Opening Bell - 17 / 01 / 25

Stock Market Updates

Opening Bell - Morning Commentary

Markets struggled to make headway

U.S. equity markets closed modestly lower Thursday following retail-sales data for December. Headline retail sales rose by 0.4% for the month. A slide in tech mega caps dragged down the market. Apple lost 4% in its worst day since August, dragged the Nasdaq Composite 0.89% lower.

On the corporate front, fourth-quarter earnings from U.S. financial services companies continue to exceed expectations, with Bank of America and Morgan Stanley reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller's remarks boosted Bonds - He said inflation is likely to continue to ease and possibly allow the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates sooner and faster than expected.

Red Dragon is back with a bang - China's economy demonstrated resilience, posting 5.4% growth in Q4 2024 and achieving its annual target of 5% growth for the full year, buoyed by stimulus measures. In Asia-Pacific, stocks were mixed.

Reliance Industries third quarter earnings beat expectations as the recovery in oil-to-chemicals and strong show from Jio Platforms aided growth.

The company's net profit jumped 7% YoY to Rs 18,540 crore, while the revenues at Rs 2.43 lakh crore - both slightly higher than expectations.

Infosys reported numbers better than market expectations and slightly upped its guidance but performance till date implies a decline in 4Q and that may impact the prices at the open. Axis bank numbers are in line with estimates. It reported muted fee income owing to lower volumes and continued stress in unsecured retail credit, partly offset by lumpy recoveries from written-off accounts.

Nifty now faces immediate resistance at 23460, with potential for further upside toward its 200-day EMA at 23,680. The support level has moved higher to 23150.

Indian markets are likely to open subdued on back of weak global cues and in response to soft numbers from Infosys.