At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 130.92 points or 0.17% to 76,936.25. The Nifty 50 index rose 53.20 points or 0.23% to 23,452.10.

The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rallied 1.05% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.00%.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap and S&P BSE Small-Cap index hit an all-time high at 46,001.37 and 51,259.06 respectively.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,221 shares rose and 1,619 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 5.63% to 12.73.

Economy:

India’s annual rate of inflation based on all India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) number is 2.61% for the month of May 2024 (over May 2023), the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement on Friday. Positive rate of inflation in May 2024 is primarily due to increase in prices of food articles, manufacture of food products, crude petroleum & natural gas, mineral oils, other manufacturing etc. The month over month change in WPI index for the month of May 2024 stood at 0.20% as compared to April 2024.

India’s merchandise exports in May 2024 rose by 9% to USD 38.13 billion, from USD 34.95 billion in the year-ago month, according to government data released on Friday. Imports too increased by 7.7% to USD 61.91 billion, from USD 57.48 billion in May 2023. Trade deficit, or the gap between imports and exports, during the month under review stood at USD 23.78 billion.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 0.67% to 9,906.15. The index added 1.91% in the three consecutive trading sessions.

National Aluminium Company (up 3.33%), Vedanta (up 2.23%), Steel Authority of India (up 2.09%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.39%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 1.15%), Adani Enterprises (up 0.74%), JSW Steel (up 0.57%), NMDC (up 0.43%), Hindalco Industries (up 0.3%) and Hindustan Copper (up 0.18%) edged higher.

On the other hand, Hindustan Zinc (down 1.55%), Welspun Corp (down 0.53%) and Jindal Stainless (down 0.39%) slipped.

National Aluminium Company added 3.33% after the company said that it has executed a mining lease deed with the State Government of Odisha for an area spread over 697.979 hectares for Bauxite Mines in Pottangi Tehsil, Koraput district.

Jindal Stainless shed 0.39%. The company said that it has acquired remaining 46% stake in Chromeni Steels (CSPL) for total consideration of Rs 277.90 crore.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal shed 0.03% to 6.984 as compared with previous close 6.986.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.5450, compared with its close of 83.5400 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2024 settlement rose 0.51% to Rs 71,500.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.33% to 105.55.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.38% to 4.224.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2024 settlement lost 51 cents or 0.62% to $82.75 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Zydus Lifesciences rose 0.84%. The drug major announced that it has received a tentative approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Azilsartan Medoxomil and Chlorthalidone tablets.