Rangebound week concludes with Nifty dropping under 22,800; Broader Market shines
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Market Overview this week
The Nifty index declined by 0.58% over the week, closing at 22,795.9. The index remained extremely range-bound, with daily fluctuations of only 15–20 points on four out of the five days, before finally closing below the key support level of 22,800 on Friday. This drop was primarily attributed to sustained selling by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and concerns about economic growth, which dampened investor sentiment.
Looking ahead, the market will closely monitor global market announcements, tariff-related news, and domestic economic developments.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metals emerged as the top gainer this week, while Nifty Auto fell by 2.55% as the market reacted negatively to reports of Tesla entering the Indian market.
Tijori is an investment research platform, and they have constructed niche indices for various themes and sub-sectors. They help you get a sense of the market performance of narrow slices of the market.
What happened in India?
India’s trade deficit widened to $23B in Jan 2025 from $17.5B a year ago, exceeding estimates of $22.35B. Imports grew 9.2% YoY to $59.4B, while exports declined 1.3% to $36.4B. Dive deeper
Rupee rebounded to 86.8 per USD from a record low of 88.1 as RBI intervened amid US tariff pressures and emerging market currency moves. Dive deeper
India’s GDP growth is projected to slow to 6.4%-6.6% in Q3 FY25 from 8.6% a year ago, with weaker industrial and services growth offset by rural demand and government spending. Dive deeper
India’s Manufacturing PMI eased to 57.1 in Feb 2025 from 57.7, reflecting a mild slowdown, though international demand and supplier delivery times remained strong. Dive deeper
SEBI proposed a fast-track follow-on offer framework for REITs and InvITs, including a three-year lock-in for 15% of sponsor units, with public comments open until March 13. Dive deeper
HSBC India’s profit rose 11% to $1.69B in 2024, driven by global banking and markets ($875M), commercial banking ($448M), and wealth & personal banking ($96M). Dive deeper
Defence Ministry signed a ₹697.4 crore contract with ACE Ltd. and JCB India for 1,868 rough-terrain forklifts, boosting defence logistics and indigenous manufacturing. Dive deeper
BPCL & NSI partnered to develop sweet sorghum as a biofuel source, investing ₹5 crore in R&D. The initiative supports India’s ethanol blending program and aims to enhance energy security. Dive deeper
SEBI introduced a new regulation framework mandating public consultation with a minimum 21-day comment period. SEBI will publish reasons for accepting or rejecting feedback. Dive deeper
BHEL secured a ₹6,700 crore order from Singareni Collieries to develop an 800 MW thermal power unit in Telangana. The project, executed on an EPC basis, reinforces BHEL’s role in India’s energy security. Dive deeper
Gold imports jumped 41% YoY to ₹22,140 crore in January, driven by rising domestic demand and customs duty cuts. April-January imports stood at ₹50,000 crore, up 32% YoY. Dive deeper
India’s sugar production fell 12% YoY to 197 lakh tonnes as of Feb 15 in the 2024-25 season, mainly due to lower output in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Ethanol diversion rose to 14.1 lakh tonnes. Dive deeper
IL&FS is distributing ₹5,000 crore to creditors, including ₹3,500 crore in InvIT units and ₹1,500 crore in cash. With this, its total debt resolution has reached ₹43,000 crore, exceeding 70% of its ₹61,000 crore target. Dive deeper
RBI approved Prabdev (PD) Singh as CEO of Standard Chartered India & South Asia, effective April 1. He succeeds Zarin Daruwala and brings extensive corporate banking experience as the bank pivots towards wealth management. Dive deeper
Reliance Industries acquired a 100% stake in Lakadia B Power Transmission Ltd. for ₹6.73 crore. The acquisition makes it a wholly-owned subsidiary, strengthening Reliance’s energy infrastructure portfolio. Dive deeper
Zomato launched Nugget, an AI-powered customer support tool developed by Zomato Labs. Already used in Zomato, Blinkit, and Hyperpure, it is now available to businesses. Dive deeper
SEBI barred DGS Capital Management from onboarding new clients and taking fresh funds due to non-compliance with the ₹5 crore net worth rule. The firm has 15 days to meet the requirement. Dive deeper
LG Electronics started roadshows for its Indian unit’s IPO, aiming to raise $1-1.5 billion at a valuation of up to $15 billion. Dive deeper
ICIL sold a 0.84% stake in Bharti Airtel for ₹8,485 crore via block deals. Bharti Telecom increased its stake to 40.47%, while GQG Partners and SBI Life also participated. Dive deeper
SEBI proposed tech-based security measures, including SIM binding, biometric logins, and centralised broker contacts to prevent unauthorised trades. Dive deeper
SEBI cancelled licenses of 19 defunct foreign venture capital investors, including Axis Capital Mauritius and Blackstone, over compliance failures. Dive deeper
NPA provisioning for 29 banks rose 20% YoY to ₹23,298 crore in Q3, driven by an 81.5% surge in private banks, while public banks saw a ten-quarter decline. Dive deeper
Infosys secured a $300 million IT contract with Lufthansa to establish a Global Capability Centre focused on AI-driven aviation IT solutions. Dive deeper
Raymond Lifestyle faced a cyber attack impacting IT assets, but customer and store operations remained unaffected as security measures were implemented. Dive deeper
IRDAI mandated life and health insurers to implement Bima-ASBA by March 1, enabling premium blocking in bank accounts, debited only upon policy issuance. Dive deeper
Citi India plans to triple asset-backed securities holdings to $1B by FY26, as securitization gains traction amid sluggish deposit growth and private bank participation. Dive deeper
PhonePe has begun IPO preparations in India after strong financial growth, following its 2022 redomiciliation from Singapore and restructuring of non-payment businesses. Dive deeper
Customs defended its $1.4B tax demand against Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, alleging misclassification of CKD units, while the Bombay HC called the demand "arbitrary and illegal." Dive deeper
Finance Ministry will review public sector banks' performance on March 4, focusing on financial inclusion and record net profit of ₹1.29 lakh crore amid 11% business growth. Dive deeper
RBI is integrating AI and ML into banking supervision for risk assessment and stress testing, with an analytics committee evaluating statistical models and global practices. Dive deeper
Electricity derivatives are nearing launch as SEBI and CERC finalize contracts, aiming to create a forward price curve for hedging, while 24-hour commodity trading was rejected. Dive deeper
RBI will conduct a ₹75,000 crore 45-day VRR auction on Feb 21, reversing on April 7, as part of liquidity infusion measures ahead of its monetary policy announcement. Dive deeper
Tata Steel acquired an additional ₹2,603 crore stake in T Steel Holdings after last year’s ₹2,348 crore investment. The stock closed at ₹140.6, up 1.85%. Dive deeper
Religare shares surged as Burman Group secured control, becoming promoters after a prolonged battle, while a competing bid failed due to regulatory issues. Dive deeper
What happened across the globe?
