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Benchmarks end passing week with strong gains on US tariff reprieve
Apr-17-2025

Markets ended holiday shortened week on a fabulous note with Sensex and Nifty garnering gains of around four and half a percent after US announced reciprocal tariff exemption of smartphones, computers and other devices and components. Fresh foreign fund inflows also added to positive sentiments. Besides, easing retail and wholesale inflation raised hopes of further rate cuts by RBI.

Some of the major developments during the week are:

IIP growth slows in February on weak manufacturing: India's industrial output growth, measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), slowed to a seven-month low of 2.9% in February 2025, compared to a 5.2% surge in January 2025 amid slowdown in mining, manufacturing and electricity growth.

India's WPI inflation eases to 2.05% in March: Amid fall in prices of crude petroleum & natural gas, non-food articles and food articles, inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) in India eased in the month of March to 2.05% as against 2.38% in February. 

Retail inflation eases in March: India's retail inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), eased to 3.34% in March 2025, as food prices continued to soften. It is the lowest year-on-year inflation after August 2019. The CPI remains comfortably within the RBI’s medium-term target of 4%.

India's merchandise exports grow in March: India's merchandise exports turned positive and grew marginally by 0.7% to $41.97 billion in March 2025 as compared to $41.69 billion in March 2024, while imports increased by 11.3% to $63.51 billion in March 2025 as compared to $57.03 billion in March 2024.

US remains India’s top trading partner for 4th straight year in FY25: The government data showed the US remained India's largest trading partner for fourth consecutive year in 2024-25 with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion. Indian exports to US increased to $86.51 billion in last fiscal year.

BSE movement for the week

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex surged 3395.94 points or 4.52% to 78,553.20 during the week ended April 17, 2025. The BSE Midcap index gained 1706.24 points or 4.24% to 41,980.48 and Smallcap index surged 2148.31 points or 4.69% to 47,946.66. On the sectoral front, S&P BSE Realty was up by 432.92 points or 7.08% to 6,551.31, S&P BSE BANKEX was up by 3,890.91 points or 6.66% to 62,293.27, S&P BSE Finance was up by 697.51 points or 6.13% to 12,080.04, S&P BSE Consumer Discretionary Goods & Services was up by 377.97 points or 4.48% to 8,808.69 and S&P BSE Capital Goods was up by 2,565.76 points or 4.38% to 61,111.69 were the top gainers, while there were no losers on the BSE.

NSE movement for the week

The Nifty surged 1023.10 points or 4.48% to 23,851.65. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Bank Nifty was up by 3287.85 points or 6.45% to 54,290.20, Nifty Next 50 gained 2782.00 points or 4.53% to 64,255.55, Nifty Mid Cap 100 increased 2156.30 points or 4.27% to 52,657.80 and Nifty IT was up by 631.50 points or 1.93% to 33,372.35.

FII transactions during the week

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in equity segment in the week, with gross purchases of Rs 59,374.75 crore and gross sales of Rs 50,902.45 crore, leading to a net inflow of Rs 8,472.30 crore. They also stood as net buyers in the debt segment with gross purchases of Rs 13,232.02 crore against gross sales of Rs 10,770.28 crore, resulting in a net inflow of Rs 2,461.74 crore. In hybrid segment, FIIs stood as net sellers, with gross purchases of Rs 84.13 crore and gross sales of Rs 173.62 crore, leading to a net outflow of Rs 89.49 crore.

Industry and Economy

Exuding confidence in price competitiveness and continued government support, industry body -- PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) has said that the reciprocal tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump will impact only 0.1 per cent of the Indian Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Hemant Jain, President of PHDCCI said that strong domestic manufacturing and continued government handholding through strategic policy measures, including PLI, Make in India, and Atmanirbhar Bharat, among others, will support India’s growth resilience. He further stated that India’s strong industrial competitiveness will balance the impact of US tariff announcements, and GDP will see only a 0.1 per cent impact in the short term. 

Outlook for the coming week

Indian markets ended the passing week with gains of over four percent amid easing retail inflation.

The coming week is expected to be a volatile one for local equity markets on account of F&O expiry, which is scheduled to take place on April 24. On the economy front, investors will be eyeing HSBC Manufacturing PMI Flash, HSBC Composite PMI Flash, HSBC Services PMI Flash, which scheduled to be release on April 23, Bank Loan Growth, Deposit Growth, Foreign Exchange Reserves data going to be out on April 25. 

In the ongoing result season, traders will be eyeing earnings of prominent companies, including Havells India, HCL Technologies, LTIMindtree, Axis Bank, Cyient, Hindustan Unilever, L&T Technology Services, Nestle India, Maruti Suzuki India etc.

