Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity markets gained traction during late deals on Thursday to scale their new lifetime high levels with Nifty and Sensex settling above the psychological 24,750 and 81,300 levels respectively. Nifty crossed 24,700 level for the first time to hit a new all-time high of 24,837.75. Sensex crossed 81,000 level for the first time to set a new record high of 81,522.55 amid optimistic about growth-oriented Union budget and expectations of healthy Q1 earnings from Indian corporates. The majority of the gains were driven by IT stocks. Investors awaited IT major – Infosys’ financial results for the April-June period due later in the day.

Markets made negative start and turned volatile as investors fretted about rising oil prices and heightened U.S.-China tensions. Mostly negative cues from Wall Street overnight as well as weakness in Asian counterparts also dampened sentiments in the markets. Traders ignored report that the International Monetary Fund in its World Economic Outlook raised India’s growth forecast for FY25 to 7 percent from 6.8 percent projected in April. It noted the forecast for growth in India has been revised upward, with the change reflecting carryover from upward revisions to growth in 2023 and improved prospects for private consumption, particularly in rural areas. In afternoon session, markets erased losses to trade near neutral lines with positive bias, as investors took some support after Asian Development Bank (ADB) said India’s stronger-than-expected fiscal position could provide a further boost to its growth, while keeping the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projection for the current financial year (FY25) unchanged at 7 per cent. In late afternoon session, buying got intensified and markets scaled new high levels amid value buying. Traders took note of private report that India is aiming to boost annual foreign direct investment by more than 50% to help lift economic growth. 

On the global front, European markets were trading higher as data showed U.K. wage growth softened in the three months to May period, raising hopes of interest rate cuts ahead of the Bank of England's rate decision next month. Asian markets ended mixed as tech shares came under heavy selling pressure on signs of worsening trade tensions between the China and the United States. Back home, credit rating agency ICRA in its latest report said that the domestic cotton spinning industry is likely to recover in FY2025, growing by 6-8%, supported by a 4-6% volume growth and mild realisation gains.

The BSE Sensex ended at 81,343.46, up by 626.91 points or 0.78% after trading in a range of 80,390.37 and 81,522.55. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.99%, while Small cap index was down by 1.15%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.84%, TECK up by 1.84%, FMCG up by 0.86%, Telecom up by 0.63% and Bankex was up by 0.48%, while Capital Goods down by 2.03%, Industrials down by 1.95%, Power down by 1.73%, PSU down by 1.17% and Utilities was down by 1.08% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 3.33%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.57%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.32%, Infosys up by 1.93% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.85%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.59%, JSW Steel down by 0.89%, NTPC down by 0.71%, Adani Ports down by 0.52% and Tata Steel down by 0.48% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its latest ‘World Economic Outlook Update, July 2024’, has revised India’s growth projection upward to 7 per cent for 2024 from 6.8 per cent projected earlier, with the change reflecting carryover from upward revisions to growth in 2023 and improved prospects for private consumption, particularly in rural areas. The country maintaining the fastest-growing status in emerging markets and developing economies. 

The IMF had earlier projected growth rate of 6.5 per cent for 2024, revising it to 6.8 per cent and now 7 per cent. For the year 2025, the IMF has maintained its growth projection for the country at 6.5 per cent. It attributed robustness and strength in domestic demand and a rising working-age population behind its growth projections.

IMF said the forecast for growth in emerging market and developing economies has been revised upward and the projected increase is powered by stronger activity in Asia, particularly China and India. For China, the growth forecast has been revised upward to 5 percent in 2024, primarily on account of a rebound in private consumption and strong exports in the first quarter.

According to the Indian government data, India’s GDP grew at an impressive 8.2 per cent during the financial year 2023-24, and it continued to remain the fastest-growing major economy. India’s economy grew 7.2 per cent in 2022-23 and 8.7 per cent in 2021-22 respectively.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24,800.85, up by 187.85 points or 0.76% after trading in a range of 24,504.45 and 24,837.75. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were LTIMindtree up by 3.50%, TCS up by 3.28%, ONGC up by 2.80%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.59% and Wipro up by 2.41%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.44%, Coal India down by 1.41%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.36%, Grasim Industries down by 1.26% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.95% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 58.31 points or 0.71% to 8,245.77, France’s CAC rose 42.74 points or 0.56% to 7,613.55 and Germany’s DAX was up by 36.37 points or 0.2% to 18,473.67. 

Asian markets settled mixed on Thursday amid heavy selling pressure in tech stocks after the United States was mulling tighter curbs on exports of advanced semiconductor technology to China and US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's comments that Taiwan should pay the United States for defence. Japanese shares declined as the strengthening yen weighed on export stocks, even as Japan posted a trade surplus in June for the first time in three months. Chinese and Hong Kong shares gained as China's ruling Communist Party wrapped up a top-level meeting, with investors expecting policies to help revive economic growth in China.