Cipla rallied 4.78%. The pharma major’s consolidated net profit jumped 48.73% to Rs 1,570.51 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 1,055.90 crore reported in Q3 FY24. Total revenue from operations grew by 7.10% year on year (YoY) to Rs 7,072.97 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.
Tata Steel rose 3.58%. The company’s consolidated net profit declined 43.4% to Rs 295 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 522 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations fell 5% YoY to Rs 32,760.45 crore
Tata Motors fell 2.44%. The company reported a 22.41% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 5,451 crore despite of 2.71% fall in revenue from operations to Rs 113,575 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.
Bajaj Auto rallied 5.5%. The company’s standalone net profit rose 3.27% to Rs 2,108.73 crore on a 5% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 13,142 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.
Maruti Suzuki India rose 2.8%. The company reported 12.61% rise in net profit to Rs 3,525 crore on 15.51% increase in net sales to Rs 36,802 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.
Nestle India gained 4.69%. The FMCG major's standalone net profit rose 6.18% to Rs 696.13 crore on 3.9% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 4,779.73 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24. Total sales stood at Rs 4,762.13 crore in the December 2024 quarter, up 3.89% from Rs 4,583.63 crore recorded in the same period a year ago.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) gained 3.17%. The company reported 13.96% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,358.84 crore in Q3 FY25 compared with Rs 2,947.36 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 17.31% YoY to Rs 64,667.78 crore in Q3 FY25
Vedanta shed 0.15%. The company’s consolidated net profit jumped 70.01% to Rs 4,876 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 2,868 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 10.18% to Rs 38,526 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 34,968 crore in Q3 FY24.
Tata Consumer Products rallied 3.31%. The company’s consolidated net profit was flat at Rs 278.88 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 278.87 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 16.82% year on year (YoY) to Rs 4,443.56 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.
Global Market:
China's industrial profits rose 11% year on year in December. However, investors also turned their attention to the unexpected contraction in the country's factory activity, as the official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for January dropped to 49.1.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that inflation rose 0.2% in the December quarter and 2.4% annually.
The European Central Bank decided to implement a quarter-point interest rate cut on Thursday, lowering its main rate to 2.75%.
The Tokyo consumer price index, excluding fresh food, rose 2.5% year on year in January, compared with 2.4% in the previous month. Japan’s unemployment rate for December fell to 2.4% from 2.5% in the previous month.
Additionally, Japan’s retail sales for December climbed 3.7% from the previous year, while its industrial output figures for December grew at 0.3%, month on month, from the 2.2% drop in the month before.
The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 2.3 per cent in Q4 2024, down from 3.1 per cent in Q3. Notably, US initial jobless claims fell by 16,000 to 207,000 for the week ending January 25th as compared with 223,000 in 18th January 2025.