At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 204.51 points or 0.26% to 79,231.09. The Nifty 50 index rose 73.10 points or 0.30% to 24,083.70.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.72% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.24%.

The S&P BSE Mid-cap index hit an all-time high at 46,507.78.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,556 shares rose and 1,147 shares fell. A total of 183 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India’s foreign exchange reserves (forex reserves) increased by $816 million to $653.711 billion during the week ended June 21, according to the latest RBI data. In the preceding week, the overall reserves had dropped by $2.922 billion to $652.895 billion.

For the week ended June 21, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $106 million to $574.134 billion.

According to the latest RBI data released on June 28, India’s gold reserves rose $988 million to $56.956 billion during the week ended June 21, while the special drawing rights (SDRs) fell $57 million to $18.049 billion.

India’s reserve position with the IMF was down by $9 million to $4.572 billion in the reporting week, according to the RBI data.

Meanwhile, The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 6.3% (provisional) in May, 2024 as compared to the Index in May, 2023. The production of Electricity, Coal, Steel, Natural Gas and Refinery Products recorded positive growth in May 2024.

The ICI measures the combined and individual performance of production of eight core industries viz. Cement, Coal, Crude Oil, Electricity, Fertilizers, Natural Gas, Refinery Products and Steel. The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Further, India's fiscal deficit between April-May stood at around 3% of the overall target for FY25, at Rs 50,615 crore, down from 11.8% of the budget estimate in the corresponding period last year, according to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts.

The revenue receipts, however, exceeded the expenditure, resulting in a surplus of Rs 90,923 crore, the CGA data showed. Higher tax revenue and the RBI dividend have kept the revenue receipts at 19% of the budgeted estimates for April-May FY25 period, compared to around 15% in the corresponding period last year.

The fiscal deficit stood at Rs 16.54 trillion in FY24, against the budgetary target of Rs 17.86 trillion. Aided by higher-than-expected tax receipts, the Union government contained the fiscal deficit at 5.6% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023-24 (FY24), compared with the Revised Estimates of 5.8%.

The Centre has set an FY25 fiscal deficit target of 5.1%, or Rs 16.85 trillion, in order to achieve a fiscal deficit of 4.5% of GDP by FY26.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index gained 1.61% to 2,024.45. The index declined 1.54% in the past two trading sessions.

Tips Industries (up 6.1%), Network 18 Media & Investments (up 4.45%), PVR Inox (up 4.21%), Dish TV India (up 1.74%), Sun TV Network (up 1.54%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (up 0.83%), Nazara Technologies (up 0.74%), TV18 Broadcast (up 0.73%), Saregama India (up 0.58%) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises (up 0.11%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Manorama Industries hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company announced the commencement of commercial production from its new fractionation plant which has a capacity of 25,000-tonnes per annum (TPA).

Wockhardt soared 14.93% after the company's experimental antibiotic, Zaynich, successfully treated a US cancer patient with a chronic thigh infection caused by extremely resistant bacteria.