BENCHMARKS TRADE WITH SIGNIFICANT GAINS; EUROPEAN SHARES ADVANCE

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with moderate gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 24,250 mark. Banking and financial services stocks advanced while oil & gas and media shares declined.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 525.3 points or 0.66% to 79,964.35. The Nifty 50 index gained 161 points or 0.67% to 24,284.85.

The Sensex and Nifty clocked an all-time high of 80,074.3 and 24,307.25, respectively in early trade. Further, the Nifty Bank also hits record high at 53,256.70 in morning trade.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.60% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index jumped 0.82%.

The S&P BSE Small-Cap index hit an all-time high at 53,476.96

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,397 shares rose and 1,463 shares fell. A total of 100 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

Rising from 60.2 in May to 60.5 in June, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services Business Activity Index pointed to a sharp expansion in output. Demand strength and rising intakes of new business were cited as the key determinants of growth.

Supporting the upturn in total new business was a record expansion in international orders. Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the US were all cited as sources of new work from abroad.

The HSBC India Composite Output Index recovered from 60.5 in the previous month to 60.9, highlighting a sharp rate of expansion that was considerably above the long-run series average. Manufacturing led the rise for the fifth straight month.

Supporting the stronger increase in output were faster expansions in new business at both goods producers and service providers. Aggregate sales rose sharply, helped by a near-record upturn in exports.

Gainers & Losers:

Tata Consumer Products (up 3.48%), Axis Bank (up 2.59%), HDFC Bank (up 2.44%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.81%) and Shriram Finance (up 1.63%) were major Nifty gainers.

Tata Consultancy Services (down 1.36%), Reliance Industries (down 1%), Divi`s Laboratories (down 0.77%), Hindalco Industries (down 0.76%) and Tata Motors (down 0.43%) were major Nifty losers.

HDFC Bank gained 2.44% after the bank informed speculation of a potential increase in its weightage within the MSCI index.

The media reported that this increase could trigger an influx of over $3 billion in passive investments into the stock.

Data reveals that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) held 54.8% of HDFC Bank as of June 2024. This falls below the 55% threshold set by MSCI for full inclusion in their index rebalancing, expected to take place in August.

Stocks in Spotlight:

MOIL soared 7.47% after the company achieved its best ever quarterly sales in April-June 2024, with a growth of 14.5% YoY.

KEC International rallied 4.89% after the civil construction firm bagged new orders worth Rs 1,017 crore in transmission & distribution (T&D) and renewable businesses.

Dynacons Systems & Solutions rallied 4.63% after the company announced that it has secured a contract worth Rs 119 crore from Central Bank of India.

Hindustan Zinc gained 2.97% after the company announced that its mined metal production stood at 263,000 tonnes in Q1 FY25, registering a growth of 2% year on year (YoY) with improved mined metal grades.

Avenue Supermarts (DMart) shed 0.18%. The company on Tuesday announced that the total number of DMart stores as of 30 June 2024 stood at 371.

The company has reported a standalone revenue of Rs 13,711.87 crore in quarter ended 30 June 2024, recording a growth of 18.36% from Rs 11,584.44 crore posted in the same period a year ago.

Global Markets:

European market opened higher on Wednesday, as sentiment remains on edge ahead of two national parliamentary elections, with the U.K. heading to the polls on Thursday followed by France on Sunday.

Asian stocks advanced on Wednesday as investors weighed the possibility of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. This follows comments from Jerome Powell, Chair of the Fed, suggesting recent economic data, including a slowdown in China`s service sector, points towards disinflation.

China`s Caixin Services PMI for June came in at 51.2, down from 54.0 in May. While still indicating expansion, the pace of growth has weakened.

US stocks continued their upward climb on Tuesday. Investors reacted positively to Powell`s comments regarding the "disinflationary path" of the economy, despite data showing a higher-than-expected number of job openings in May (8.14 million). The S&P 500 closed above 5,500 for the first time ever, the Nasdaq Composite achieved a record close, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also advanced.

While encouraged by cooler inflation, Powell emphasized the need for further evidence before the Fed cuts rates. He noted that recent inflation readings "suggest" a path towards disinflation, but caution is warranted.

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