After a weak opening, Indian benchmark indices extended their losses throughout the session in the red.

The BSE and the NSE benchmark indices settled lower on Thursday, as tensions between India and Pakistan escalated.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex closed lower by 412 points (down 0.5%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed points 140 lower (down 0.6%)

Axis Bank, HCL Tech, Kotak Mahindra among the top gainers today

M&M, Bajaj Finance, and Maruti Suzuki, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at  24,214, lower by 204 points at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index ended 1.9% lower, and the BSE SmallCap index ended 1.1% lower.

Barring the IT sector and all other sectoral indices were trading negatively today, with stocks in the auto sector and the realty sector witnessing selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 85.6 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.5% lower at Rs 96,550 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 0.1% higher at Rs 98,870 per 1 kg.
 

Gensol Engineering Crashes to New Low

In the news from engineering sector, shares of Gensol Engineering dropped 5% at Rs 60.5.

On Wednesday the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) refused to help Gensol Engineering which is being investigated for suspected fund misuse.

Gensol had challenged a SEBI order that banned the company and its promoters from the securities market due to alleged fraud.

SAT has directed Gensol to submit its response to SEBI within two weeks. SEBI will then give a final order withing four weeks after providing Gensol a fair hearing.

Gensol appealed SEBI decision saying it was unfair to issue the order without prior hearing. The company claimed it suffered big business losses, risked losing contracts and might default on loans. Gensol also to asked to pause the forensic audit and unfreeze its demat account.

The Delhi high Court has stopped Gensol and its subsidiary BluSmart from selling or transferring over 490 electric vehicles that are leased from other companies.

Gensol Engineering share has plummeted 61% in a month and 92% in a year. The company's market value is Rs 2.3 billion (bn).

Tata Chemicals Jumps on Lesser Loss

Moving on to the news from chemical sector, shares of Tata chemicals surge over 2% on Thursday. This was followed after the company reported a sharp decline in net loss to Rs 0.7 bn in Q4FY25 compared to Rs 8.3 bn year ago.

The company reported 1% in Q4FY25 revenue to Rs 3.5 bn. The company narrowed its net loss to Rs 0.7 bn compared to Rs 8.2 bn in the same period last year. Its India business revenue grew 11.8% to Rs 1.2 bn.

Tata Chemical EBITDA declined 26% to Rs 3.3 bn in Q4FY25 from Rs 4.4 bn in Q4FY24.

The company faces challenges due to weak demand in US and Europe and lower soda ash price affecting margins. However, it focusses on speciality products and capacity expansion will drive long-term growth when demand recovers.

Tata Chemicals part of Tata Group is a leading producer of sustainable chemical solutions, offering basic chemicals for industries like glass, detergent and speciality products as well as pharma. It's the world third largest soda ash producer and sixth largest sodium bicarbonate producers.

The share is 33.7% below its 52-week high of Rs 1,247.4. The company market value is Rs 210.4 bn.
 

Blue Star Shares Fall on Disappointing Q4

In the news from engineering sector, shares of Blue Star declined to 3% on Thursday despite the company reporting good Q4FY25 results.

Blue Star reported a string Q4FY25 results with revenue rising 20.8% to Rs 40.2 bn and net profit rising 17.2% to Rs 1.9 bn. Also, EBITDA growing 16.2 to Rs 2.5 bn.

Additionally, the company's board of director has recommended dividend of Rs 9 per share for FY25.

Blue Star's chairman Vir S Advani said that company ended the year strong driven by good room AC sales due to expected hot summer. It expects demand to pick up in May and June 2025 and believes the commercial refrigerator business has overcome its challenges.

Blue Star, established in 1943, is a leading air conditioning and refrigeration company with 7 manufacturing units, 3,000 employees, and over 10,000 retail outlets across India.

The company is seeing growth in its Electro-Mechanical and Air Cleaning projects, driven by demand from manufacturing and data centers, but is also monitoring geopolitical risks that could affect supply chains and commodity prices.

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