Market Highlights 13 Feb, 25

Indian equity markets rebounded on Thursday, snapping a six-day losing streak, as the Sensex and Nifty opened higher. This uptick was primarily driven by - gains in banking and financial stocks* and following the release of domestic inflation data indicating a potential rate cut. The *Nifty Financial index surged by up to 4%* after data revealed that India's retail inflation dropped to a five-month low in January, driven by declining food prices, supporting expectations of a rate cut to boost growth. *Major Indices Performance:* • *NIFTY 50:* 📉 Declined by 0.06%, closing at 23,031.40. • *SENSEX:* 📉 Dropped 0.04%, ending at 76,138.97. • *BANK NIFTY:* 📉 Fell by 0.24%, settling at 49,359.85. • *NIFTY MIDCAP 100:* 📈 Rose by 0.25%, closing at 50,881.00. • *NIFTY SMALLCAP 100:* 📉 Declined 0.37%, closing at 15,973.85. *Major Sectoral Performance:* • *Gainers:* The pharma sector led the gains, rising by 1.35%, followed by the metal sector, which increased by 0.82%. • *Losers:* The IT sector was the top laggard, declining by 1.00%. The FMCG sector also ended lower, with a loss of 0.79%. *Major news headlines of the day:* • *Swiggy* plans to introduce a standardized 2% collection fee for its merchant partners; however, the implementation has been postponed beyond the initially proposed date of February 16. • *Patel Engineering* reported a 14.49% increase in net profit, reaching ₹80.24 crore for Q3 FY25, with total income rising to ₹1,206 crore. • State-owned gas utility *GAIL* (India) Ltd. plans to exit its shale gas venture in the US, following in the footsteps of Reliance Industries Ltd. • India's *NHPC* Ltd is in discussions with Bhutan to develop new hydropower projects, aiming to strengthen energy ties between the two nations. • *P N Gadgil* Jewellers reported a 49.4% year-on-year increase in profit after tax, reaching ₹86.03 crore for Q3 FY25. Following these results, the company's shares hit a 10% upper circuit, closing at ₹621.05 on the BSE.. • *Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services* Ltd. has approved raising up to ₹3,000 crore through a rights issue.