As per provisional closing, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 318.74 points or 0.42% to 77,042.82. The Nifty 50 index rose 98.60 points or 0.42% to 23,311.80. In three consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex and Nifty gained by 0.93% and 0.97%, respectively.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.92% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 1.43%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,777 shares rose and 1,188 shares fell. A total of 102 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, added 1.35% to 15.47.

Economy:

India's trade deficit widened to $21.94 billion in December from $18.76 billion a year ago as merchandise exports contracted for the second month in a row, data released Wednesday showed. Exports contracted by about 1% year-on-year to $ 38.01 billion due to global uncertainties, while imports rose by about 5% to $ 59.95 billion. Gold imports in December amounted to $4.7 billion.

However, the merchandise trade deficit narrowed in December compared with November. The government had revised November's gold imports to $9.84 billion from $14.86 billion announced earlier. The correction had lowered the November trade deficit to $32.8 billion from a record $37.8 billion estimated earlier.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer of Stallion India Fluorochemicals received bids for 1,55,12,978 shares as against 8,87,37,330 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:15 IST on 16 January 2025. The issue was subscribed 5.72 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 16 January 2025, and it will close on 20 January 2025. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 85 and Rs 95 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 165 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 2.55% to 6,307.60. The index rallied 7.45% in three consecutive trading sessions.

Punjab & Sind Bank (up 6.96%), Indian Bank (up 5%), Bank of India (up 3.96%), Union Bank of India (up 3.73%) and Bank of Baroda (up 3.23%), Canara Bank (up 2.87%), Punjab National Bank (up 2.07%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 1.86%), State Bank of India (up 1.82%) and Central Bank of India (up 1.79%) added.

Punjab & Sind Bank rallied 6.96% after the bank's standalone net profit surged 146.7% to Rs 281.96 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 114.31 crore in Q3 FY24. Total income jumped 14.6% YoY to Rs 3,269.37 crore in Q3 FY25.

Stocks in Spotlight:

HDFC Life Insurance Company surged 7.99% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 14.6% to Rs 421.31 crore despite of 36.1% decline in Total income to Rs 17,270.97 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.

L&T Technology Services jumped 8.52%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 4.1% to Rs 322.40 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 336.20 crore in Q3 FY24. Net sales increased 9.5% YoY to Rs 2,653 crore during the quarter.

Mahindra EPC Irrigation hit an upper circuit of 20% after the company's consolidated net profit climbed 280.6% to Rs 6.35 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 1.67 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations rose by 1.4% year on year to Rs 81.45 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.

Alok Industries declined 2.30% after the company's consolidated net loss widened to Rs 272.99 crore in Q3 FY25 as against a net loss of Rs 229.92 crore reported in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations fell 31.05% year on year (YoY) to Rs 863.86 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.

Transrail Lighting rose 0.63%. The company's consolidated net profit jumped 19.08% to Rs 55.11 crore in Q2 FY25 as compared with Rs 46.28 crore in Q2 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 11.65% YoY to Rs 1,068.33 crore in Q2 FY25.

CEAT shed 0.28%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 46.49% to Rs 97.11 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared to Rs 181.48 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 11.36% year on year (YoY) to Rs 3,299.90 crore against Rs 2,963.1 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal.

Oracle Financial Services Software slipped 3.32% after the company's consolidated net profit fell 26.9% to Rs 541.30 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 740.80 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations declined 5.9% YoY to Rs 1,715.20 crore in Q3 FY25.

Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy surged 6.49% after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 14.83 crore in Q3 FY25 as against net loss of Rs 63.67 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations zoomed 215.19% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,837.20 crore in the quarter ended December 2024.

DB Corp (DBCL) fell 1.58% after the company reported 4.7% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 118.2 crore on a 1.38% decline in total revenue to Rs 655.6 crore in Q3 FY25 over Q3 FY24.

Bhansali Engineering Polymers jumped 2.20% after the company's consolidated net profit increased 1.52% to Rs 40.83 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 40.22 crore in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 18.5% YoY to Rs 345.83 crore in Q3 FY25.

Global Markets:

European and Asian shares rose on Thursday, reflecting Wall Street's gains, as the lower-than-expected US core inflation data fueled hopes of potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year.

The UK economy returned to expansion, with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) arriving at 0.1% in November after declining 0.1% in October, according to the latest data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Markets expected a 0.2% growth in the reported period.

South Korea's central bank unexpectedly left its policy interest rate unchanged on Thursday, weighing the impact of its back-to-back rate cuts last year while supporting the won which weakened to a 15-year low versus the U.S. dollar in recent weeks.

The Bank of Korea held its benchmark interest rate at 3.00% at its monetary policy review, an outcome expected by only seven of 34 economists polled by Reuters. The remaining 27 had expected the bank to cut the rate by 25 basis points.

In its statement, the BOK said that while inflation had stabilized and household debt had slowed down, 'downside risks to economic growth have intensified and the volatility of exchange rates has increased due to the unexpected political risks that have recently escalated. The bank also said that uncertainty has also increased due to 'changing domestic political situation and economic policies in major countries.'

The US core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased by 0.2% in December, marking the first slowdown in six months. This eased concerns about inflation and bolstered expectations that the Fed might begin cutting rates sooner than previously anticipated. Swap traders are now fully pricing in a rate cut by July, a significant shift from the expectations of a September or October cut following Friday's strong jobs report.

The year-over-year increase in core CPI was 3.2%, still above the Fed's 2% target. However, the deceleration in the monthly rate provided confidence that inflation is gradually cooling down.

Wall Street experienced a sharp rally on Wednesday, fueled by a combination of positive bank earnings and the encouraging inflation data. The S&P 500 surged 1.8%, the NASDAQ Composite climbed 2.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.7%.

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup, among other major banks, reported strong fourth-quarter earnings, setting a positive tone for the upcoming earnings season. Asset manager BlackRock also delivered robust results.

In other news, shares of Brazilian airline Azul SA soared over 4% after announcing a non-binding agreement to explore a merger with rival Gol, a move that would create Brazil's largest airline operator.

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