NIFTY SINKS BELOW 19,350; TITAN SLIDES 3%; EUROPEAN SHARES TUMBLE

Domestic equity barometers declined sharply and hit fresh day`s low in afternoon trade. The Nifty slipped below the 19,350 mark. Pharma and healthcare shares advanced while realty, financial services and bank stocks declined. Trading was volatile due to the expiry of weekly index options on the NSE today.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 670.01 points or 1.02% to 65,112.77. The Nifty 50 index lost 187.55 points or 0.96% to 19,339.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.28% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.26%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,515 shares rose and 1,942 shares fell. A total of 173 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

According to statistics issued by S&P Global on August 3, India`s services activity rose significantly to 62.3 in July from a Purchasing Managers` Index (PMI) of 58.5 in June. According to PMI data issued on Thursday, India`s dominant services sector had its strongest rise since June 2010 as overall total sales surged.

According to an S&P Global survey, "demand strength and new business wins" were accountable for an upsurge in PMI. Although the manufacturing sector PMI for India fell to 57.7 in July as against 57.8 in June, the overall S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index reached a 13-year high of 61.9.

India`s overall unemployment rate fell to 7.95% in July from 8.45% in June as rural areas saw increased demand for agriculture labour with the onset of monsoon rains.

The Central government has mobilised gross borrowing amount of Rs 5.77 lakh crore, more than 37% of its FY24 target, in the first four months of this fiscal.

The industry body ISMA has reportedly pegged the country`s sugar production at 316.80 lakh tonnes (3.41% lower) in the new season that will begin from October 2023, due to more diversion of cane for ethanol production.

Gainers & Losers:

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.69%), Eicher Motors (up 1.31%), Divi`s Laboratories (up 1.17%), Adani Enterprises (up 0.87%) and NTPC (up 0.41%) were major Nifty gainers.

Titan Company (down 2.92%), Bajaj Finserv (down 2.18%), Ultratech Cement (down 2.15%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) (down 2.07%) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (down 2.05%) were top Nifty losers.

Titan Company declined 2.92%. Titan Company reported 4% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 756 crore in Q1 FY24 as against a net profit of Rs 790 crore in Q1 FY23. Total income rose 21% to Rs 11070 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2023 from Rs 9131 crore recorded in Q1 FY23.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Ambuja Cements (ACL) rose 1.57% while that of Sanghvi Industries(SIL) were locked in an upper circuit of 5%. The cement major announced the acquisition of SIL at an enterprise value of Rs 5,000 crore, to strengthen its market presence and cement capacity. ACL will acquire 14,65,78,491 equity shares or 56.74% share capital of SIL from its existing promoter group. The company said that the investment is in line with the company`s strategy to increase its footprint in the cement manufacturing market.

Vedanta slumped 6.85%. Twin Star, a company promoted by Anil Agarwal, is planning to sell off 4.3% stake through block deal in Vedanta to raise up to $501 million (Rs 4,136 crore) for debt repayment.

JSW Steel lost 0.62%. The company has entered into a joint venture agreement with JFE Steel Corporation (JFE) for the purposes of establishing a joint venture company in India (JVC) for the manufacture and sale of CRGO using industry leading machinery, technical know-how and JFE Steel`s energy efficient production technology developed through extensive R&D.

InterGlobe Aviation (Indigo) fell 4.53%. Indigo reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,090.60 crore in Q1 FY24 as against a net loss of Rs 1,064.26 crore in Q1 FY23. Revenue from operations jumped 29.78% to Rs 16,683.05 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2023 from Rs 12,855.29 crore recorded in Q1 FY23.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) fell 2.37%. The state-owned oil retailer reported a standalone net profit of Rs 6,203.90 crore in Q1 FY24 as against a net loss of Rs 10,196.94 crore recorded in Q1 FY23. Net sales (excluding excise duty) stood at Rs 111,567.43 crore in Q1 FY24, down 2.2% from Rs 114,079.76 crore recorded in the same period a year ago.

Global markets:

European and Asian stocks slipped on Thursday, adding to steep losses in the previous session following a U.S. credit rating downgrade from Fitch and better-than-expected ADP employment data.

U.S. stocks suffered a wave of selling on Wednesday after a surprise downgrade of the country`s debt rating by Fitch, citing fiscal deterioration and repeated debt ceiling standoffs. Also, data showed U.S. private sector employment jumped by much more than expected in July, reviving Fed rate hike bets.

U.S. private sector employment increased by 324000 jobs in July, and annual pay was up 6.2% year-over-year, adding to pressure on the Federal Reserve to maintain restrictive policy.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News