In the week ended on Friday, 9 August 2024, the S&P BSE Sensex shed 1,276.04 points or 1.58% to settle at 79,705.91. The Nifty 50 index declined 350.20 points or 1.42% to settle at 24,367.50. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.01% to close at 47,192.27. The BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.86% to end at 53,614.37.

Weekly Index Movement:

Domestic shares tanked on Monday, mirroring a global rout sparked by fears of a US recession. Worries over slowing economic growth, fueled by weak US jobs data, sent shockwaves through markets. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex slumped 2,222.55 points or 2.74% to 78,759.40. The Nifty 50 index tanked 662.10 points or 2.68% to 24,055.60.

Domestic equity indices reversed early gains to end lower on Tuesday, marking the third consecutive day of losses. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 166.33 points or 0.21% to 78,593.07. The Nifty 50 index lost 63.05 points or 0.26% to 23,992.55.

Domestic Indices roared back to life on Wednesday, snapping a three-day losing streak. The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 874.94 points or 1.11% to 79,468.01. The Nifty 50 index surged 304.95 points or 1.27% to 24,297.50. The 50-unit index slumped 4.07% in the past three sessions.

Domestic stocks plunged on Thursday as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained its status quo on interest rates for the ninth consecutive time due to persistent food inflation. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 581.79 points or 0.73% to 78,886.22. The Nifty 50 index slipped 180.50 points or 0.74% to 24,117.

The key equity benchmarks ended with robust gains on Friday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 819.69 points or 1.04% to 79,705.91. The Nifty 50 index gained 250.50 points or 1.04% to 24,367.50.

Economy:

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services Business Activity Index was at 60.3 in July, down only fractionally from 60.5 and above the neutral mark of 50.0 for the thirty-sixth straight month. The latest reading was more than six points higher than its long-run average and highlighted a substantial upturn in business activity.

The HSBC India Composite Output Index posted 60.7 in July, down only fractionally from 60.9 in June and above the crucial 50.0 no-change mark for the thirty-sixth month running. Hence, the latest reading signaled a continuation of the strong growth momentum seen recently. As has been the case since February, the manufacturing industry led the upturn.

The Reserve bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announced on Thursday, (August 8, 2024) that it has decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.50%.

Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate remains unchanged at 6.25% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.75%.

The projected real GDP growth for 2024-25 is maintained at 7.2%. The quarterly breakdown is as follows: Q1 at 7.1%; Q2 at 7.2%; Q3 at 7.3%; and Q4 at 7.2%. Real GDP growth for Q1:2025-26 is projected at 7.2%.

The projected CPI inflation for 2024-25 remains unchanged at 4.5%. The quarterly breakdown is as follows: Q2 at 4.4%; Q3 at 4.7%; and Q4 at 4.3%. CPI inflation for Q1:2025-26 is projected at 4.4%.

Stocks in spotlight:

Marico fell 1.56%. The FMCG company’s consolidated net profit increased 8.66% to Rs 464 crore in Q1 FY25 compared with Rs 427 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 6.10% YoY to Rs 2,643 crore in Q1 FY25, with underlying volume growth of 4% in the domestic business and constant currency growth of 10% in the international business.

Titan Company slipped 3.77%. The company reported marginal decline in standalone net profit to Rs 770 crore in Q1 FY25 as against Rs 777 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 9.92% year on year (YoY) to Rs 11,105 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2024.

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (Mahindra Finance) slipped 1.52%. The company recorded an overall disbursement of approximately Rs 4,530 crore in July 2024, delivering 3% year on year (YoY) growth.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone tumbled 3.66%. The company said that the company’s total cargo volume for the month of July 2024 was 37.3 MMT, which is higher by 9.7% as compared with the same period last year.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) rose 0.36%. The company reported 15.09% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 8,938.10 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 10,526.78 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 4.29% YoY to Rs 35,266.38 crore in Q1 FY25.

Vedanta declined 1.19%. The diversified metal company reported 54.02% increase in net profit to Rs 5,095 crore in Q1 FY25 as against Rs 3,308 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations grew by 5.68% YoY to Rs 35,239 crore in Q1 FY25.

TVS Motor Company rose 0.46%. The company reported 23.45% increase in standalone net profit to Rs 577.32 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared to Rs 467.67 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations rose 16.04% YoY to Rs 8,375.59 crore in the June 2024 quarter.

Lupin rallied 7.98% .The company’s consolidated net profit jumped 76.01% to Rs 801.31 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 452.26 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 16.28% YoY to Rs 5,514.34 crore during the quarter.

Eicher Motors jumped 2.3%. The company’s consolidated net profit jumped 19.94% to Rs 1,101.46 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 918.34 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations increased 10.2% YoY to Rs 4,393.05 crore during the quarter.

Grasim Industries declined 4.85%. The company reported 23.38% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,207.93 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 1,576.47 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 9% YoY to Rs 33,860.75 crore in Q1 FY25, driven by strong performance from its diversified businesses portfolio. Cellulosic Staple Fibre, Building Materials and Financial Services businesses delivered superior performance.

Global market :

In United States, the report revealed that US nonfarm payrolls increased by only 114,000 in July, one of the weakest figures since the pandemic. Job growth was revised downward for the previous two months. The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 4.3%, surpassing the Federal Reserve’s year-end forecast and triggering a recession warning.

Bank of Japan (BoJ) Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida said on Wednesday the central bank won't raise interest rates when financial markets are unstable.

China's release of July consumer price index data, which showed a modest increase and eased deflation concerns. The country's consumer prices rose 0.5% year-on-year last month. However, core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy items, cooled to 0.4% from 0.6% in June.