Asia-Pacific markets logged losses on Thursday, as tariff threats from the US President Donald Trump continued to weigh on risk appetite. Meanwhile, China kept its loan prime rates steady, focusing on financial stability.

The Nikkei 225 and Kospi were trading 0.89% and 0.54% down, respectively. The S&P ASX 200 was trading 1.07% down.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 ended 0.16% and 0.24% higher. The Nasdaq Composite ended 0.07% higher.

The brent crude was trading 0.10% down at $72.18 a barrel as of 6:35 a.m. The spot gold was trading 0.73% higher at $2,957.10.

The GIFT Nifty was trading 0.10%, or 23 points down at $22,936.00 as of 6:30 a.m.

India’s benchmark indices closed flat on Wednesday after fluctuating between gains and losses in a range-bound session. IT and pharmaceutical stocks declined, while realty and metal shares advanced.

The NSE Nifty 50 ended 12.4 points or 0.05% lower at 22,932.9 and the BSE Sensex closed 28.21 points or 0.04% down at 75,939.18. Intraday, the Nifty dropped 0.57% but held above the key 22,800 support level, while the Sensex fell 0.51% before recovering to stay above 75,500.

Foreign portfolio investors turned net sellers on Wednesday, offloading Indian equities worth about Rs 1,881.3 crore after buying in the previous session. On Tuesday, the FPIs were net buyers of stocks worth Rs 4,786.6 crore.

Domestic institutional investors remained net buyers for the 11th consecutive session, purchasing equities worth Rs 1,957.7 crore, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

The Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar, closing 2 paise lower at Rs 86.85 per dollar, according to Bloomberg.

Stocks To Watch

  • Sundaram-Clayton: Approved the sale of high-pressure and low-pressure aluminium die-casting businesses at the Hosur plant.

  • BCL Industries: Arm to supply 23,054 KL ethanol to oil companies for Rs 135 crore.

  • Thomas Cook (India): Signed an agreement with SOTC and Korea Tourism Organisation for special projects.

  • Bharat Forge: The company’s arm and AM General signed a letter of intent to supply artillery cannons to the US.

  • Waaree Energies: Received an order to supply solar modules for 362.5 MWp from an Engie India arm.

  • Mahindra & Mahindra: Mahindra Group entered a pact with Anduril Industries to develop autonomous maritime systems.

  • IRIS Business Services: Signed a memorandum of understanding with the Goa government to support the MSME ecosystem.

  • Cyient: Board appointed Sukamal Banerjee as the CEO for five years.

  • India Glycols: Received a Rs 1,264-crore order from Bharat Petroleum Corp. for ethanol supply.

  • Veranda Learning Solutions: Approved the allotment of 8.56 lakh shares to Saranga Investments.

  • Servotech Renewable Power System: Partnered with France-based Watt & Well to develop and manufacture EV charger components in India.

  • Rites: Signed an MoU with Central Water and Power Research Station for marine infra consultancy.

  • HFCL: Signed an agreement with BSNL as a project implementation agency under BharatNet Phase-III.

  • Orchid Pharma: US Food and Drug Administration ended inspections and issued seven minor observations on the Tamil Nadu facility.

Block Deals

  • Lloyds Metals & Energy: Agarwal Ravi bought 1.77 lakh shares (0.03%) at Rs 1,165 apiece; Gupta Rajesh R sold 1.77 lakh shares (0.03%) at Rs 1,165 apiece.

Bulk Deals

  • BSE: Goldman Sachs (Singapore) PTE bought 7.28 lakh shares (0.53%) at Rs 5,504.42 apiece.

  • Tourism Finance Corp: Aditya Kumar Halwasiya bought 5 lakh shares (0.53%) at Rs 143.93 apiece.

  • One Mobikwik Systems: SSPL Securities sold 6 lakh shares (0.77%) at Rs 322.33 apiece.

  • Windlas Biotech: Samvitti Capital Active Alpha Multicap sold 1.15 lakh shares (0.55%) at Rs 683.49 apiece.

Insider Trading

  • Maharashtra Seamless: Promoter Stable Trading Co. bought 3.83 lakh shares between Feb. 13 and Feb. 14.

  • NCC: Promoter AVSR Holdings bought 3.07 lakh shares on Feb. 17-18.

  • Deepak Nitrite: Promoter Smt. Ila D. Mehta bought 27,100 shares on Feb. 18.

  • Usha Martin: Promoter Umil Share and Stock Broking Services bought 25,000 shares on Feb. 18.

Trading Tweaks

  • Price Band Change (20% to 10%): Concord Enviro Systems.

  • Ex/Record Dividend: ESAB India, Shivalik Bimetal Controls, IRCTC, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care.

  • Moved into Short-Term ASM Framework: Centum Electronics, DEE Development Engineers, JNK India.

  • Moved out of Short-Term ASM Framework: Carraro India, Tilaknagar Industries, Zen Technologies.

F&O Cues

  • Nifty Feb futures down by 0.10% to 22,964 at a premium of 31 points.

  • Nifty Feb futures open interest down by 0.72%.

  • Nifty Options Feb. 20 Expiry: Maximum call open interest at 23,500 and maximum put open interest at 22,500.

  • Securities in ban period: Manappuram Finance.

. Read more on Markets by NDTV Profit.The NSE Nifty 50 ended 0.05% lower at 22,932.9, while the BSE Sensex slipped 0.04% to close at 75,939.18 on Wednesday.  Read MoreMarkets, Business, Notifications 

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