Image used for representational purpose.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Thursday (April 24, 2025) amid profit-taking after a seven-day rally and disappointing earnings from Hindustan Unilever.

Selling in blue-chips ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and a largely muted trend in Asian and European equities also dragged the markets lower.

The 30-share BSE benchmark declined 315.06 points or 0.39% to settle at 79,801.43. During the day, it dropped 391.94 points or 0.48% to 79,724.55.

The NSE Nifty went down by 82.25 points or 0.34% to 24,246.70.

In the past seven trading days, the BSE benchmark gauge zoomed 6,269.34 points or 8.48% and the Nifty jumped 1,929.8 points or 8.61%.

From the Sensex firms, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) dropped 4% after the firm reported a decline of 3.35% in consolidated net profit at ₹2,475 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025 on lower margins.

Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Bajaj Finance were also among the laggards.

Nestle India Ltd on Thursday reported a 6.5% decline in consolidated net profit at ₹873.46 crore for March quarter of FY25 as the FMCG industry faced food inflation and moderation in urban consumption.

IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Titan and Asian Paints were among the gainers.

“The domestic market witnessed mild profit-booking after the recent rally. Similarly, global markets too experienced selling pressure as the market participants scaled back the possibility of a quick resolution of tariff disputes between the U.S. and China.

“FMCG majors’ Q4 results were weak, impacted by subdued volumes and margin pressure, which led the sector to underperform,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

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

European markets were quoting lower.

U.S. markets ended sharply higher on Wednesday. Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.50%, S&P 500 surged 1.67% and Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.07%.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.03% to $66.10 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹3,332.93 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark jumped 520.90 points or 0.65% to settle at 80,116.49, the highest closing level since December 18, on Wednesday. The Nifty rallied 161.70 points or 0.67% to 24,328.95.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the 6th edition of India Steel programme, on April 24, 2025.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (April 24, 2025) asked the industry to come together to build a “resilient, revolutionary and steel-strong India”.

Speaking at the India Steel 2025 event, the Prime Minister (PM) also said that the country needs to strengthen its global partnerships for securing raw materials and called on the industry to start extracting iron ore from unused greenfield mines to increase steel production.

Terming steel as a “sunrise sector”, Modi underlined the need to up production of the commodity which is the “backbone” of development, adopt newer processes, undertake innovation, exchange best practices within and also look at import substitutions in coal.

“Let us come together to build a resilient, revolutionary and steel-strong India,” PM Modi said in his address to the steel industry participants.

He acknowledged that getting raw materials is a “major concern” for the steel sector, and urged all to strengthen global partnerships and secure supply chains.

“One major concern is raw material security. We still depend on imports for nickel, coking coal and manganese. And hence, we must strengthen global partnerships, secure supply chains, and focus on technology upgrades,” PM Modi said in a virtual address at the event.

Stating that there are unused greenfield mines, PM Modi said it is very important to their proper and timely utilisation, and warned that both the country and the industry will suffer due to this.

He said the country also needs to explore alternatives like coal gasification and better utilisation of its reserves to reduce coal imports.

The industry must be future ready, and adopt new processes, new grades and new scale, the Prime Minister said.

PM Modi said the country is aiming to increase the steel production capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2030, from the 179 MT in FY24, and added that the per capita steel consumption is also targeted to grow to 160 kg from 98 kg at present in the same time period.

He said the country is also “advancing” the $1.3 trillion national infrastructure pipeline and there is “extensive work underway” to transform cities into smart cities on a large scale.

“Unprecedented pace of development in roads, railways, airports, ports and pipelines is creating new opportunities for the steel sector,” PM Modi said, adding that the growing number of mega projects will increase the demand for high grade steel.

He also noted that the steel used in the maiden indigenously built aircraft carrier Vikrant and the Chandrayaan mission was manufactured locally.

The PM said the country aspires to build modern and large ships with an eye on the export market, and added that high grade steel will be needed for such initiatives.

Stating that the goal should be “zero imports and net exports” when it comes to steel, PM Modi pointed that the country aims to increase the exports to 500 MT by 2047, from the present 25 metric tonnes (MT) of steel.

India is not just thinking of domestic growth, but also “global leadership” in the sector, PM Modi said, pointing out that the world looks at India as a trusted supplier of high grade steel.

Apart from that, welfare schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and also the Jal Jeevan Mission are also helping create opportunities for the steel sector, he said.

The government, a major infra developer in the country, is insisting on locally made steel in its contracts, he said, adding that government policies are making the sector competitive at the global stage.

He urged both the private and public sector to undertake newer initiatives in manufacturing, technology upgrades and in research and development, and share the best ones among themselves.

“We need to move faster towards energy efficiency, low emission and digitally advanced technologies,” PM Modi said, adding that artificial intelligence, automation, recycling and byproduct utilisation will define the future of the steel industry.

The steel sector is also important for the economy because of its potential to create jobs for the country’s youth, PM Modi said.

Image used for representative purpose only.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

After a two-day pause, the rupee gained 16 paise to 85.29 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Thursday (April 24, 2025), on weak greenback and overnight decline in crude oil prices.

Forex traders said the rupee strengthened on the weak U.S. dollar and overnight decline in crude oil prices amid slowing U.S. business activity. The U.S. Treasury yields also declined with the 10-year yield falling 3 basis points to 4.35%.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 85.60 and moved between the intra-day high of 85.25 and the low of 85.67 against the greenback. The unit ended the session at 85.29 (provisional), registering a gain of 16 paise over its previous closing level.

On Wednesday, the rupee depreciated 26 paise and settled for the day at 85.45 against the U.S. dollar.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a positive bias as weakness in the U.S. dollar is likely to remain intact amid trade tariff uncertainties. However, risk-on sentiments in the global markets and FII inflows may support the rupee at lower levels.

“Traders may take cues from weekly unemployment claims, durable goods orders and existing home sales data from the U.S. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 85 to 85.70,” Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.51% at 99.33.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.65% at $66.55 per barrel in futures trade.

“Near-term technicals for spot USDINR indicate support at 85.03 and resistance at 85.70. High-frequency data suggests a stronger rupee, though geopolitical factors may cap the gains,” Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said.

Traders said heightened geopolitical tensions, following the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, weighed on market sentiment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday declared that the killers of Pahalgam will be pursued “to the ends of the earth” and promised to “identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers”.

India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960, and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the horrific Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians were killed.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 256.90 points, or 0.32%, to settle at 79,859.59, while the Nifty declined 82.25 points, or 0.34%, to 24,246.70.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹3,332.93 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.