After a powerful rally on Thursday, Indian stock markets took a breather on Friday, ending in the red as investors locked in profits ahead of a busy earnings calendar. Despite weakness in frontline indices, the broader market showed remarkable resilience—a theme that could define the coming weeks.
🔍 Market Snapshot
The BSE Sensex closed down 200.15 points (0.24%) at 82,330.59, while the Nifty 50 declined 42.30 points (0.17%) to settle at 25,019.80. The session was characterized by pressure on IT and telecom, while FMCG, paint, and consumption stocks held the fort.
Interestingly, midcaps and the Nifty Next 50 outperformed, highlighting strong undercurrents in broader market segments. The Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.94%, and the Nifty Next 50 rose 1.29%, with market breadth firmly positive—over 2,600 stocks advanced and 83 hit 52-week highs, showcasing selective bullish momentum.
📈 Top Gainers and Losers
⭐ Gainers of the Day:
- Eternal Energy: +1.38% – Closed at ₹245.75
- Hindustan Unilever (HUL): +1.10% – ₹2,381.00
- Asian Paints: +0.98% – ₹2,353.00
- ITC: +0.73% – ₹435.60
- Nestlé India: +0.52% – ₹2,410.55
These gains were supported by steady Q4 earnings, strong rural demand expectations, and investor rotation into defensives amid global jitters.
🔻Losers of the Day:
- Bharti Airtel: -2.81% – ₹1,814.35
- HCL Technologies: -2.14% – ₹1,659.75
- State Bank of India: -1.96% – ₹791.85
- Infosys: -1.46% – ₹1,589.75
- Tech Mahindra: -0.79% – ₹1,615.15
IT and banking remained under pressure due to weak global cues and elevated US bond yields.
🧾 Q4 FY25 Earnings Highlights
The earnings season continued with some
impressive performances:
🏨 ITC Hotels
- Net profit surged 40.78% YoY, driven by improved occupancy and premium pricing.
- Analysts expect sustained growth as travel demand normalizes
👕 Page Industries
- Profit rose 51.58%, led by volume recovery and better margins.
- Despite intense competition, the company managed to grow its EBITDA smartly.
❄️ Blue Star
- Revenue up 21% YoY.
- Margins improved to 7.3% in FY25, though the cooling product segment underperformed due to unseasonal rains in key geographies.
JSW Energy: Mixed numbers with margin contraction.
Godrej Industries: Saw growth in chemicals and real estate divisions.
South Indian Bank: Reported improved NPA metrics and higher net interest margins.
Q4 Earnings Released Today (May 16):
- Delhivery: Posted profit of ₹72.56 crore with EBITDA nearly tripling YoY.
- Hyundai Motor India: Q4 profit dropped 3.75% YoY despite higher volumes.
- BHEL: Net profit stood at ₹504.45 crore, driven by order execution improvements.
- Emami: Emami reported a 10.5% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit for Q4 FY25, reaching ₹162.17 crore, driven by strong volume growth in its core business and robust performance from key brands like Navratna and BoroPlus
Heritage Foods, Cochin Shipyard, and Caplin Point also reported positive surprises.
📌 Insight: Nifty 50 earnings for Q4FY25 are now expected to grow only 2% YoY, with full-year EPS growth estimated at 6%, down from earlier double-digit expectations due to global uncertainty and weak topline growth.
🔍Market Insights
1.Midcap Momentum
While large caps cooled off, midcap stocks continued to rally. This is a strong signal that smart money is rotating into fundamentally sound, under-owned opportunities outside the top 50.
2.Sectoral Divergence
- FMCG, Paints, and Hotels are showing earnings strength.
- IT and Telecom are facing margin and order-book challenges due to the US slowdown and sticky inflation.
3.Stock Picks of the Day
- Kiri Industries: Analysts are bullish due to its chemical segment expansion and upcoming dividend announcement.
- HFCL: Attracting buying interest due to its 5G-related capex pipeline and consistent order book additions.
🌍 Global Market Cues
- US Markets opened mixed as rate cut hopes resurface after soft macro data.
- The Nasdaq and S&P 500 gained on AI and tech optimism, while the Dow dipped slightly.
- Volatility is expected to rise as the US heads into a historic options expiry session on Friday.
🧠What Should Investors Do?
- Short-Term Caution, Long-Term Optimism: While the Nifty looks tired near 25,000, broader market activity suggests accumulation in quality stocks is underway.
- Focus on Stock-Specific Moves: Earnings surprises are driving sharp movements. Investors should follow bottom-up research rather than index trends.
- Opportunities in Consumption & Capital Goods: These sectors have consistently outperformed both in earnings and stock price.
🔚Final Word
May 16 was a day of healthy consolidation after a strong uptrend. Profit-booking in IT and telecom created drag, but earnings-led momentum in consumer and midcap stocks kept the market sentiment constructive. With the earnings season peaking and global cues remaining mixed, investors should brace for volatility but remain stock-specific in their approach.
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