INDICES TRIM GAINS; MEDIA SHARES SLIDE

The domestic equity benchmarks pared gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 25,000 level after hitting the day`s high of 25,078.30 in early trade. Media shares declined after advancing for the past seventh consecutive trading session. Trading could be volatile due to weekly F&O series expiry today.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 28.9 points or 0.03% to 81,770.03. The Nifty 50 index rose 28.70 points or 0.12% to 24,979.85.

The Sensex and Nifty clocked an all-time high of 82,129.49 and 25,078.30, respectively in early trade.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.68% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.62%. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index hit an all-time high at 48,840.75.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,618 shares rose and 2,191 shares fell. A total of 148 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India`s manufacturing sector continued to post impressive growth in July, despite slightly softer increases in new orders and output. Key positive developments seen in the latest results included one of the fastest expansions in international sales for over 13 years and another robust round of job creation. That said, buoyant demand also exerted pressure on prices.

Input costs rose at one of the quickest rates in nearly two years, which contributed to the steepest increase in selling prices since October 2013. At 58.1% in July, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers� Index (PMI) was little changed from 58.3% in June and indicated a substantial improvement in the health of the sector. The latest reading was above the series long-run average and one of the highest seen in recent years.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.52% to 13.18. The Nifty 29 August 2024 futures were trading at 25,026, at a premium of 46.85 points as compared with the spot at 24,943.

The Nifty option chain for the 29 August 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 24.9 lakh contracts at the 24,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 42.9 lakh contracts were seen at 24,500 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index fell 1.23% to 2,123.20. The index jumped 7.43% in the past seven consecutive trading sessions.

Network 18 Media & Investments (down 3.67%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 3.15%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 2.66%), TV18 Broadcast (down 1.86%), Saregama India (down 1.44%), PVR Inox (down 0.28%), Sun TV Network (down 0.03%) slipped.

On the other hand, Nazara Technologies (up 1.63%), Tips Industries (up 1.43%) and Dish TV India (up 0.43%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight :

Relaxo Footwears slipped 2.42% after the company reported 21% fall in net profit to Rs 44 crore in Q1 FY25 from Rs 56 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations rose by 1% year-over-year (YoY) to Rs 748 crore during the period under review.

Pricol added 1.59% after the company�s consolidated net profit jumped 42.69% to Rs 45.56 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 31.93 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 15.48% YoY to Rs 602.90 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 522.10 crore in Q1 FY24.

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