GIFT Nifty Opening Update
GIFT Nifty opened today at 25,620.00. It is down -74.50 points (-0.29%) from yesterday’s close of 25,701.00— so the trend is negative.
The Indian equity benchmarks are poised for a lower opening on Friday, February 6, as suggested by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Ahmedabad declined by 106 points to 25,619, reflecting the negative signals from Asian markets. On Thursday, Indian benchmark indices ended lower as investors awaited the important RBI monetary policy announcement scheduled for Friday.
The markets experienced a decline as participants chose to realize profits from recent advancements. Additionally, metal stocks faced downward pressure, as the BSE Metal index decreased by 1.02%, influenced by a decline in global metal prices and the strengthening of the US dollar. Additionally, investors are looking for greater insight into the India-US bilateral trade agreement. The NIFTY50 concluded at 25,642.80, reflecting a decrease of 133.20 points or 0.52%, while the Sensex closed at 83,313.93, showing a decline of 503.76 points or 0.60%.
Equities to monitor:
- Interest rate sensitive stocks such as banking, real estate, financial services, and automotive shares are poised to attract attention as the Reserve Bank of India prepares to unveil its monetary policy decision later today. The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), led by Governor Sanjay Malhotra, is anticipated to keep interest rates unchanged when it reveals its bi-monthly monetary policy decision on Friday, February 6.
- Bharti Airtel on Thursday reported a net profit of Rs 6,630 crore for the third quarter of the current financial year, reflecting a decline of 55% compared to Rs 14,781 crore in the corresponding period last year. On a sequential basis, Bharti Airtel’s profit experienced a decline of 2.4%, falling from Rs 6,792 crore in the prior quarter. Bharti Airtel reported an operating profit, referred to as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), of Rs 31,144 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 57.7%. Bharti Airtel’s average revenue per user (ARPU), an important indicator of profitability for a telecom company, increased to Rs 259 per user per month from Rs 245 in the same period last year.
- Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles experienced a consolidated net loss of Rs 3,486 crore in the December quarter, contrasting with a net profit of Rs 5,406 crore during the same period last year. The revenue from operations experienced a decline of 26%, totaling Rs 70,108 crore compared to Rs 94,472 crore in the corresponding period last year. On a standalone basis, Tata Motors reported a net loss of Rs 233 crore in Q3FY26, contrasting with a net profit of Rs 1,471 crore during the corresponding period last year. The loss was attributed to a significant increase in the purchase of raw materials, with the cost of materials consumed rising 92% to Rs 10,603 crore, compared to Rs 5,517 crore in the same period last year.
- Hindustan Copper reported a 148.49% increase in its consolidated net profit, reaching Rs 156 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 (Q3 FY26). The organization, recognized as India’s sole vertically integrated copper producer, reported a PAT of Rs 62.87 crore in the corresponding period last year. The revenue from operations reached Rs 687.34 crore, reflecting a significant increase of 109.7% compared to Rs 327.77 crore recorded in the December quarter of FY25.
- LIC announced its earnings for the third quarter of the 2025-26 financial year (Q3FY26), revealing a 17.46% year-on-year (YoY) increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 12,930.44 crore. In the same period of the prior fiscal year, it reported a profit of Rs 11,008.65 crore, as stated by the country’s largest insurer in a regulatory filing. The net premium income saw a year-on-year increase of 17.76%, reaching Rs 1.26 lakh crore for the quarter in question, up from Rs 1.07 lakh crore in the December quarter of the 2024-25 fiscal year (Q3FY25). The PSU’s first-year premium reached Rs 10,648.46 crore in Q3FY26, indicating a 45.2% year-on-year increase from Rs 7,333.59 crore in the corresponding period last year.
- Hero MotoCorp reported a 15% rise in consolidated profit after tax, reaching Rs 1,275 crore for the third quarter ending December 2025, supported by strong sales in both domestic and export markets. Hero MotoCorp reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 1,108 crore in the October-December quarter of the previous fiscal year. Hero MotoCorp reported that revenue from operations increased to Rs 12,487 crore in the third quarter, up from Rs 10,260 crore in the same period last year, according to a regulatory filing. The company reported sales of 16.97 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters in the most recent third quarter, compared to 14.64 lakh units during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, reflecting a growth of 16%.
- Indian Oil Corporation experienced a significant increase in its net profit for the third quarter, driven by improvements in refining and marketing margins that compensated for the downturn in the petrochemicals segment. The standalone net profit reached Rs 12,125.86 crore in the December quarter of FY26, a significant increase from Rs 2,873.53 crore recorded in the same period the previous year, as reported in a stock exchange filing by the company. Refining margins experienced a significant increase due to the low prices of crude oil, which is the primary raw material utilized by IOC for the production of fuels such as petrol and diesel. Fuel sales experienced an increase of 5% during the quarter. IOC reported an earnings figure of $8.41 for each barrel of crude oil converted into fuel during the period of April to December 2025, in contrast to a cross-refining margin of $3.69 per barrel. The firm, engaged in the sale of domestic cooking gas at rates regulated by the government, reported subsidy receipts amounting to 2,414.34 crore. In October of the previous year, the government sanctioned a one-time compensation aimed at offsetting the losses incurred by IOC and other state-owned fuel retailers due to the sale of LPG at prices lower than the market rate. For IOC, an approval has been granted for the payment of Rs 14,486 crore in subsidy, to be disbursed in 12 equal monthly instalments commencing from November 2025.