Sensex soars 968 pts; European mkt opens higher

The domestic equity indices continued to trade with major gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 24,400 level. All the other sectoral indices on the NSE were trading in green.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 968.02 points or 1.23% to 80,040.41. The Nifty 50 index surged 293.65 points or 1.22% to 24,437.60.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.34% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 1.42%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,381 shares rose and 1,459 shares fell. A total of 126 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's total exports (Merchandise and Services combined) for July 2024 is estimated at $62.42 billion, registering a positive growth of 2.81% vis-'-vis July 2023.Total imports (Merchandise and Services combined) for July 2024 is estimated at $72.03 billion, registering a positive growth of 7.14% vis-'-vis July 2023. Merchandise exports during July 2024 were $33.98 billion as compared to $34.49 billion in July 2023. Merchandise imports during July 2024 were $57.48 billion as compared to $53.49 billion in July 2023.

Merchandise exports during April-July 2024 were $144.12 billion as compared to $138.39 billion during April-July 2023. Merchandise imports during April-July 2024 were $229.70 billion compared to $213.53 billion during April-July 2023. Merchandise trade deficit during April-July 2024 was $85.58 billion compared to $75.15 billion during April-July 2023.

Gainers & Losers:

Wipro (up 3.76%), LTIMindtree (up 2.90%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.87%), Mahindra and Mahindra (up 2.68%) and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (up 2.65%) were major Nifty gainers.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.54%), SBI Life Insurance Company (down 0.42%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (down 0.32%), Divi's Laboratories (down 0.31%) and Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.06%) were major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Power Mech Projects advanced 3.07% after the company said that it has received an order for providing operation and maintenance (O&M) from Coastal Energen worth Rs 114.30 crore.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals gained 4.58% after the drug maker reported consolidated net profit of Rs 340.27 crore in Q1 FY25, significantly higher from Rs 14.48 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 6.85% year on year (YoY) to Rs 3,244.19 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2024.

Aurobindo Pharma slipped 2.21% after the company informed that the manufacturing facility of its wholly owned subsidiary Eugia Pharma has received a warning letter from the US FDA.

In May 2024, the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) had conducted an inspection at Unit-III, a formulation manufacturing facility, of Eugia Pharma Specialities, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, situated at Pashamylaram, Patancheru Mandal, Sangareddy District, Telangana, from 22 January to 2 February 2024.

Ola Electric Mobility zoomed 19.02%. The company reported net loss of Rs 347 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 267 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 32.26% to Rs 1,644 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 1,243 crore in Q1 FY24.

Strides Pharma Science rallied 5.80% to Rs 1,298.45 after the drug maker informed that its step down wholly owned subsidiary, Altima Innovation Inc US ceased operations effective from 13 August 2024.

Strides Pharma, as a part of Group entites optimization exercises has liquidated its US unit by the relevant regulatory authorities of New Jersey.

Altima Innovations Inc. was a non-operative entity so, its turnover for FY 2024 was NIL. The net worth of the company for FY ended 31 March 2024 was $6,620 (equivalent to approximately Rs 551,909).

Global Markets:

Europeans and Asian stocks traded higher on Friday, buoyed by upbeat US economic data that tempered recession fears.

Robust US retail sales and a decline in jobless claims fueled a rally in global equities and sent bond yields higher. These positive economic indicators, following the benign inflation report earlier in the week, have strengthened expectations for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. However, market sentiment suggests these cuts will be gradual.

US stocks closed sharply higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.4%, the S&P 500 rising 1.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite jumping 2.3%.

Retail sales increased 1.0% after a downwardly revised 0.2% drop in June, easing fears of a sharp economic slowdown fanned by a jump in the unemployment rate last week.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 227,000 for the week ended Aug. 10, the Labor Department said.