Indices nudge lower in early trade; breadth strong

The headline equity benchmarks traded with minor losses in early trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,850 mark. Metal, financial services and IT shares declined while oil & gas, consumer durables and media shares advanced.

At 09:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 32.29 points or 0.04% to 81,323.55. The Nifty 50 index shed 12 points or 0.05% to 24,824.10.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.31% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.66%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,005 shares rose and 937 shares fell. A total of 132 shares were unchanged.

 

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,474.54 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 5,665.54 crore in the Indian equity market on 29 July 2024, provisional data showed.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal advanced 1.66% to 7.034 as compared with previous close 7.039.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.7325, compared with its close of 83.7350 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2024 settlement shed 0.01% to Rs 68,260.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.04% to 104.61.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.02% to 4.181.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2024 settlement lost 42 cents or 0.53% to $78.63 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Colgate-Palmolive (India) jumped 5.21% after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 364 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 274 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year. Revenue jumped 13.1% to Rs 1,497 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 1,324 crore in Q1 FY24.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) rose 0.10%. The companys standalone net profit dropped 87.5% to Rs 356 crore during the quarter from Rs 2,843 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue declined slightly from 1.14 lakh crore in Q1 FY24 to Rs 1.13 lakh crore in Q1 FY25.

Data Patterns (India) slipped 1.41%. The companys standalone net profit jumped 26.9% to Rs 33 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 26 crore in corresponding quarter last year. Revenue jumped 16% YoY to Rs 104 crore during the quarter.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stocks declined on Tuesday, erasing the previous session's gains as investors remained cautious ahead of crucial interest rate decisions from the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve. Chinese market continued to underperform, hitting six-month lows amid persistent concerns over a slowing economic recovery.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell amid speculation over whether the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will maintain its ultra-loose monetary policy. The central bank is set to announce its policy decision on Wednesday, July 31. While recent inflation data has shown some slight improvement, analysts remain divided on the likelihood of a rate hike. The BoJ has been one of the few major central banks holding rates at ultra-low levels.

Regional markets took mixed cues from Wall Street, which ended flat on Monday. Caution ahead of the central bank meetings and a batch of quarterly earnings from tech giants prevented large market movements.

The S&P 500 rose marginally, recovering from its first back-to-back weekly losses since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped slightly while the Nasdaq Composite edged up.

The Federal Reserve's interest rate decision is also due on Wednesday. The central bank kept rates unchanged at its June meeting.

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