Eurozone’s trade surplus narrowed to €15.5B in Dec 2024 from €16.4B a year earlier, exceeding forecasts. Imports rose 3.8% to €211B, while exports increased 3.1% to €226.5B. Annual surplus surged to €150.1B from €34.4B. Dive deeper
China’s vehicle sales dropped 0.6% YoY in Jan 2025 to 2.423M units, marking the first decline in four months due to the Lunar New Year holiday. NEV sales surged 29.4% to 944,000 units, with the total 2025 car sales expected to grow 4.7%. Dive deeper
Cocoa stockpiles hit record lows due to poor harvests in Ivory Coast and Ghana, driving prices up threefold since 2023. Chocolate makers are using lower-grade beans and alternative ingredients, leading to higher prices and reduced cocoa content. Dive deeper
UK employment rose by 21,000 in Jan 2025, bringing total payroll jobs to 30.4 million. The health sector led job gains, while food services saw the biggest decline. Median pay rose 5.7% YoY. Dive deeper
South Africa’s unemployment dropped to 31.9% in Q4 2024, the lowest since Q3 2023. Job gains in finance and manufacturing offset declines in trade and community services. Dive deeper
US 10-year Treasury yield stayed above 4.5% as Trump’s tariff threats fueled inflation concerns. Markets priced in 35 bps of Fed rate cuts this year. Dive deeper
UK inflation rose to 3% in January 2025, led by transport and food costs. Core inflation hit 3.7%, while services inflation was below the BoE’s forecast. Dive deeper
Bank Indonesia held its rate at 5.75% to stabilize the Rupiah amid global uncertainty, with inflation easing to 0.76% in January, the lowest since 2000. Dive deeper
New Zealand’s central bank cut its cash rate by 50 bps to 3.75%, citing slowing growth and inflation, which fell to 2.2% in Q4 2024. Dive deeper
BlackRock paused corporate meetings after SEC tightened disclosure rules for investor activism, impacting governance and ESG engagements. Dive deeper
Fed minutes showed policymakers favouring a cautious stance, keeping rates restrictive if inflation stays high, while some saw room for easing if growth slows. Dive deeper
Gold surged past $2,950 per ounce to a record high on safe-haven demand, fueled by trade tensions, geopolitical risks, and expectations of prolonged Fed rate pauses. Dive deeper
US natural gas futures fell to $4.24/MMBtu after a seven-day rally, as extreme cold cut production and LNG exports hit record levels ahead of a storage draw. Dive deeper
China’s central bank held key lending rates in February, keeping the one-year LPR at 3.1% and five-year LPR at 3.6%, signalling readiness for future adjustments. Dive deeper
Germany’s PPI rose 0.5% YoY in January, slowing from December’s 0.8% and below forecasts. Higher consumer and capital goods costs offset energy price declines. Dive deeper
WhatsApp was classified as a Very Large Online Platform under the EU’s Digital Services Act, requiring stricter content moderation or facing fines of up to 6% of global revenue. Dive deeper
Brent crude fell below $76 per barrel but remained set for a 1.5% weekly gain, driven by Russian supply disruptions and rising US and Chinese demand. Dive deeper
US natural gas futures jumped 5% to $4.3/MMBtu, the highest since Dec 2022, as cold weather strained supply, LNG exports hit records, and storage draw exceeded forecasts. Dive deeper
UK Manufacturing PMI fell to 46.4 in Feb 2025, marking the sharpest contraction since Dec 2023, with weaker output, lower sales, and rising raw material and energy costs. Dive deeper
Malaysia’s inflation remained at 1.7% in Jan 2025, the lowest in 11 months, with rising food and transport prices offset by lower clothing and communication costs. Dive deeper
Japan’s inflation hit 4.0% in Jan 2025, the highest since Jan 2023, driven by food and energy costs, with core inflation at a 19-month high of 3.2%. Dive deeper
Calendars
In the coming week, We have the following quarterly results and other major events:
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