Barometers edge higher; breadth positive

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with tiny gains in early trade. The Nifty traded above the 25,050 mark. Media, pharma and financial services shares advanced while metal, realty and oil & gas stocks declined. Trading could be volatile due to August F&O series expiry today.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 37.08 points or 0.05% to 81,822.64. The Nifty 50 index added 7.95 points or 0.03% to 25,060.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.20% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.14%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,741 shares rose and 1,204 shares fell. A total of 137 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,347.53 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 439.35 crore in the Indian equity market on 28 August 2024, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

One 97 Communication (Paytm) advanced 2.56% after the company said that it has received a nod from Finance Ministry for downstream investment into Paytm Payment Services. Paytm payment services will resubmit the payment aggregator license and will continue to provide online payment aggregation services to existing partners.

Genus Power Infrastructure was hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company's wholly owned subsidiary has received three orders worth Rs 4,469.04 crore for the appointment of advanced metering infrastructure services providers. The company's total order book stood at Rs 32,500 crore.

KEC International jumped 5.78% after the company has received new orders worth Rs 1,171 crore for its transmission and distribution business in UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 1.78% to 6.983 as compared with previous close 6.975.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.8950, compared with its close of 83.9700 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 September 2024 settlement rose 0.13% to Rs 71,421.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.11% to 100.98.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.05% to 3.841.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2024 settlement gained 12 cents or 0.15% to $77.70 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones index futures were up 105 points, indicating a positive opening in the US stocks today.

Most Asian stocks declined on Thursday, mirroring the overnight slump in Nvidia. The AI darling's tepid guidance on revenue and margins fueled concerns about the broader AI sector.

Investors are now keenly awaiting U.S. weekly jobless claims and inflation readings from Germany and Spain. These economic indicators will offer insights into the Federal Reserve's potential rate-cut trajectory beyond September, given its emphasis on the labor market's health.

U.S. stocks experienced a pullback on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite shed 1.12%, while the S&P 500 (-0.6%) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.4%) saw more modest losses.

Nvidia's shares plunged as much as 8.5% in after-hours trading following its earnings report. While the company delivered a profit beat and announced a $50 billion buyback, investors were disappointed by the weaker-than-expected outlook for the current quarter's revenue and gross margin.