The key equity barometers ended near the flatline with some negative bias on Thursday. The Nifty settled below the 24,350 mark. Oil & gas, media and FMCG stocks advanced while realty, pharma and auto shares declined. Trading was volatile due to weekly F&O series expiry today.

As per provisional closing, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 27.43 points or 0.03% to 79,897.34. The Nifty 50 index lost 8.50 points or 0.03% to 24,315.95.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.34% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.57%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,178 shares rose and 1,733 shares fell. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 3.03% to 14.43.

Economy:

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stated that India is on track to become the world's third-largest economy within the next 3-4 years. Goyal highlighted the government's commitment to transforming India into a global manufacturing hub and achieving a $2 trillion export target by 2030. He emphasized that India's rapidly growing start-up ecosystem, expanding infrastructure, and investments in manufacturing are creating numerous opportunities for trade, business, jobs, and exports. The government is working to integrate India into global value chains and establish more global capacity centers to boost services exports. Goyal asserted that the $2 trillion export target is feasible with the right building blocks and a strong macroeconomic foundation.

The government is finalizing 'Jan Vishwas 2.0' to converge industry interests with national goals, decriminalize certain aspects, and reduce compliance burden. The government remains committed to calibrated reforms, expanding healthcare, providing basic amenities, and speeding up infrastructure development. With the right policies and industry collaboration, India is poised to achieve its ambitious economic goals in the coming years.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index declined 1.49% to 1,109.90. The index shed 1.69% in two trading sessions.

Brigade Enterprises (down 3.59%), Macrotech Developers (down 3.56%), Phoenix Mills (down 1.65%), Prestige Estates Projects (down 1.2%), Mahindra Lifespace Developers (down 0.69%), Oberoi Realty (down 0.65%), Godrej Properties (down 0.65%), DLF (down 0.61%), Sobha (down 0.31%) declined.

On the other hand, Sunteck Realty (up 0.31%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Elxsi slipped 2.12% after the company’s net profit declined 6.53% to 184.07 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 196.93 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Revenue increased 2.26% to Rs 926.45 crore in quarter ended 30 June 2024 as compared with Rs 905.94 crore recorded in 31 March 2024.

Power Grid Corporation of India shed 0.69%. The company said that its board approved to borrow funds upto Rs 16,000 crore through various sources during the financial year 2025-2026.

HPL Electric & Power was locked in an upper circuit of 20% after the company announced that it has received work orders of Rs 2,100.71 crore from its regular leading customers.

GE Power India jumped 5.56% after the company’s board approved to sell its hydro business undertaking to GE Power Electronics and its Gas business to GE Renewable Energy Technologies through slump sale basis.

Oriana Power was locked in an upper circuit of 5% after the construction engineering firm received a new order for a 40 MWp solar power plant under the captive segment.

Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) added 2.66% after the civil construction firm received letter of acceptance (LoA) from Central Railway worth Rs 138.45 crore.

JTL Industries gained 2.99% after the company reported a 21% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 30.70 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 25.37 crore in Q1 FY24.

Global Markets:

European stocks advanced on Thursday, as global markets look ahead to the next U.S. inflation reading.

Asian stocks edged higher, fueled by tech gains and record highs in Japan, after chipmaker TSMC's strong revenue boosted optimism for AI. TSMC's record revenue in June, driven by surging AI demand, pushed its share price up nearly 2% in Taiwan.

The rally followed a surge on Wall Street overnight, where the S&P 500 and NASDAQ hit records on hopes of a soft economic landing and potential Fed rate cuts later this year. All eyes are now on upcoming consumer inflation data, which will heavily influence the Fed's decision on interest rates.