Barometers march towards the day`s high; PSU banks advance

The key equity indices marched towards the day`s high in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above 17,650 mark. PSU bank witnessed across the board buying.

At 14:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 433.7 points or 0.74% to 59,237.03. The Nifty 50 index added 120.95 points or 0.69% to 17,660.40.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.42% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.92%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2195 shares rose and 1325 shares fell. A total of 175 shares were unchanged.

Mixed jobs data in the US coupled with surging gas prices in Europe after Russia shut a major gas exports pipeline weighed on investor sentiment.

Economy:

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose from July`s four-month low of 55.5 to 57.2 in August, highlighting a rebound in growth. The upturn was attributed to stronger gains in new business, ongoing improvements in demand, job creation and overtime work.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper slipped to 7.214 as compared with 7.232 at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 79.8950, compared with its close of 79.8700 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2022 settlement rose 0.29% to Rs 50,515.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.42% to 110.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2022 settlement advanced $2.47 or 2.66% at $95.49 a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 1.02% to 3,035. The index had declined 0.67% to end at 3,004.25 on Friday.

UCO Bank (up 2.93%), Bank of Baroda (up 2.02%), Central Bank of India (up 1.57%), Punjab National Bank (up 1.13%) and Indian Overseas Bank (up 1.13%) were the top index gainers.

Concurrently, Punjab & Sind Bank (up 0.96%), Canara Bank (up 0.72%), Union Bank of India (up 0.71%), State Bank of India (up 0.45%) and Bank of Maharashtra (up 0.28%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Federal Bank rose 3.64%. The media reported that the bank is in preliminary talks with Kotak Mahindra Bank for a potential merger deal. Reacting to the media report claiming its merger with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Federal Bank clarified that the report is "speculative in nature".

Dixon Technologies (India) advanced 2.31%. The domestic LED TV manufacturer said that it is the first contract manufacturer in India to get the sub licensing rights relating to Android & Google TV.

KPI Green Energy added 3.37%. The company informed about the setting up green hybrid capacities totalling 16.10 MW at Bhavnagar, under the Gujarat hybrid power policy 2018. The power producer said that the hybrid power project comprises of wind and solar capacity that would be developed at its Bhungar site in Mahuva at Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

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