Sensex gallops 2,078 pts; metal shares shine

The domestic equity benchmarks marched higher and hit a fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,500 level after hitting day`s low of 21,791.95 in early trade. Metal shares advanced after declining in the past trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was soared 2,078.58 points or 2.83% to 74,113.79. The Nifty 50 index surged 637.45 points or 2.91% to 22,521.95.

In the broader market, The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rallied 4.23% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 2.75%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,462 shares rose and 1,290 shares fell. A total of 110 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, tanked 28.40% to 19.15.

Lok Sabha Elections :

The Lok Sabha elections 2024 concluded with the Election Commission of India declaring all results. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to form the government for a third consecutive term. The BJP emerged as the largest party, winning 240 out of 543 seats, while the Congress secured 99 seats. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 293 seats, and the Opposition INDIA alliance obtained 232 seats. Despite significant losses in three Hindi heartland states, the NDA secured a majority in the Lok Sabha after a fiercely contested election.

Economy :

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services Business Activity Index remained comfortably above the neutral mark of 50.0 in May, highlighting a sharp upturn in output. That said, the headline figure fell from 60.8 in April to 60.2, its lowest mark since last December.

Growth was reportedly supported by rising sales, productivity gains and demand strength. The upturn was somewhat hampered by competitive and price pressures.

May data showed that robust increases in new business intakes continued to underpin output growth across India`s service economy. Rates of expansion eased to the slowest in the calendar year-to-date, however, amid fierce competition, price pressures and a severe heatwave. Both input costs and output charges rose to greater extents.

Indian private sector output rose sharply halfway through the first quarter, despite another loss of growth momentum. The HSBC India Composite Output Index slipped from 61.5 in April to 60.5 in May, highlighting the slowest rate of expansion since last December. There were softer increases in both factory production and services activity.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index surged 4.26% to 9,362.60. The index declined 10.63% in the past trading session.

Steel Authority of India (up 9.2%), Vedanta (up 6.47%), Hindalco Industries (up 5.31%), Tata Steel (up 5.07%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 4.09%), Coal India (up 3.78%), NMDC (up 3.59%), JSW Steel (up 3.43%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 2.85%) and Jindal Stainless (up 0.7%) advanced.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal rose 0.06% to 7.037 as compared with previous close 7.033.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee is edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.3500, compared with its close of 83.5100 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2024 settlement gained 0.30% to Rs 72,000.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.18% to 104.30.

The United States 10-year bond grew by 0.35% to 4.346.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for Aug 2024 settlement gained 12 cents or 0.15% to $77.64 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Avenue Supermarts rallied 5.89% after CRISIL Ratings upgraded its rating on the long-term bank facilities of the company to `CRISIL AAA/Stable� from `CRISIL AA+/Positive�.

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works (KMEW) jumped 7.53% after the company announced the receipt of letter of award (LOA) from the Dredging Corporation of India for the capital dredging work at the Paradip Port.

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