The Indian stock market demonstrated a robust rebound on Friday, May 23, 2025, recovering significantly from the previous session's downturn. This positive momentum was evident from the market's strong opening and sustained gains throughout the trading day, reflecting renewed buying interest among investors. The day's performance underscored the market's underlying resilience, with dips perceived as opportunities for accumulation, supported by a generally optimistic long-term macroeconomic outlook for India.
Nifty and Sensex Today – Key Market Indices Performance
The Indian benchmark indices experienced a strong surge today:
- Sensex: Closed at 81,818.83, marking a substantial gain of 858.7 points, or 1.06%, from its last close. During intraday trade, the Sensex rallied by over 900 points.
- Nifty50: Settled at 24,883.15, up by 273.4 points, or 1.11%. The Nifty 50 also reclaimed the crucial 24,900 level, indicating broad-based buying activity.
Market breadth overwhelmingly favoured advancing shares, reflecting widespread participation in today's rally. On the NSE, 1,604 shares advanced against 922 declining shares, with 225 remaining unchanged. Within the Nifty 50 basket, a remarkable 48 out of 50 stocks traded in the green, with only two registering declines.
FII and DII Activity Today – Where Big Money Moved
Today's trading session saw significant capital inflows from both foreign and domestic institutional investors, providing substantial liquidity and underpinning the day's strong rally.
- Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs): Net buyers, injecting ₹19,098.48 crore into the Indian equity market (gross purchases of ₹2,20,997.61 crore vs. gross sales of ₹2,01,899.11 crore). This represents a significant shift from recent net selling trends, indicating renewed foreign investor confidence.
- Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs): Also demonstrated strong buying interest, recording a net buying figure of ₹26,941.97 crore (gross purchases of ₹1,37,622.97 crore vs. gross sales of ₹1,10,681 crore). DIIs have consistently been net buyers, acting as a crucial stabilising force.
The combined net inflow from both FIIs and DIIs today highlights broad-based confidence in the Indian market's prospects.
IPOs, Listings and Market Buzz – Latest Stock Market Trends
The primary market remained notably active today, with several Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) concluding their bidding periods and significant buzz around upcoming listings.
- Belrise Industries IPO: Also concluded bidding today, with the Non-Institutional Bidders (NII) portion subscribed 9.50 times. Listing slated for May 28.
- Borana Weaves IPO: Closed on May 22, NII portion significantly oversubscribed at 237.41 times. Listing expected on May 27.
The strong subscription numbers for these IPOs underscore robust investor confidence in new listings and the broader economic outlook. The continued activity in the primary market, especially the strong performance of SME IPOs, suggests growing interest among investors in the small and medium enterprise segment. Several upcoming mainboard IPOs, such as Leela Hotels (Schloss Bangalore), Aegis Vopak Terminals, and Prostarm Info Systems, are also generating interest.
Top Gainers and Losers Today – Best and Worst Performing Stocks
Individual stock performance was largely influenced by corporate earnings announcements and sectoral trends.
Major Index Gainers:
- Eternal (Zomato): Rose by 3.63%, closing at ₹237.34. The stock opened at ₹229.12 and touched a day's high of ₹240.70.
- HDFC Life: Gained 3.28%, closing at ₹780.65. The share price opened at ₹755.80 and touched a day's high of ₹781.35, also hitting a 52-week high.
- Jio Financial Services: Surged 2.49%, closing at ₹281.4. It opened at ₹274.95 and hit a day's high of ₹283.65.
- Power Grid Corporation: Surged 2.46%, closing at ₹298.05. It opened at ₹292.00 and hit a day's high of ₹298.75.
- ITC Ltd.: Gained 2.32%, closing at ₹436. The stock opened at ₹434.00 and touched a day's high at ₹439.00. This performance was bolstered by a 2% YoY rise in its March quarter net profit and an exceptional gain of ₹15,145 crore from the demerger of its Hotels Business. The company also declared a final dividend of ₹7.85 per share for FY25.
- Bajaj Finserv: Gained 0.14%, closing at ₹2003.80.
- Bharat Elec (BEL): Gained over 1.70% to ₹389.90, hitting a new 52-week high. The company reported an 18.4% YoY rise in consolidated net profit for the March quarter.
Here are the stocks that registered declines today, primarily due to disappointing financial results or other company-specific factors:
Major Index Losers:
- Sun Pharma: Dropped 1.72%, closing at ₹1,689.10. The stock opened at ₹1,658.00 and touched its day's low at ₹1,636.60, falling nearly 3%. The decline followed the company's report of a 19% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit for Q4 FY25.
- Grasim Industries: Fell by 0.70%, closing at ₹2,656.00. The share price opened at ₹2,675.00 and touched its day's low at ₹2,651.00.
- Bharti Airtel: Dropped 0.02% after opening at ₹1,825.00. It hit a day's low of ₹1,821.50.
- Zee Entertainment (Zee Ent.): Was listed among the top losers. As of 8:38 AM on May 23, 2025, it was trading at ₹129.00, which was 1.18% higher than its previous close. However, the article noted it as a top loser in the Sensex pack, suggesting it likely reversed gains later in the day.
