BENCHMARKS TRADE WITH DECENT GAINS; FINANCIAL SERVICES SHARES ADVANCE

The domestic equity indices traded in positive terrain with modest gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 23,350 mark. Financial services shares advanced after declining in the past two trading sessions.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 226.31 points or 0.31% to 76,686.35. The Nifty 50 index rose 87.15 points or 0.37% to 23,352.

The Nifty 50 hit an all-time high at 23,441.95 in mid-morning trade.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.01% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.89%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,481 shares rose and 1,378 shares fell. A total of 108 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India will remain the fastest-growing of the world�s largest economies, although its pace of expansion is expected to moderate, the World Bank said in its latest biannual Global Economic Prospects. After a high growth rate in FY2023/24, steady growth of 6.7% per year, on average, is projected for the three fiscal years beginning in FY2024/25. Growth is estimated to have picked up to 8.2% in fiscal year (FY) 2023/24 (April 2023 to March 2024)�1.9% points higher than estimated in January.

Growth in industrial activity, including manufacturing and construction, was stronger than expected, alongside resilient services activity, which helped offset a slowdown in agricultural production partly caused by monsoons. Growth of domestic demand remained robust, with a surge in investment, including in infrastructure, offsetting a moderation of consumption growth as postpandemic pent-up demand eased.

Meanwhile, the moderation is mainly due to a slowdown in investment from a high base, the Bank stated. However, investment growth is still expected to be stronger than previously envisaged and remain robust over the forecast period, with strong public investment accompanied by private investment. Private consumption growth is expected to benefit from a recovery of agricultural production and declining inflation. Government consumption is projected to grow only slowly, in line with the government�s aim of reducing current expenditure relative to GDP.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Financial Services index rose 0.59% to 22,255.15. The index shed 0.18% in the past two trading sessions.

HDFC Asset Management Company (up 4.76%), LIC Housing Finance (up 4.76%), SBI Life Insurance Company (up 2.03%), Muthoot Finance (up 1.89%), Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company (up 1.88%), Power Finance Corporation (up 1.64%), Bajaj Finance (up 1.54%), Shriram Finance (up 1.44%), REC (up 1.37%) and ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company (up 1.29%) advanced.

On the other hand, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company (down 0.28%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 0.23%) edged lower.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal shed 0.07% to 7.009 as compared with previous close 7.012.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.5625, compared with its close of 83.5950 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2024 settlement shed 0.02% to Rs 71,478.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.04% to 105.19.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.05% to 4.401.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2024 settlement added 66 cents or 0.81% to $82.58 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Gujarat Fluorochemicals (GFCL) rose 0.62%. The company`s wholly-owned subsidiary, GFCL EV Products has incorporated GFCL EV (FZC) SPC in Sultanate of Oman.

AGS Transact Technologies advanced 6.40% after the company commenced deployment of 1,350 ATMs, for order received from State Bank of India (SBI) under its banking automation solutions portfolio.

NLC India rose 0.49%. The company said that CRISIL Ratings reaffirmed its `CRISIL AAA` rating on the non-convertible debentures and long-term bank facilities of the company with `stable` outlook.

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