Indices turn rangebound; auto stocks under pressure

The headline equity benchmarks continued to trade with decent gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 24,550 mark. Auto shares declined after advancing in the previous two trading sessions.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 31.15 points or 0.04% to 80,467.99. The Nifty 50 index added 34.85 points or 0.14% to 24,576.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 0.46% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 1.24%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,685 shares rose and 1,316 shares fell. A total of 132 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's forex reserves declined $4.8 billion to $670.119 billion for the week ended August 9, according to the latest RBI data.

In the previous reporting week, the country's foreign exchange reserves had increased $7.533 billion to an all-time high of $674.919 billion.

For the week ended August 9, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased $4.079 billion to $587.96 billion.

Gold reserves declined by $860 million to $59.239 billion during the week. The special drawing rights (SDRs) were up by $121 million to $18.282 billion.

India's reserve position with the IMF increased by $18 million to $4.638 billion in the reporting week, the central bank data showed.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index declined 0.67% to 25,424.90. The index rose 2.06% in past two consecutive trading sessions.

Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.01%), Bosch (down 1.22%), MRF (down 1.01%), Bharat Forge (down 0.74%) and Balkrishna Industries (down 0.62%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.59%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.51%), Tata Motors (down 0.43%), Apollo Tyres (down 0.41%) and Eicher Motors (down 0.24%) edged lower.

On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp (up 0.66%) and TVS Motor Company (up 0.34%) advanced.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper jumped 1.63% to 6.979 as compared with previous close 6.867.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.9025, compared with its close of 83.9500 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 October 2024 settlement advanced 0.39% to Rs 71,622.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, shed 0.29% to 102.17.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.70% to 3.868.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2024 settlement lost 38 cents or 0.48% to $79.30 a barrel.

Stocks In Spotlight:

Vishnu Chemicals advanced 0.71% after the company's board approved to acquire 100% stake in Jayansree Pharma for total consideration of Rs 51.99 crore.

Escorts Kubota fell 0.32%. The tractor manufacturer announced setting up an integrated greenfield manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh for expanding its existing capacities to meet its future growth requirements with investment of Rs 4,500 crore plus to be done in phases.

The company intends an annual production revenue generation of over Rs 10,000 crore with the direct and indirect employment of more than 14,000 people at full capacity.