After opening the day lower, Indian benchmark indices remained volatile as the session progressed and ended the day flat.

The benchmark equity indices, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50, ended Monday's choppy session on a flat note.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 9 points.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 6 points.

Infosys, Trent, and Tech Mahindra are among the top gainers today.

ONGC, Cipla, and Apollo Hospital on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at 24,230 down by 113 points at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index ended 0.9% lower and the BSE SmallCap index ended 1.1% lower.

Sectoral indices were trading mixed today with stocks in the power sector and banking sector witnessing buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the metal sector and oil & gas sector witnessing selling pressure.

Wipro, KIMS, and Page Industries hit their respective 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 84.38 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.8% lower at Rs 76,676 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 0.1% lower at Rs 91,142 per 1 kg.
 

BEML Q2 Results

In news from the engineering sector, India's BEML reported a 1.5 percent fall in its second-quarter profit on Monday, hurt by lower demand for its heavy machinery and equipment as manufacturing activity dipped.

The state-owned company makes machinery and products for industries like aerospace, mining, rail, and metro and has clients such as Rail Vikas Nigam, Adani Power, and Chennai Metro Rail.

India's manufacturing activity growth eased in the last two months of the September quarter as demand softened, according to a survey. Overall growth was hurt by a softer rise in new business and orders.

BEML's consolidated profit fell to Rs 510.3 m in the September quarter, compared to Rs 517.8 m a year earlier.

The company's revenue from operations fell 6.2% to Rs 8.6 bn, after four quarters of rise.

The cost of materials consumed, which makes up more than half of the total expenses, grew 0.2% in the quarter, while total expenses fell by 7% to Rs 8.2 bn.

Rival railway coach-maker Jupiter Wagons reported a 9.3% rise in its September-quarter profit.

BEML's shares were down 0.6% after the results. They have risen 47.5% so far this year, while those of Jupiter Wagons have jumped 47.8%.

Why KIMS Share Price is Rising

Moving on to the pharma sector, shares of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) surged nearly 6% on 11 November following the release of its strong Q2FY25 financial results.

KIMS reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 107.4 crore for Q2FY25, reflecting a 24% increase quarter-over-quarter and a 16.7% year-over-year rise.

The company's revenue from operations also rose significantly, up 13% from the previous quarter and 19% from the previous year, totaling Rs 7.8 bn.

Consolidated EBITDA saw a healthy increase, growing 21.2% sequentially and 23.8% year-over-year to Rs 2.2 bn.

The EBITDA margin improved as well, reaching 28.5% in Q2FY25, compared to 27.5% in Q2FY24 and 26.6% in the prior quarter.

KIMS Hospitals has a strong presence across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and its newest addition in Kerala.
 

Why Metal Stocks are Falling

Moving on, shares of metal manufacturers faced selling pressure on 11 November as China's latest stimulus measures failed to meet investor expectations, yet again.

This further dampened hopes for a significant recovery in the country's struggling property sector, which is a key driver of metal demand for the world's largest importer.

China's underwhelming stimulus plans also led to a decline in iron ore prices, which dropped by more than 2%, approaching $100 per ton. This followed the Chinese government's announcement of a debt-swap plan, but it fell short of implementing measures to directly boost domestic demand, particularly in the struggling property sector.

The steel-making staple has fallen by over a quarter this year, weighed down by China's property slump and signs that miners are ramping up production.

With mills in China facing challenges in selling steel domestically due to weak demand, exports of the alloy soared to their highest level since 2015 last month, further adding pressure on global steel prices.

Bogged down by this, names like NMDC, MOIL and NALCO fell 1-2%, turning out to be the worst hit on the Nifty Metal index. The sectoral index was also down 0.5%.

Other metal stocks like Tata Steel, SAIL, Jindal Steel and Power, Hindustan Zinc, JSW Steel and Vedanta also struggled with losses.

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