Stock market highlights: Tata Chemicals, Bajaj Electricals, Nilkamal hit 52-week low; here’s why

NIFTY50 and SENSEX traded under high volatility today, with benchmark NIFTY50 index closing 5.8 points lower at 22,547 level, while SENSEX closed 147 points, or 0.20% higher at 74,602. More than 114 stocks hit their lowest level in 52 weeks on Tuesday, February 25, as the broader equity markets closed flat after recovering from day's low.

In recent weeks, FII sell-offs, reciprocal tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump, geopolitical tensions, and global stock market meltdown have weighed on the domestic markets as well.

The volatility index, or India VIX, dropped over 5% to 13.72. Among the sectoral indices, NIFTY Metal and NIFTY Realty indices were the top losers, down 1.54% and 1.31%, respectively.

Tata Chemicals (52-week low: ₹824)

Shares of Tata Chemicals have been reeling under pressure for the past couple of weeks after the company announced poor Q3 earnings earlier this month. Tata Chemicals posted a net loss of ₹21 crore for the December 2024 quarter (Q3FY25) compared to a net profit of ₹194 crore a year ago.

Revenue from operations also declined 3.8% YoY to ₹3,590 crore in Q3FY25 as against ₹3,730 crore in Q3FY24. The company’s managing director and CEO R Mukundan made investors wary by saying that he expects challenges to persist for Tata Chemicals in the short term due to the current demand-supply situation. The stock recovered from 52-week low to closed 1.32% lower at ₹825.3 per share.

Apollo Tyres (52-week low: ₹398.1)

Apollo Tyres recently announced that it was refocusing on its product strategy to boost profitability amid slower growth, rising input costs and increasing competition. The company will discontinue the production of small tyres for commercial vehicles and passenger cars, shifting its focus to larger and more premium radials that typically offer better margins. The stock closed 0.66% lower at ₹398.70 apiece.

Nilkamal Ltd (52-week low: ₹1,597)

The stock has been weighed down by concerns over demand slowdown, particularly in the plastic furniture segment. Nilkamal’s net profit in Q3FY25 declined 26.66% to ₹21.49 crore as against ₹29.3 crore a year ago. Sales increased 6.3% to ₹854.28 crore during the quarter compared to ₹803.45 crore during the year-ago quarter. Nilkamal shares closed 0.16% lower at ₹1,609 per share.

Bajaj Electricals (52-week low: ₹616.9)

Last week, Bajaj Electricals informed the stock exchanges that it has received a demand of ₹14.08 crore from the GST authority in Punjab for an alleged mismatch in input tax credit (ITC) claimed by it. The company is currently exploring various legal options and necessary steps, including filing an appeal before the relevant appellate authority. Bajaj Electricals shares closed 4.41% lower at ₹618.50 per share.