The domestic equity indices traded with minor losses in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 25,350 mark. PSU bank, realty and media shares advanced while FMCG and oil & gas shares declined.
At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 64.81 points or 0.08% to 82,897.90. The Nifty 50 index shed 35.05 points or 0.14% to 25,348.25.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.58% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.98%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index hit an all-time high at 57,192.12.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,534 shares rose and 1,360 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
India's retail inflation rose to 3.65% in August, slightly higher than 3.6% reported in July. The inflation was within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) medium-term target of 2-6%.
Separately, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) rose slightly to 4.83% in July from 4.72% in June.
Gainers & Losers:
Wipro (up 3.42%), Bajaj Finance (up 2.58%), Bajaj Finserv (up 2.57%), IndusInd Bank (up 1.84%) and Tata Steel (up 1.55%) were major Nifty gainers.
HDFC Life Insurance Company (down 1.48%), SBI Life Insurance Company (down 1.44%), ITC (down 1.31%), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (down 1.24%) and Tata Consumer Products (down 1.04%) were major Nifty losers.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Tata Power Company rose 0.74% and Tata Motors added 0.58%. Tata Power said that EV Charging Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power Renewable Energy signed Memonrandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Motors to set up 200 fast charging stations for electric commercial vehicles (CV) in all metro cities.
SBI Cards and Payment Services added 0.90%. The company informed that its board is scheduled to be meet on Wednesday, 18 September 2024, to consider the proposal, for raising of funds aggregating to Rs. 5,000 crore. The company will raise funds through issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) through private placement, in one or more tranches over a period of time.
Nazara Technologies advanced 3.35% after the company informed that it has acquired 47.7% stake in Moonshine Technology (MTPL), the parent company of PokerBaazi, India's top online poker gaming platform, for Rs 832 crores through a secondary transaction.
H.G. Infra Engineering rallied 4.57% after the firm announced that it has received a letter from the Central Railway for an order worth Rs 716.11 crore.
Puravankara jumped 4.32% after the company has acquired the redevelopment rights of Miami Apartments spread over 2,000 sq meter of land at Breach Candy, Mumbai.
Transformers and Rectifiers (India) advanced 2.92% after the company announced that it has secured orders worth Rs 114 crore from Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (RRVPNL).
BLS International Services gained 2.92% after the firm said that it has signed definitive agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Citizenship Invest (CI) for a consideration of $31 million (approximately Rs 260 crore). The transaction would be funded through internal accruals. The transaction is expected to be completed by 31 October 2024, subject to necessary approvals.
Global Markets:
European stocks advanced on Friday, as investors continued to digest the European Central Bank's decision to cut rates and its impact on future monetary policy.
The European Central Bank (ECB) implemented a second interest rate cut this year. The key deposit rate was lowered by 25 basis points to 3.5%, aligning with expectations. While the ECB reduced its 2024 economic growth projection, it remains confident that inflation will broadly align with its 2% target by the end of 2025.
Asian stocks traded mixed on Friday as investors took profits following the previous session's rally. The market remains optimistic about the possibility of a US Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
US stock markets closed higher on Thursday after the latest inflation data solidified expectations for a 25-basis point rate decrease by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.58%, the S&P 500 rose 0.75%, and the Nasdaq Composite ended 1.00% higher.
Warner Bros Discovery shares surged 10.4%, while Charter's stock price increased by 3.6%. Moderna experienced a decline of 12.4%, and Kroger shares rallied 7.2%.
The producer price index (PPI) for final demand rose 0.2% in August, slightly exceeding estimates of 0.1% growth. The core PPI, excluding volatile food and energy prices, increased by 0.3%, surpassing the forecasted 0.2%.
The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week. Initial claims increased by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 230,000 for the week ending September 7.
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