Domestic stock markets appear to be breaking their four-day high on Thursday. Amidst sluggish global markets, Indian stock markets were also trying to gain ground this week. Trading started weak this morning. Sensex opened 270 points lower and Nifty 80 points lower. Bank Nifty remained almost flat with slight gains. There was heavy selling in IT stocks, which fell 1.8%. FIIs bought for the fourth consecutive day, giving them around ₹429 crore in cash, including ₹944 crore in index and stock futures. Meanwhile, domestic funds made some selling after two days of buying, giving them around ₹125 crore.
How are global triggers?
GIFT Nifty remains flat near 26,000, while Dow futures look dull. Japan’s Nikkei is trading up about 250 points. US markets slipped despite strong jobs data on Wednesday. The Dow broke its three-day high and closed nearly 70 points lower. The Nasdaq slipped nearly 250 points from its day’s high and ultimately closed 35 points lower.
Gold and silver prices rise again
The commodity market has boomed again. Gold jumped nearly $80 to above $5,100, and silver rose 5% to above $84. In the domestic market, gold rose by about ₹1,950 to close at ₹1,58,700, while silver rose by ₹10,500 to close at ₹2,63,000. Crude oil also rose by about 1% to near $70 due to Iran-US tensions. Copper, zinc, aluminum and nickel gained 1% to 2.5% on the LME.
Focus on Q3 results
Talking about results, Max Financial and Patanjali Foods reported mixed results for the December quarter. Today, Nifty will release the results of Coal India, Hindalco, HUL and ONGC. Futures will include Biocon, IRCTC, Lupine, Muthoot Finance, Petronet LNG, Bharat Forge, HAL, PI Industries and Indian Hotels.
today’s special things
A big update for the banking sector. RBI has issued new guidelines on mis-selling. Banks will now not be able to sell any product without the explicit consent of the customer. These rules will come into effect from July 1, which may affect the sale of insurance and investment products.
There is good news on the macro front. Nearly 80% of the tax collection target for FY26 has been met in February itself. Gross direct tax collections increased by 4.1% to ₹22.78 lakh crore, and net direct tax collections increased by 9.4% to ₹19.44 lakh crore. STT collection also increased by 2.2%.
The government’s focus on infrastructure seems to be increasing. During the discussion on the budget, the Finance Minister said that the budget will benefit the MSME sector and promote medical tourism, which can support long-term growth.