Indices open at fresh life highs; Nifty above 25,050; Sensex breaches 82k

The headline equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in early trade. The Nifty traded above the 25,050 mark. Metal, banking and financial services shares advanced while realty, media and pharma shares declined.

At 09:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 301.27 points or 0.39% to 82,042.51. The Nifty 50 index rose 100.50 points or 0.40% to 25,051.65.

The Sensex and Nifty clocked an all-time high of 82,129.49 and 25,078.30, respectively in early trade.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.17% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.36%. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index hit an all-time high at 48,840.75.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,016 shares rose and 999 shares fell. A total of 98 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,462.36 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 3,366.51 crore in the Indian equity market on 31 July 2024, provisional data showed.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal advanced 1.50% to 7.028 as compared with previous close 7.047.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.6550, compared with its close of 83.6800 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 04 October 2024 settlement rose 0.50% to Rs 70,000.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.10% to 103.99.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 1.27% to 4.053.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2024 settlement gained 44 cents or 0.54% to $81.28 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Steel added 1.12% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 75.04% YoY to Rs 919 crore in Q1 FY25. Revenue declined 7.94% to Rs 54,771 crore from Rs 59,490 crore in Q1 FY24.

Coal India advanced 1.90% after the company’s consolidated net profit increased 5.69% to Rs 14,147 crore as compared with Rs 13,385 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue rose 1.33% YoY to Rs 36,464 crore during the quarter.

Bank of Baroda shed 0.20%. The bank reported 9.5% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,458.1 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 4070 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year. Net interest income (NII) increased 5.48% to Rs 11,600 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 10,997 crore in Q1 FY24.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stocks declined on Thursday, led by a sharp decline in Japan after the Bank of Japan signaled further interest rate hikes. China's market rebound also faltered as disappointing business activity data dampened investor sentiment.

Caixin purchasing managers index data on Thursday showed an unexpected contraction in China’s manufacturing sector. The reading came just a day after government PMI data showed a similar trend. The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 49.8 in July from 51.8 the previous month, the lowest reading since October.

The region largely ignored a strong rally on Wall Street, where optimism about a potential September interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve and robust tech earnings boosted investor confidence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.24%, the S&P 500 gained 1.58% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.64%. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in the 5.25%-5.50% range on Wednesday but hinted at a possible rate cut in September if inflation cools down.