Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined sharply on Friday (April 25, 2025) due to selling in Axis Bank and growing tensions along the Indo-Pak border following the terror attack at Pahalgam in Jammu & Kashmir.

Wiping out early gains, the 30-share BSE barometer tanked 588.90 points or 0.74% to settle at 79,212.53. During the day, it dropped 1,195.62 points or 1.49% to 78,605.81.

Falling for the second day, the NSE Nifty tumbled 207.35 points or 0.86% to 24,039.35.

Experts said worries over growing geopolitical tensions after Tuesday’s Pahalgam terror attack weighed on market sentiment.

All sectoral indices except for IT index closed in the red while midcap and smallcap indices dropped more than 2% due to profit taking.

“Investor sentiment turned cautious amid escalating tensions along the Indo-Pak border. Mid and smallcap stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off, driven by their elevated valuations and growing concerns over potential earnings downgrades following a muted start to the earnings season,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Among Sensex shares, Adani Ports, Axis Bank, Eternal, Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and NTPC were the biggest laggards.

Axis Bank declined over 3% after the country’s third largest private sector lender reported a sharp rise in loan loss provisions and a steep fall in the trading income for the last quarter of 2024-25. The bank’s profit declined marginally in the March quarter to ₹7,117 crore, from ₹7,130 crore in the year-ago period.

However, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever and ICICI Bank were the gainers.

Despite Nifty opening at a higher level on Friday, geopolitical tensions with the neighbouring nation have led to the drop in the index, Ajay Garg, CEO, SMC Global Securities, said.

“In the last few days, Nifty has also revived to 24,000 points with FII buying, banking stocks rally, and expectations of a positive outcome from the US-India trade talks. Along with the geopolitical tensions, profit-booking by investors also added to today’s market drop,” Garg added.

“The heightened geopolitical uncertainty has led investors to adopt a risk-off approach, triggering profit-booking after the recent sharp rally. Furthermore, the markets appeared slightly overstretched following the vertical rise, prompting traders to reduce exposure,” Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

The BSE smallcap gauge tanked 2.56% and midcap dropped 2.44%.

Among BSE sectoral indices, services dropped 3.11%, utilities (2.96%), realty (2.87%), power (2.77%), consumer discretionary (2.28%), industrials (2.19%) and capital goods (2.06%).

IT and BSE Focused IT ended higher.

As many as 3,246 stocks declined while 719 advanced and 119 remained unchanged on the BSE.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi index, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng settled in the positive territory. Shanghai SSE Composite ended marginally lower.

Markets in Europe were trading higher.

U.S. markets ended significantly higher on Thursday. Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.74%, S&P 500 surged 2.03% and Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.23%.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹8,250.53 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.50% to $66.24 a barrel.

On Thursday, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex declined 315.06 points or 0.39% to settle at 79,801.43 on Thursday. The Nifty went down by 82.25 points or 0.34% to 24,246.70.

Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL), a Vedanta group firm, reported a sharp 47.3% rise in its consolidated net profit for the March 2025 quarter, reaching Rs 3,003 crore, driven by higher income and steady operational performance.This marks the company’s best-ever fourth-quarter profit, up from Rs 2,038 crore in the same period last year.
The company’s income for the January-March quarter rose to Rs 9,314 crore, compared to Rs 7,822 crore in the year-ago period, HZL said in a stock exchange filing on Friday.
The company said in a statement that it was its “best-ever fourth quarter profit after tax of Rs 3,003 crore, up 47 per cent Y-o-Y”.
Arun Misra, chief executive officer of HZL, attributed the strong performance to the company’s efficient operations and strategic focus. “As the world’s largest integrated zinc producer, we aim to meet rising domestic demand while maintaining our position as one of the lowest-cost producers globally and most resilient producers in the industry,” he said.
Chief financial officer Sandeep Modi added that the company remains confident despite global uncertainties. “With a strong balance sheet, structurally leaner cost base and clear strategic direction, Hindustan Zinc is well-positioned to navigate external headwinds and continue delivering consistent, industry-leading returns,” he noted.
Hindustan Zinc is a leading player in the global zinc market and ranks among the top five silver producers worldwide. It commands around 75% of India’s primary zinc market and supplies its products to over 40 countries.

The 30-share BSE benchmark gauge climbed 329.23 points to 80,130.66 in early trade. The NSE Nifty rallied 118.75 points to 24,365.45. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded in early trade on Friday (April 25, 2025) amid continuous foreign fund inflows and a rally in global markets, but failed to carry forward the winning momentum and were later trading lower dragged lower by Axis Bank.

The 30-share BSE benchmark gauge climbed 329.23 points to 80,130.66 in early trade. The NSE Nifty rallied 118.75 points to 24,365.45.

However, later both the benchmark indices gave up early gains and were trading lower. The BSE benchmark traded 174.24 points lower at 79,627.19, and the Nifty quoted 94.35 points down at 24,152.35.

From the Sensex firms, Axis Bank declined 3.50% after the country’s third largest private sector lender reported a marginal decline in March quarter profit to ₹7,117 crore from ₹7,130 crore in the year-ago period.

Adani Ports, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra and Eternal were also among the laggards.

However, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Reliance Industries, HCL Tech, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the biggest gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi index, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading in the positive territory.

U.S. markets ended significantly higher on Thursday (April 24, 2025). Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.74%, S&P 500 surged 2.03% and Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.23%.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹8,250.53 crore on Thursday (April 24, 2025), according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.53% to $66.90 a barrel.

The 30-share BSE benchmark declined 315.06 points or 0.39% to settle at 79,801.43 on Thursday (April 24, 2025). The Nifty went down by 82.25 points or 0.34% to 24,246.70.