At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 282.2 points or 0.37% to 77,617.26. The Nifty 50 index rose 91.50 points or 0.39% to 23,612.90.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.50% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.03%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,357 shares rose and 1,420 shares fell. A total of 141 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The government announced an increase in Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all 14 kharif crops for the 2024-25 season (July-June). This hike is expected to put an additional Rs 35,000 crore in the hands of farmers, bringing the total MSP payout to around Rs 2 lakh crore.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) projects continued economic momentum in the April-June quarter, driven by rising private consumption and strengthening manufacturing and services sectors.

Gainers & Losers:

Hindalco Industries (up 3.28%), JSW Steel (up 2.24%), Shriram Finance (up 1.90%), Coal India (up 1.89%) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 1.62%) were major Nifty gainers.

Mahindra and Mahindra (down 2.18%), Hero Motocorp (down 1.91%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 1.80%), Cipla (down 0.82%) and Power Grid Corporation of India (down 0.79%) were major Nifty losers.

Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries fell 1.80%. The company announced that it has received a warning letter from United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Dadra facility.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Vedanta rallied 5.55% after the mining company’s board has considered and approved fund raising of Rs 1,000 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on private placement basis.

Tata Communications advanced 2.50% after the company announced that it has secured a five-year $250 million sustainability-linked loan (SLL) from ANZ, DBS Bank and Export Development Canada (EDC).

Indian Oil Corporation added 1.11% after the company said that it has entered into a joint venture agreement with GPS Renewables, one of the leading biofuels companies in the country.

GMR Power and Urban Infra hit an upper circuit of 5% after the firm’s subsidiary, GMR Smart Electricity Distribution (GSEDL) has entered into an arrangement with Bosch Global Software Technologies (BGSW) for the smart meter projects.

Sapphire Foods India advanced 1.49% after the company announced that its board has approved 5-for-1 stock split.

Global Markets:

Markets in Europe advanced while Asian stocks traded mixed on Thursday, awaiting further U.S. policy signals. Sterling held steady ahead of a Bank of England meeting, where interest rates are likely to remain unchanged.

Central bank decisions from Switzerland and Norway are also on investors' watchlist, shaping the global rate outlook. China, as expected, kept benchmark lending rates steady despite a sluggish economy.