Market Wrap Podcast, July 1: Here's all that happened in the markets today

Dalal Street investors continued to stay on the sidelines on Thursday as new Delta and Delta plus variants of novel coronavirus push Covid-19 cases higher across the globe. Besides, weak economic data further dented the market sentiment.

India's domestic factory orders and production contracted to an 11-month low in June as measures to contain the coronavirus put manufacturing into "reverse gear". The IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipped to 48.1 in June from 50.8 in May and 55.5 in April. This was, for the first time since July 2020, below the critical no-change mark of 50.

Given this, the frontline BSE barometer gave up 164 points, or 0.31 per cent, to end at 52,318 levels. The broader Nifty50, on the other hand, settled at 15,680 levels, down 42 points or 0.26 per cent. In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index dipped 0.19 per cent. However, the BSE SmallCap index added 0.32 per cent.

That said, despite an overall slowed down momentum in the markets, investors rewarded auto stocks as June sales figures showed healthy year-on-year recovery. The Nifty Auto index ended 0.8 per cent higher, the top sectoral gainer on the NSE, with Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, and TVS Motor up between 0.5 per cent and 2 per cent. Meanwhile, Balkrishna Industries, Tube Investments of India and MRF, from the auto ancillary space, gained between 1 per cent and 2 per cent.

On the flipside, the Nifty IT and Financial Services indices slipped 0.5 per cent each.

Globally, European shares rose on Thursday with the pan-European STOXX 600 and Germany's DAX was up 0.6 per cent each while France's CAC40 and the UK's FTSE 100 advanced 0.7 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively.

Data published earlier today showed that Eurozone manufacturing activity expanded at its fastest pace on record in June. IHS Markit’s final manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 63.4 in June from May’s 63.1, the highest reading since the survey began in June 1997.

Earlier in Asia, most major equity markets posted modest declines.

In other news, reports suggest Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Estonia and Spain have confirmed accepting Covishield for travel entry.

And before we close, a look at some of the buzzing stocks of the day:

>> Shares of Vodafone Idea tanked 15 per cent to Rs 8.46 on the BSE in Thursday's intra-day trade after the company reported a weak operational performance in the March quarter (Q4FY21). In its notes to the financial results, the company said that the group has incurred losses of Rs 44,233 crore for the year ended March 31 and the net worth is negative. As at March 31, 2021, the total debt, including interest accrued but not due and AGR liability of the group stands at Rs 1.86 lakh crore.

Citing the notes, the auditors said that: "The company's financial performance has impacted its ability to generate the cash flow. This is resulting in material uncertainty that casts significant doubt on the company's ability to make the payments mentioned therein and continue as a going concern. The stock ended 9 per cent lower today.

>> On the upside, Dabur India shares hit a record high of Rs 592 after they surged 4 per cent on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Thursday, surpassing its previous high of Rs 582.70, touched on June 16, 2021. The stock of the consumer goods company (FMCG) has outperformed the market in the past one month, by rallying nearly 9 per cent, on hopes of improvement in operational performance.

>> That apart, shares of Happiest Minds Technologies hit a new high of Rs 1,207, up 19 per cent, on the BSE on the back of heavy volumes. A combined 19.97 million equity shares changed hands on the NSE and BSE today.

>> Lastly, Shree Renuka Sugars became the most valuable sugar producing company in terms of market capitalisation (m-cap) on Thursday after its stock soared 326 per cent during the past three months. The stock hit an over nine-year high in the intra-day session today and was trading at its highest level since February 2012.

Shree Renuka Sugars, with an m-cap of Rs 8,791 crore, surpassed Balrampur Chini Mills and EID Parry (India) that have a market cap of Rs 7,461 crore and Rs 7,390 crore, respectively.