Indices trade with major losses; media shares under pressure

The headline equity benchmarks traded with deep cuts in the mid-afternoon trade. The decline was driven by a global market sell-off amid concerns about a potential slowdown in U.S. economic growth. The Nifty traded below the 24,050 mark. Media shares extended losses for the third consecutive trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex slumped 2,345.04 points or 2.90% to 78,636.91. The Nifty 50 index tanked 688.90 points or 2.79% to 24,028.80.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index dropped 3.76% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index tumbled 4.19%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 599 shares rose and 3,449 shares fell. A total of 104 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, soared 43.38% to 20.53.

Economy:

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services Business Activity Index was at 60.3 in July, down only fractionally from 60.5 and above the neutral mark of 50.0 for the thirty-sixth straight month. The latest reading was more than six points higher than its long-run average and highlighted a substantial upturn in business activity.

The HSBC India Composite Output Index posted 60.7 in July, down only fractionally from 60.9 in June and above the crucial 50.0 no-change mark for the thirty-sixth month running. Hence, the latest reading signaled a continuation of the strong growth momentum seen recently. As has been the case since February, the manufacturing industry led the upturn.

Total new work rose sharply and at a pace that was considerably above its long-run average. Manufacturers experienced the stronger increase in new orders, despite a slowdown in its rate of expansion. Meanwhile, job creation remained solid across the two segments.

Worryingly, charged inflation climbed to a near 11-and-a-halfyear high in July amid stronger increases at goods producers and service providers. Input cost inflation also ticked higher in July, but remained below its long-run average. Manufacturing firms reported stronger cost pressures than their services counterparts.

India’s foreign exchange reserves registered a decline of $3.471 billion, reaching $667.386 billion during the week ended July 26, according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Gold reserves fell by $2.297 billion to $57.695 billion during the week. Special drawing rights (SDRs) decreased by $5 million to $18.202 billion.

India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) saw a modest increase of $2 million, reaching $4.612 billion in the reporting week.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index fell 4.35% to 2,008.95. The index slipped 6.54% in the three consecutive trading sessions.

Nazara Technologies (down 6.56%), Dish TV India (down 6.26%), Saregama India (down 5.76%), Network 18 Media & Investments (down 5.57%), TV18 Broadcast (down 5.53%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 5.24%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 4.56%), Tips Industries (down 4.28%), PVR Inox (down 4.07%) and Sun TV Network (down 0.64%) edged lower.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal rallied 1.16% to 6.980 as compared with previous close 6.977.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.8425, compared with its close of 83.7250 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2024 settlement shed 0.25% to Rs 70,154.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.73% to 102.45.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 1.11% to 3.745.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2024 settlement lost 80 cents or 0.1.04% to $76.01 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Suven Life Sciences was locked in lower circuit of 5% after the company’s consolidated net loss stood at Rs 28.04 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with a net loss of Rs 24.09 crore in Q1 FY24. Net sales slipped 73.42% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1.01 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2024.

Devyani International rose 0.71%. The company has reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 22.4 crore in Q1 FY25 as against a net loss of Rs 1.6 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations increased by 44% year-over-year to Rs 1,221.9 crore in the June’24 quarter.

VRL Logistics slipped 4.01% after the company's net profit decreased 60.41% to Rs 13.44 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 33.95 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations grew by 7.86% to Rs 727.21 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 674.22 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter previous year.