Benchmarks retreat from high; European mkt opens higher

The domestic equity benchmarks pared some gains and traded with modest gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,200 level. Realty, media and metal shares advanced while banking shares declined.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 336.90 points or 0.43% to 79,096.30. The Nifty 50 index added 103.70 points or 0.43% to 24,159.30.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 0.99% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.92%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,399 shares rose and 1,421 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 10.07% to 18.32.

Gainers & Losers:

Britannia Industries (up 3.85%), Adani Enterprises (up 3.04%), JSW Steel (up 2.66%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.32%) and Larsen & Toubro (up 2.09%) were major Nifty gainers.

HDFC Life Insurance Company (down 2.03%), Bharti Airtel (down 2.03%), SBI Life Insurance Company (down 1.45%), Shriram Finance (down 0.86%) and UltraTech Cement (down 0.41%) were major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) rose 0.66%. The company reported 15.09% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 8,938.10 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 10,526.78 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 4.29% YoY to Rs 35,266.38 crore in Q1 FY25.

Tata Chemicals rose 0.53%. The company’s consolidated net profit from continuing operations declined 69.72% to Rs 175 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared to Rs 578 crore posted in Q1 FY24. The company’s revenue from operations fell 10.17% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 3,789 crore for the quarter ended 30 June 2024.

Brigade Enterprises rallied 3.85% after the company’s consolidated net profit surged 117.29% of Rs 83.72 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 38.53 crore reported in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operation jumped 64.8% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,077.72 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2024.

BEML slipped 3.59%. The company’s consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 70.47 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 75.01 crore reported in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations grew by 9.91% to Rs 634.08 crore in Q1 FY25 as against Rs 576.91 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year.

BLS International Services surged 11.32% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 70.16% to Rs 120.78 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 70.98 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 28.47% YoY to Rs 492.66 crore during the quarter

Axiscades Technologies jumped 5.11% after the company reported a net profit of Rs 17 crore in Q1 FY25, which is nearly three times as compared with the PAT of Rs 6 crore recorded in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations amounted to Rs 223 crore for the quarter, up 4.5% YoY.

Cupid hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company reported a net profit of Rs 8.26 crore in Q1 FY25, steeply higher than Rs 2.16 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 16.18% year on year (YoY) to Rs 39.13 crore during the quarter.

V-Mart Retail rallied 4.65% after the company reported a net profit of Rs 12.14 crore in Q1 FY25 as against net loss of Rs 21.94 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 15.85% year on year (YoY) to Rs 786.08 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2024.

Bharti Hexacom’s shed 0.85%. The company’s standalone net profit surged to Rs 511.2 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 253.2 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 13.61% YoY to Rs 1,910.6 crore during the quarter.

Global Markets:

Most European stocks advanced while Asian stocks traded mixed on Tuesday, recovering from steep losses in the previous session.

Japanese markets led the rally, bouncing back after plunging into bear market territory. Bargain hunting also fueled gains, as investors snapped up discounted stocks with solid fundamentals.

US stocks tumbled on Monday, triggered by recession fears. The Dow dropped 1,033.99 points, or 2.6%, to end at 38,703.27. The Nasdaq Composite lost 3.43% and closed at 16,200.08, while the S&P 500 slid 3% to end at 5,186.33.

Friday's disappointing US jobs report intensified concerns about a potential recession. Investors are growing increasingly frustrated with the Federal Reserve's reluctance to cut interest rates despite slowing economic growth. The central bank opted to maintain rates at a 22-year high during its last meeting.

Adding to market volatility, the unwinding of the yen carry trade is gaining momentum. After the Bank of Japan raised interest rates last week, narrowing the interest rate differential with the US, the yen strengthened against the dollar. This has forced investors to unwind positions that involved borrowing in yen to invest in higher-yielding assets.