Sensex ends flat, Nifty ends below 24,350 amid profit booking

The domestic stocks closed flat today with a slight downward tilt. After a brief morning rise, the Nifty 50 settled below 24,350, weighed down by profit booking. FMCG and oil & gas stocks found favor, while PSU banks and consumer durables took a hit. The lack of fresh positive triggers seems to be ushering in a consolidation phase. The market`s next move will likely depend on upcoming Q1FY25 results before the major budget announcements later this month.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 36.22 points or 0.05% to 79,960.38. The Nifty 50 index shed 3.30 points or 0.01% to 24,320.55.

Titan Company (down 3.54%), Adani Ports & SEZ (down 1.65%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.80%) were major drags.

In the broader, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.14% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.22%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,804 shares rose and 2,254 shares fell. A total of 111 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 7.12% to 13.60.

Economy:

The Pre-Budget consultations for Union Budget 2024-25 were held from June 19 to July 5, 2024, and were chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Over 120 invitees across 10 stakeholder groups participated in the in-person consultations, including experts and representatives from farmer associations, trade unions, education and health sectors, MSMEs, trade and services, infrastructure, energy, and urban sectors. During the consultations, Finance Minister Sitharaman expressed gratitude to the participants for their valuable suggestions. She assured the experts and representatives that their inputs would be carefully examined and considered while preparing the Union Budget 2024-25. The Ministry of Finance noted that the Pre-Budget consultation process provided a platform for stakeholders to share their perspectives and recommendations for the upcoming Union Budget.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal shed 0.06% to 6.989 as compared with previous close 6.993.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.5000, compared with its close of 83.4950 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2024 settlement fell 0.46% to Rs 72,712.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.04% to 104.92.

The United States 10-year bond yield gained 0.75% to 4.300.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2024 settlement lost 69 cents or 0.80% to $85.85 a barrel.

Global Markets:

European stocks advanced on Monday, as markets reacted to a surprise win for a left-wing coalition of parties in French elections.

On the other hand, Asian stocks declined, with China leading the decline. Investor concerns swirled around a potential trade war with the West, fueled by the EU`s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles mirroring similar US actions. This escalation heightened fears of a wider conflict and retaliation from China. Additionally, disappointing economic data from Japan and Australia dampened overall sentiment.

In stark contrast, US stocks soared on Friday, reaching record highs. Investors interpreted a weaker-than-expected jobs report as a sign of potential future interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed at all-time highs, while the Dow Jones also gained slightly.

The US economy added 206,000 new nonfarm jobs in June, exceeding economist expectations. However, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.1%, which was unexpected. All eyes are now on Fed Chair Jerome Powell`s comments and key inflation data this week for further clues on the direction of US monetary policy.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bank of Baroda slipped 4.11%. The public sector bank reported 8.51% rise in domestic advances to Rs 8,81,817 crore as on 31 June 2024 from Rs 8,12,626 crore as on 31 June 2023.

Marico jumped 3.85% after the FMCG major said that its domestic business saw a modest uptick in underlying volume growth on a sequential basis. The International business delivered double-digit constant currency growth. Meanwhile, consolidated revenue grew in high single digits. It expects gross margin to expand on a year-on-year basis owing to a favourable portfolio mix.

Titan Company fell 3.54%. The Tata Group company reported a revenue growth of 9% year on year (YoY) for the quarter ended 30 June 2024. Jewellery segment`s domestic operations grew 8% YoY. Watches & wearables segment`s domestic business grew 14% YoY.

Meanwhile, the company added a total of 61 stores during the quarter, expanding its combined retail network presence to 3,096 stores.

Adani Wilmar advanced 1.92% after the firm said that it has achieved robust volume growth of 13% YoY in Q1 FY25, propelled by market-specific strategies in each category, aimed at gaining market share, especially in under-indexed markets.

Larsen & Toubro added 0.06%. The company said that its Renewable arm has finalised mega orders with a leading developer in the Middle East to build two gigawatt-scale solar PV plants with a cumulative capacity of 3.5 gigawatt (GW).

Dabur India rallied 2.79% after the company`s consolidated revenue is expected to register mid to high single digit growth during Q1 FY25.

FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa) shed 0.28%. The company said that it expected a consolidated revenue growth to be around 22-23% YoY in Q1 FY25.

Tata Motors rose 0.87%. The company�s global wholesales in Q1 FY25, including Jaguar Land Rover were at 3,29,847 units, rising 2%, as compared to Q1 FY24.

GE Power India soared 8.27% after the company secured a purchase order from NTPC, India`s major power producer. The order, valued at Rs 1.87 crore, involves supplying main turbine spares for the NTPC Talcher plant. GE Power India will fulfill the order within 9.5 months.

KPI Green Energy rallied 3.19% after the company signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 50MW Solar-Wind Hybrid Power Project with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL).

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