Barometers turn range bound; Nifty hovers at 17,100

The headline equity indices traded in a narrow range with strong gains in the afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered at the 17,100 level. Metals, consumer durables and media shares advanced while PSU banks, pharma and healthcare stocks declined.

At 13:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 544.99 points or 0.96% to 57,402.78. The Nifty 50 index added 182.45 points or 1.08% to 17,112.05.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.97% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.22%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,038 shares rose and 1,196 shares fell. A total of 151 shares were unchanged.

Investors cheered US economy data. The data released on Thursday showed that the US economy shrunk for the second consecutive quarter, fuelling speculations that the Fed may not undertake aggressive interest rate hikes. The data also raised the possibility of the US economy approaching a recession.

Gainers & Losers:

SBI Life Insurance Company (up 8.28%), Tata Steel (up 7.13%), Hindalco (up 4.64%), JSW Steel (up 3.06%) and Bajaj Finserv (up 2.91%) were major Nifty gainers.

Dr Reddy`s Laboratories (down 4.09%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.79%), State Bank of India (down 0.69%), Powergrid (down 0.51%) and ITC (down 0.49%) were majority Nifty losers.

Earnings Impact:

Vedanta rose 3.65%. On consolidated basis, Vedanta`s net profit rose 6% to Rs 5,592 crore on 36% increase in net sales to Rs 38,251 crore in Q1 FY23 over Q1 FY22. The mining company said that the increase in revenue was supported by higher sales volume across businesses, commodity prices and strategic hedging gains.

Dr. Reddy`s Laboratories slipped 4.09%. On consolidated basis, Dr. Reddy`s Laboratories` net profit rose 108% to Rs 1188 crore on 6% increase in revenue to Rs 5215 crore in Q1 FY23 over Q1 FY22.

SBI Life Insurance Company gained 8.28% to Rs 1,294 after the company`s net profit rose 17.8% to Rs 262.85 crore from Rs 223.16 crore in Q1 FY23 over Q1 FY22. The company reported a negative income from investment of Rs 6,405.66 crore in Q1 FY23 as against an income from investment of Rs 7,409.91 crore posted in Q1 FY22.

TVS Motor Company gained 3.93%. The company reported a standalone net profit of Rs 321 crore in Q1 FY23 as against a net profit of Rs 53 crore in Q1 FY22. The company recorded operating revenue of Rs 6,009 crore for the quarter ended June 2022 as against Rs 3,934 crore reported in the quarter ended June 2021, up 52.7% YoY.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe advanced while Asian stocks traded mixed on Friday after a rally on Wall Street. That followed a negative US gross domestic product report, which suggests the Fed would be less aggressive in its tightening cycle.

Japan`s industrial output jumped 8.9% in June from the previous month, the ministry of economy, trade and industry said Friday. The print surprised to the upside after falling in May.

US stocks on Thursday rallied for a second day, with all three major indices ending up more than 1% as data showing a second consecutive quarterly contraction in the economy fueled investor speculation the Federal Reserve may not need to be as aggressive with interest rate hikes as some had feared.

The US economy shrank from April through June for a second straight quarter. U.S. economic growth fell 0.9% in the second quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday. First-quarter GDP declined by 1.6%.

President Joe Biden insisted Thursday that the US economy was "on the right path," with solid job growth, despite a second straight quarter of contraction that has deepened fears of a recession.

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