INDICES END FLAT, TRADERS AWAIT FED, BOJ POLICY CALLS

Domestic stocks ended with tiny gains today, with investors cautiously awaiting interest rate decisions from the US Fed and Bank of Japan on Wednesday. While optimism around potential dovish policies supported the market, profit-booking at higher levels capped gains. Auto and consumer durables stocks fared well, while FMCG, pharma, and IT stocks faced selling pressure.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 99.56 points or 0.12% to 81,455.40. The Nifty 50 index rose 21.20 points or 0.09% to 24,857.30.

Tata Motors (up 3.42%), Adani Enterprises (up 1.29%) and HDFC Bank (up 0.53%) boosted the indices.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.27% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.88%.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap and S&P BSE Small-Cap index hit an all-time high at 48,383.87 and 55,498.83, respectively.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,245 shares rose and 1,667 shares fell. A total of 111 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.50% to 12.88.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal rallied 1.89% to 7.050 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 83.7175, compared with its close of 83.7350 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2024 settlement rose 0.13% to Rs 68,355.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was shed 0.01% to 104.55.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.05% to 4.173.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2024 settlement lost 11 cents or 0.14% to $79.67 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Most European stocks advanced on Tuesday, as earnings dominate stock action and investors anticipating US and UK central bank decisions.

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.

Stocks in Spotlight:

C E Info Systems (MapMyIndia) rose 1.12% on reports the company sued Ola Electric for alleged data theft. MapMyIndia has accused Ola of copying proprietary data to build Ola Maps.

Colgate-Palmolive (India) rallied 4.73% after the FMCG major`s net profit jumped 32.99% to Rs 363.98 crore in Q1 FY25 as against Rs 273.68 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations grew by 13.01% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,485.76 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2024.

Skipper rallied 9.20% after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 32.42 crore in Q1 FY25, steeply higher than Rs 16.25 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations was at Rs 1,091.74 crore in the quarter ended June 2024, registering a growth of 96.85% as against with Rs 554.58 crore in Q1 FY24. The said growth was led by strong execution in engineering and infra segment and also doubled over previous year quarter.

ACC shed 0.49%. The company`s consolidated net profit declined 22.47% to Rs 361.40 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 466.14 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations fell marginally 0.89% YoY to Rs 5,154.89 crore in Q1 FY25.

Varun Beverages dropped 6.38%. The company reported 26.04% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,252.60 crore in Q2 CY24 as compared with Rs 993.81 crore posted in Q2 CY23. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) surged 28.25% YoY to Rs 7,196.86 crore in second quarter of 2024.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) advanced 3.82%. The company reported standalone net profit of Rs 355.80 crore in Q1 FY25, registering a de-growth 94.26% as against with Rs 6,203.90 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) rose 1.56% to Rs 1,13,303.57 crore in the quarter ended June 2024 as against with Rs 1,11,567.43 crore posted in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Jindal Saw surged 5.57% after the company�s consolidated net profit jumped 66.69% to Rs 441.06 crore in Q1 FY25 as against with Rs 264.60 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Total income grew by 12.08% year on year to Rs 4,984.81 crore during the quarter.

Firstsource Solutions advanced 1.38% after the company�s consolidated net profit increased 1.3% to Rs 135.24 crore in Q1 FY25 as comapred with Rs 133.50 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 6.86% QoQ to Rs 1,783.87 crore in Q1 FY25.

Shyam Metalics and Energy gained 1% after the company reported 35.31% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 276.14 crore in Q1 FY25 from Rs 204.08 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations grew by 8.36% year on year to Rs 3,611.61 in the quarter ended 30 June 2024.

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