MARKET AT DAY`S HIGH; EUROPEAN MARKET OPENS HIGHER

The frontline indices extended gains and hit the day`s high in afternoon trade. The Nifty scaled above the 23,600 level. Private bank, oil & gas and bank stocks advanced while pharma, auto and IT shares declined.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 282.2 points or 0.37% to 77,617.26. The Nifty 50 index rose 91.50 points or 0.39% to 23,612.90.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.50% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.03%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,357 shares rose and 1,420 shares fell. A total of 141 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The government announced an increase in Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all 14 kharif crops for the 2024-25 season (July-June). This hike is expected to put an additional Rs 35,000 crore in the hands of farmers, bringing the total MSP payout to around Rs 2 lakh crore.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) projects continued economic momentum in the April-June quarter, driven by rising private consumption and strengthening manufacturing and services sectors.

Gainers & Losers:

Hindalco Industries (up 3.28%), JSW Steel (up 2.24%), Shriram Finance (up 1.90%), Coal India (up 1.89%) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 1.62%) were major Nifty gainers.

Mahindra and Mahindra (down 2.18%), Hero Motocorp (down 1.91%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 1.80%), Cipla (down 0.82%) and Power Grid Corporation of India (down 0.79%) were major Nifty losers.

Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries fell 1.80%. The company announced that it has received a warning letter from United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Dadra facility.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Vedanta rallied 5.55% after the mining company�s board has considered and approved fund raising of Rs 1,000 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on private placement basis.

Tata Communications advanced 2.50% after the company announced that it has secured a five-year $250 million sustainability-linked loan (SLL) from ANZ, DBS Bank and Export Development Canada (EDC).

Indian Oil Corporation added 1.11% after the company said that it has entered into a joint venture agreement with GPS Renewables, one of the leading biofuels companies in the country.

GMR Power and Urban Infra hit an upper circuit of 5% after the firm�s subsidiary, GMR Smart Electricity Distribution (GSEDL) has entered into an arrangement with Bosch Global Software Technologies (BGSW) for the smart meter projects.

Sapphire Foods India advanced 1.49% after the company announced that its board has approved 5-for-1 stock split.

Global Markets:

Markets in Europe advanced while Asian stocks traded mixed on Thursday, awaiting further U.S. policy signals. Sterling held steady ahead of a Bank of England meeting, where interest rates are likely to remain unchanged.

Central bank decisions from Switzerland and Norway are also on investors` watchlist, shaping the global rate outlook. China, as expected, kept benchmark lending rates steady despite a sluggish economy.

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