Indian equities commenced the June series with marginal gains on Friday, May 30, 2025, despite a subdued trend in broader Asian markets. The NSE Nifty 50 opened slightly higher by 3.85 points (0.02%) at 24,837.45, while the BSE Sensex saw an uptick of 26.05 points (0.03%) to 81,659.07. The Bank Nifty also traded with modest gains, supported by counters such as IDFC First Bank, Bank of Baroda, and Punjab National Bank. Among Nifty50 constituents, Coal India, L&T, Jio Financial, Grasim, and Cipla were top gainers, whereas Bajaj Auto, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Hindalco, and HCL Technologies lagged.

In sectoral performance, a mixed trend was observed with FMCG and oil & gas indices posting mild gains. However, other indices, notably IT and metal, faced selling pressure. Market sentiment was partly influenced by an appeals court reinstating US President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' trade tariffs, which had been blocked previously, adding to uncertainty.

A notable stock in focus was Bajaj Auto, whose shares declined up to 2.89% in Friday's trade despite the company reporting a satisfactory financial performance for the fourth quarter of FY25. At around 10:43 am on Friday, Bajaj Auto shares were trading 2.75% lower at Rs 8,629.05 per share, after hitting a day's low of Rs 8,617. This was a contrast to Thursday's session, where the stock had closed 0.3% higher at Rs 8,873.3 apiece on the BSE ahead of the earnings announcement.

Bajaj Auto Q4 FY25 Performance: Pune-headquartered Bajaj Auto announced its results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, which largely aligned with analysts' expectations. The two-wheeler major reported a 6.0% year-on-year increase in standalone net profit, reaching Rs 2,049 crore. Its revenue from operations grew by 5.8% year-on-year to Rs 12,148 crore. A key highlight was a significant 20% jump in exports during the quarter, although domestic sales saw an 8% decline. These figures were broadly in line with Zee Business research estimates, which had projected a net profit of Rs 2,053 crore and revenue of Rs 12,190 crore.

Operationally, Bajaj Auto recorded quarterly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of Rs 2,450.5 crore, marking a 6% increase over the year-ago period. The company's operating margin improved by 10 basis points to 20.2%. These operational numbers were also close to Zee Business analysts' expectations of Rs 2,480 crore for EBITDA and a margin of 20.3%.

Dividend Announcement: Reflecting its strong performance, the Bajaj Auto board announced a substantial dividend of Rs 210 per equity share. This translates to a 2,100% payout based on the face value of Rs 10 per equity share.

Brokerage Outlook on Bajaj Auto: Despite the immediate stock price dip, most brokerage firms maintained a largely positive outlook on Bajaj Auto. Bernstein recommended the highest target of Rs 11,000 with an 'outperform' rating, noting the company's ability to sustain margins irrespective of the operating environment and highlighting a positive outlook for exports. Jefferies maintained a 'buy' rating, raising its target price to Rs 8,000 from Rs 7,750. The brokerage cited a decent Q4 performance driven by better average selling prices and expressed positivity on the growth outlook for both domestic and export two-wheelers, though it pointed out concerns regarding a dip in domestic motorcycle market share and a decline in volume share in India's 2W exports.

Goldman Sachs reiterated its 'buy' call, increasing the target price to Rs 9,600 from Rs 9,300. Similarly, CLSA maintained an 'accumulate' rating, raising its target to Rs 10,149 from Rs 9,473. CLSA noted the in-line results and Bajaj Auto's plans to increase its share in the 125cc segment. The brokerage anticipates domestic two-wheeler growth of 5-6% and export growth of 15-20% in FY26, and has raised its FY27 EPS estimates, factoring in continued cost reduction for electric two-wheelers.

Other Market Developments: Beyond Bajaj Auto, several other corporate actions and market influences were noted. MSCI changes were set to come into effect from Friday's close. Upcoming Q4 results included those from Apollo Hospitals (NIFTY), and Vodafone Idea, Inox Wind, Nykaa, and Titagarh in the FNO segment. Nine new securities, including Bharat Dynamics, Kaynes Tech, Mankind Pharma, Mazagon Dock, RVNL, Fortis Healthcare, Piramal Pharma, Uno Minda, and Bluestar, were to be included in the F&O segment. Board meetings were scheduled for Vodafone Idea and RK Forgings (results & fundraise), India Glycol (share split), and Spandana Sphoorty & Dalmia Bharat (fundraise). Garden Reach Shipbuilders saw a price band change to 10% from 20%. Ex-dividend dates included Bajaj Finance (Rs. 30 final dividend), Infosys (Rs. 22 final dividend), and Angel One (Rs. 26 final dividend).

Meanwhile, Asian markets traded weakly on Friday, May 30, 2025, mirroring losses on Wall Street. Market sentiment was also dampened by uncertainty surrounding legal actions on tariffs and concerns over the US economic state. Japan's Nikkei fell by 1.41%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.6%, Singapore's Straits Times was down 0.25%, and South Korea's Kospi declined by 0.6%. The MSCI Asia ex Japan index was down 0.49%.