On the global front, investors would be eyeing few economic data from world’s largest economy, United States (US), starting from Redbook YoY, Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index on April 22, S&P Global Composite PMI Flash, Building Permits Final on April 23, Durable Goods Orders, Existing Home Sales, Initial Jobless Claims on April 24, Fed Balance Sheet, Michigan Consumer Sentiment Final, Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count on April 25.

Top Gainers 

  • Indusind Bank up by 17.12% was the top gainer on Nifty for the week - Indusind Bank traded higher after it received the findings of the external audit on the discrepancies found in its derivatives portfolio. The report by the external agency showed Rs 1,979 crore of negative impact to the net worth of the bank due to the derivative discrepancies. The impact is lower than RBI's assessment of around Rs 2,000 crore.
  • Axis Bank up by 12.17% was another top gainer on Nifty for the week - Axis Bank remained on buyers’ radar ahead of its quarter and year ended March 31, 2025 result to be out on April 24, 2025. Meanwhile, Axis Bank has reduced its savings account interest rates by 25 basis points, effective April 15, 2025. savings account balances below Rs 50 lakh will earn an annual interest rate of 2.75 per cent.

Top Losers

  • There were no losers on NSE Nifty index.

Technical viewpoints

During the week, CNX Nifty touched the highest level of 23,872.35 on April 17 and lowest level of 23,207.00 on April 15. On the last trading day, the Nifty closed at 23,851.65 with weekly gain of 1023.10 points or 4.48 percent. For the coming week, 23,414.98 followed by 22,978.32 are likely to be good support levels for the Nifty, while the index may face resistance at 24,080.33 and further at 24,309.02 levels.

US Market

The U.S. markets traded lower during the week after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled a wait and see approach and push back investors optimism about early rates.

Some of the major developments during the week are:

U.S. business inventories rise in line with estimates in February: The Commerce Department said business inventories rose by 0.2 percent in February after climbing by 0.3 percent in January.

Industrial production in U.S. falls 0.3% in March: Industrial production fell by 0.3 percent in March after climbing by upwardly revised 0.8 percent in February. Street expected industrial production to dip by 0.2 percent.

U.S. homebuilder confidence unexpectedly inches higher in April: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index inched up to 40 in April after falling to 39 in March. Street had expected the index to dip to 37.

Retail sales in U.S. surge 1.4% in march as auto sales spike: The Commerce Department said retail sales shot up by 1.4 percent in March after inching up by 0.2 percent in February. Street had expected retail sales to jump by 1.3 percent.

Import prices in U.S. edge slightly lower in March: The Labor Department said import prices slipped by 0.1 percent in March after rising by a downwardly revised 0.2 percent in February.

European Market

European markets remained firm during the passing week, however traders remained cautious amid concerns about U.S.-China trade tensions.

Some of the major developments during the week are:

UK job market remains strong: The data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that annual growth in employees' earnings excluding bonuses was 5.9 percent in the December to February period. 

Eurozone industrial production growth accelerates: The data from Eurostat showed that industrial output climbed 1.1 percent month-on-month in February, which was faster than the 0.6 percent growth logged in January.

Eurozone current account surplus falls: The data from the European Central Bank showed that the current account surplus fell to EUR 34 billion in February from EUR 40 billion in January. 

Eurozone inflation eases as estimated: The final data from Eurostat showed that the harmonized index of consumer prices climbed 2.2 percent on a yearly basis in March, slightly slower than the 2.3 percent rise in February.

Spain inflation slows to 2.3% as estimated:  The final data from the statistical office INE revealed that consumer prices gained 2.3 percent year-on-year in March, as estimated, following a 3.0 percent rise in February. 

Asian Market

Asian markets traded higher during passing week, amid hopes of lower negotiated reciprocal tariffs on US trade partners in the region, with Japan making positive progress in trade talks with the U.S.  

Some of the major developments during the week are:

Japan’s exports rise at slower pace in March: Japan’s exports rose for a sixth straight month in March but at a much slower pace as concerns over U.S. President Trump’s tariffs start to weigh on global trade. 

China GDP expands more than expected in Q1: China's economy grew more than expected in the Q1FY25 despite trade tariff disputes. GDP grew 5.4 percent year-on-year in the first three months. This was unchanged from the previous quarter.  

China's retail sales rise 5.9% in March: China's retail sales reached 4.094 trillion yuan ($557 billion) in March 2025, up 5.9 percent year-on-year, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

China's industrial output rises at faster pace in March: China's industrial output in March rose 7.7 percent from a year earlier, quickening from 5.9 percent growth in the January-February period.

Bank of Korea holds key interest rate unchanged: The Bank of Korea kept its interest rate unchanged at 2.75 percent but hinted at possible cuts in May amid rising economic risks partly spurred by U.S. tariffs.
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