Indian benchmark indices finished a volatile session nearly unchanged on Tuesday, 29 April 2025. Despite a strong showing from the IT sector and continued support from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), gains were capped by profit-taking in other heavyweights and underlying caution among market participants.
Heavyweights like Reliance Industries and Tech Mahindra provided upward momentum, but declines in banking and pharmaceutical stocks largely offset this. The market navigated mixed global cues, the ongoing Q4 earnings season, and persistent geopolitical concerns stemming from India-Pakistan border tensions.
The Sensex managed a marginal gain to close just above the 80,200 mark, while the Nifty 50 held the crucial 24,300 level.
Index Performance:
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The Sensex closed at 80,288.38, up by 70.01 points or 0.09%.
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The Nifty 50 closed at 24,335.95, rising by 7.45 points or 0.03%.
Nifty 50: Movers & Shakers
The Nifty 50 index displayed a mixed performance today. Leading the gainers was Trent, which surged despite reporting a year-on-year decline in quarterly profit, possibly indicating market expectations were lower or focus was on positive operational aspects or future outlook.
Defence-related stock Bharat Electronics (BEL) also featured prominently among gainers, likely reflecting continued investor interest amid the prevailing geopolitical climate. IT major Tech Mahindra and index heavyweight Reliance Industries contributed significantly to the upside, with RIL extending its gains from the previous session following strong Q4 results reported earlier.
On the downside, profit booking was evident in stocks that had performed well recently, such as Sun Pharma. UltraTech Cement declined, potentially reacting to its Q4 earnings announcement, while energy stocks like Coal India and ONGC also faced selling pressure.
Top 5 Nifty 50 Gainers (29 April 2025)
| Stock Name |
Closing % Change |
| Trent |
+5.77% |
| Bharat Electronics (BEL) |
+3.97% |
| Tech Mahindra |
+2.29% |
| Reliance Industries (RIL) |
+2.2% |
| Eternal |
+1.74% |
Top 5 Nifty 50 Losers (29 April 2025)
| Stock Name |
Closing % Change |
| Sun Pharma |
-2.25% |
| UltraTech Cement |
-2.18% |
| Coal India |
-2.13% |
| ONGC |
-1.98% |
| Dr Reddy's |
-1.88% |
Sectoral Scan: Hits & Misses
Sectoral performance presented a mixed picture on Tuesday. The Nifty IT index emerged as the clear outperformer, rallying over 1%. This strength could be attributed to easing concerns regarding US trade tariffs, particularly hints of relaxation in auto tariffs, which often correlate positively with IT sentiment, and potential sector rotation as investors sought relative safety or value. Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty Oil & Gas also managed positive closes, contributing to the market's ability to hold steady.
However, weakness was prevalent elsewhere. Nifty Pharma and Nifty Metal indices significantly declined most, indicating profit-taking or sector-specific concerns. After a strong rally in the previous session, Nifty Bank ended the day marginally lower. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Oil & Gas also advanced, though specific closing percentages were not immediately available.
Key NSE Sectoral Indices Performance (29 April 2025)
| Index Name |
Closing % Change |
| Nifty IT |
+1.23% |
| Nifty Auto |
-0.29% |
| Nifty Pharma |
-1.06% |
| Nifty Metal |
-0.95% |
| Nifty FMCG |
-0.36% |
| Nifty Bank |
-0.07% |
Market Insights & News Flow
Domestic Beat:
- Geopolitical Climate: Caution continued to permeate market sentiment due to the unresolved India-Pakistan border tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack last week. While the market seemed to discount the possibility of a full-scale conflict, the uncertainty acted as a significant overhang, preventing a decisive upward move despite other positive factors like strong FII inflows.
The situation likely contributed to the day's range-bound trading. China also weighed in, urging restraint from both nations. The continued interest in defence stocks, which saw rallies again today, suggests some market participants are positioning themselves for potential escalation or hedging against the risk, even as broader indices remained largely flat. This underlying geopolitical risk premium appears embedded in current market levels.
- Economic Signals: Data released on Monday showed India's Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew by 3.0% in March 2025, slightly improving from February's 2.7%. While positive, this marginal uptick likely had a limited impact on Tuesday's trading, overshadowed by the more dominant themes of geopolitical tensions and corporate earnings.
- Q4 Earnings Season: The ongoing earnings season continued to drive stock-specific volatility and influence sector performance. Trent rallied strongly despite reporting a Y-o-Y fall in consolidated profit, possibly beating subdued expectations or buoyed by management commentary. BPCL reported a decline in profit and revenue.
Ambuja Cements also reported results, with the stock declining during the session. Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv's results were awaited. Other results from companies like Adani Total Gas, TVS Motor, UltraTech Cement, and Oberoi Realty also influenced their respective stock movements. This mixed bag of earnings reports contributed to the market's lack of clear direction and fueled sector rotation, with strong results like RIL's (reported yesterday) providing support while misses weighed on sentiment.
- Primary Market Update: The Ather Energy IPO saw sluggish demand continue, reaching only 0.27 times subscription on its second day. While EY reported India captured a significant 22% share of global IPOs in Q1 2025, overall domestic IPO activity was down compared to the previous year, reflecting a degree of investor caution.
Separately, Canara HSBC Life Insurance filed its draft papers for an IPO. Despite India's strong global IPO presence, the subdued response to Ather points towards lingering investor caution in the primary market, potentially mirroring broader market uncertainties or specific valuation concerns.
Global Cues:
- International Markets: Asian markets closed mixed, with Hong Kong flat, Shanghai lower, but gains seen in South Korea and Australia. US markets had ended the previous session mixed, navigating trade uncertainties and looking ahead to key economic data and earnings.
- Trade & Tariffs: Uncertainty persisted regarding US trade policies. However, reports suggesting the White House might lessen the impact of auto tariffs offered some relief, potentially boosting sentiment, particularly in trade-sensitive sectors like IT. The global backdrop remained tentative, preventing a strong directional push from overseas markets and contributing to India's flat close.
Investor Activity:
- Institutional Flows: Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying streak, marking their tenth consecutive session of net purchases based on provisional data for 28 April. On Monday, FIIs bought equities worth ₹2,474.10 Cr. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were also net buyers on Monday, purchasing shares worth ₹2,817.64 Cr. (Provisional data for 29 April is awaited).
This consistent institutional buying provided significant underlying support to the market, preventing steeper declines despite negative market breadth and geopolitical headwinds, underscoring a degree of confidence in India's relative market position.
Market Internals:
- Volatility Index: India VIX, the market's fear gauge, surged by approximately 2.69% to close around 17.40. Despite the benchmark indices ending flat, this rise in volatility signals increasing nervousness among market participants about potential near-term price swings, likely fueled by the unresolved geopolitical situation and mixed earnings flow.
- Market Breadth: The overall health of the market appeared weak, as declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on both major exchanges (NSE: 1,365 Advances vs 1,478 Declines; BSE: 1,831 Advances vs 2,096 Declines). This negative breadth indicates that while headline indices were held up by gains in select large-cap stocks (like IT and RIL), the broader market experienced selling pressure.
The combination of flat indices, negative breadth, and rising VIX suggests a potentially fragile market equilibrium, vulnerable to negative triggers if the current support from institutional flows or specific stock rallies falters.
Final Word
The Indian market treaded water today, with strength in IT and Reliance managing to counter broader market caution and profit-taking in other sectors. While sustained FII buying provided support, underlying nervousness, reflected in the rising VIX and negative market breadth, kept gains in check.
Market participants will continue to closely monitor the flow of Q4 earnings, geopolitical developments, and upcoming global economic data for near-term direction.