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| Photo Credit: Reuters

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Thursday (August 8, 2024) ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy decision.

Continuous foreign fund outflows and weak trends in the U.S. markets also drove domestic equities lower during initial deals.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 325.97 points to 79,142.04. The NSE Nifty dipped 99.1 points to 24,198.40.

Among the 30 Sensex firms, Infosys, JSW Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement and Tata Steel were the biggest laggards.

Tata Motors, Titan, ITC and Sun Pharma were among the gainers during the initial trade.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong traded higher while Seoul quoted lower.

The U.S. markets ended lower on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹3,314.76 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

“During the last four days FIIs have sold ₹20,228 crore in the cash market. This is a rational thing to do given India’s elevated valuations and the concerns surrounding recession fears in the U.S. and further issues relating to the unwinding of the yen carry trade,” said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.42% to USD 78.66 a barrel.

On Wednesday, the BSE benchmark Sensex rallied 874.94 points or 1.11 per cent to settle at 79,468.01. During the day, it jumped 1,046.13 points or 1.33% to 79,639.20.

The NSE Nifty jumped 304.95 points or 1.27% to 24,297.50. Intraday, it surged 345.15 points or 1.43% to 24,337.70.

On the macroeconomic front, the Reserve Bank’s rate-setting panel started its three-day deliberations for the next set of bi-monthly monetary policy on Tuesday amid expectations of no change in benchmark interest rate in view of concerns on inflation and economic growth remaining steady.

The decision of the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das-headed six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be announced later on the day.

Image used for representative purpose only. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Benchmark equity indices climbed on June 12, with the Nifty hitting its fresh record high level and Sensex climbing nearly 600 points, amid buying in market blue-chip stocks HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries.

Buying in IT stocks also propelled the rally in the markets.

The NSE Nifty went up by 177.1 points or 0.76% to hit its new all-time high of 23,441.95 during the late morning trade. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 593.94 points or 0.77% to 77,050.53.

The BSE benchmark is just 28.51 points away from breaching its previous lifetime peak of 77,079.04 hit on Monday.

Among the 30 Sensex companies, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finance, Wipro, Tata Motors and Reliance Industries were the major gainers.

Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Asian Paints and Mahindra & Mahindra were the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Shanghai traded in the positive territory while Tokyo and Hong Kong quoted lower.

US markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday.

“The 32 per cent decline in India VIX during the last 5 days indicates that the days of heightened volatility are over and the market has entered a consolidation phase. From now on the focus will be on fundamentals and news flows,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Tonight’s US inflation numbers and the Fed policy outcome will influence the direction of the global equity market, he added.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.44% to $82.28 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹111.04 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark declined 33.49 points or 0.04% to settle at 76,456.59 on Tuesday. In a volatile trade, the Nifty ended marginally up by 5.65 points or 0.02% at 23,264.85

All the 30 Sensex companies were trading in the green. Power Grid, NTPC, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank were the biggest gainers from the Sensex pack.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Investors’ wealth jumped ₹12.48 lakh crore in morning trade on June 3 as the benchmark equity index Sensex hit its lifetime high after exit polls predicted a massive win for the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha polls.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 2,777.58 points or 3.75% to hit a record peak of 76,738.89 in early trade.

Also read | GDP growth surges to 8.2% on manufacturing gains

Following the huge rally in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies climbed ₹12,48,952.68 crore to hit an all-time peak of ₹4,24,61,833.82 crore ($5.10 trillion) during the morning trade.

Exit polls on June 1 predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain power for a third straight term, with the BJP-led NDA expected to win a big majority in the Lok Sabha polls. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.

“The exit poll numbers are very strong for the incumbent government,” Narendra Solanki, Head Fundamental Research – Investment Services, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers, said.

“Overall it’s positive for the markets in short as well as long term. Also, the recent released good GDP growth data should provide support to existing positive momentum,” he added.

India’s economy grew by 8.2% in the fiscal year that ended in March, cementing the country’s position as the fastest-growing major economy in the world.

“The GDP numbers which came on Friday were better-than-expected with 8.2% growth. This will provide fundamental support to the market,” said V. K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Also read | How do markets look at election results?

All the 30 Sensex companies were trading in the green. Power Grid, NTPC, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank were the biggest gainers from the Sensex pack.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong were quoting with gains while Shanghai traded lower. The U.S. markets ended mostly higher on May 31. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹1,613.24 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

The Sensex jumped 322.09 points or 0.49% to 65,397.91 points. File

Continuing their positive momentum, the benchmark stock indices jumped in early trade on Wednesday (August 30), with the Sensex surging more than 322 points amid positive global cues.

The Sensex jumped 322.09 points or 0.49% to 65,397.91 points, while the broader Nifty rose 84.30 points or 0.44% to 19,426.95 points.

In the Sensex pack, the majority of the stocks were trading in the positive territory.

M&M, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Infosys and Reliance Industries were among the gainers.

Asian markets, including Japan and Hong Kong, were trading marginally higher on Wednesday (August 30).

On Tuesday, the European and U.S. indices closed in the green.

The Sensex gained 79.22 points to close at 65,075.82 points, while the Nifty rose 36.60 points to settle at 65,229.03 points on Tuesday.

In a pre-market open note, Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said Asian stocks rose as China’s largest banks reportedly prepare to cut interest rates and investors speculate that the U.S. Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its tightening campaign.

“U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Tuesday, posting the third consecutive trading day of gains, following July job openings data that added more evidence of a cooling labour market and potentially more support for an eventual easing of interest rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve,” he said.

Brent crude futures rose 0.33% to $85.77 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were net buyers, purchasing shares worth ₹61.51 crore, according to BSE data.