- Vedanta: Was among the top losers in the Sensex pack. As of 10:34 AM IST on May 23, 2025, it was trading at ₹435.45, up 0.08% over its previous closing price. Similar to Zee Entertainment, its overall daily performance might have turned negative later.
- IndusInd Bank: Noted as a top loser in the Sensex pack. As of 2:21 PM on May 23, 2025, its share price was trading at ₹789.50, reflecting a surge of 0.57% from the previous day's close. The article mentioned a SEBI probe regarding suspected fraud and insider trading, which likely contributed to its "loser" status despite a minor gain.
The performance of individual stocks today vividly illustrates the immediate and profound impact of quarterly earnings reports.
Economic and Global Factors Today – What Else Affected Markets
Several key economic and global factors influenced the Indian stock market today.
Domestic Economic Factors:
- RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Decision: Unanimously reduced the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6% with immediate effect (second consecutive cut). The MPC shifted its monetary policy stance from 'neutral' to 'accommodative', signalling potential for further rate cuts. This is expected to ease loan EMIs, favour financing for sectors like real estate, and boost lending and investment.
- India's GDP Growth Projections: RBI projected real GDP growth at 6.5% for 2025–26, consistent with the estimate for 2024–25 (downward revision of 20 basis points from February due to heightened global volatility). CPI inflation for FY25-26 projected at 4%. Domestic liquidity conditions remain favourable.
The RBI's second consecutive rate cut and shift to an accommodative stance contrasts with the US Federal Reserve's decision to hold rates steady, potentially making India a more attractive destination for foreign capital.
Global Economic Factors:
- US Federal Reserve: Held interest rates steady at 4.25% to 4.5% range during its May 2025 meeting, adopting a "wait-and-see" approach. Markets showed muted reactions.
- Global Crude Oil Price Trends: ICICI Bank revised its Brent crude oil price forecast for 2025 downwards, predicting it to trade within the USD 60-70 per barrel range, with a potential dip to USD 55 (average USD 65). This bearish outlook is due to a looming global surplus. Lower crude prices are a significant positive for India, potentially reducing import bills and controlling inflation.
The market's trajectory continues to be influenced by prevailing global headwinds and trade tensions, but India's strong domestic fundamentals and proactive monetary policy are providing a buffer.
What to Watch Tomorrow – Key Events and Predictions
The medium to long-term outlook for the Indian stock market remains healthy, buoyed by India's macroeconomic stability and robust influx of retail investors. However, the market is expected to consolidate in the coming months.
Key Domestic Events or Data Releases to Monitor:
The coming days will be dominated by Q4 FY25 corporate earnings announcements from:
- May 24, 2025: NTPC, JK Cement, Indigo Paints, Rainbow Children's Medicare, HBL Engineering.
- May 26, 2025: Aurobindo Pharma, Blue Dart Express, Gillette India, KEC International, Olectra Greentech, Sumitomo Chemical India.
- May 27, 2025: Hindustan Copper, LIC, NMDC, Bosch, Medplus Health Services, TTK Prestige.
- May 28, 2025: Cummins India, Deepak Nitrite, 3M India, Bata India, IRCTC, Jindal Worldwide, Natco Pharma.
- May 29, 2025: Bajaj Auto, Engineers India, Ipca Labs, Lemon Tree Hotels, Samvardhana Motherson, SJVN.
- May 30, 2025: Apollo Hospitals, Bajaj Holdings & Investment, Nykaa, PNC Infratech.
Another crucial domestic event is the official release of India's January-March 2025 (Q4 FY25) GDP growth figures, scheduled for May 30. Deutsche Bank forecasts a rebound to 6.8% YoY for this quarter. The progress of the monsoon season will also be a critical factor.
Important Global Cues or Developments:
The market's trajectory will continue to depend on global economic growth, inflation trends, and monetary policy decisions from major central banks. Ongoing global trade tensions and policy uncertainties also remain factors to monitor.
Potential Market Risks or Drivers:
A key risk could be a significant change in stance by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs). However, today's strong buying activity from FIIs suggests a potential shift towards sustained inflows, which would be a significant positive driver.
Final Takeaway – Summary of Stock Market Day
The Indian stock market staged a robust recovery on May 23, 2025, with both Sensex and Nifty closing over 1% higher, driven by broad-based buying and favourable market breadth. The FMCG and IT sectors led the charge, while the Pharma sector experienced declines, clearly demonstrating the immediate impact of corporate earnings announcements. Both FIIs and DIIs were substantial net buyers, injecting significant liquidity and underscoring strong confidence.
The RBI's second consecutive repo rate cut to 6% and a shift to an 'accommodative' stance provided a strong domestic tailwind, while a stable US Federal Reserve policy and anticipated lower global crude oil prices offered supportive global cues. Looking ahead, the market's trajectory will be heavily influenced by the ongoing quarterly earnings season, the upcoming official GDP data release, and the crucial progress of the monsoon, all set against the backdrop of India's strong macroeconomic fundamentals.