At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 61.17 points or 0.09% to 81,991.28. The Nifty 50 index rose 21.95 points or 0.09% to 25,089.70.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.24% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.10%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,947 shares rose and 1,933 shares fell. A total of 114 shares were unchanged.

Gainers & Losers:

Bajaj Auto (up 4.14%), Asian Paints (up 2.19%), Bajaj Finance (up 2.03%), Bharti Airtel (up 1.22%) and Tech Mahindra (up 1.01%) were major Nifty gainers.

Tata Motors (down 5.33%), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) (down 3.03%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) (down 1.55%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.42%) and NTPC (down 1.14%) were major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Gensol Engineering gained 1.86% after the company and Matrix Gas & Renewables has secured the project to setup green hydrogen production plant in Pune on build own and operate (BOO) basis.

The said project will be India’s first green hydrogen valley project in Pune, Maharashtra. The company and Matrix will set up green hydrogen production plant to supply green hydrogen to specialty chemical sector with the firm offtake for 20 years.

Aurionpro Solutions slipped 3.80%. The company informed that it has received contract to deliver, implement, and maintain the safe city project from Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC), Maharashtra. The scope of the project includes the establishment of data centers, control command center, and video analytics capabilities to enable real-time monitoring and faster response times.

Jubilant Pharmova advanced 1.16% after its subsidiary, Jubilant HollisterStier LLC's (JHS) manufacturing facility located at Spokane, Washington (USA) received classification of “Voluntary Action Indicated” from USFDA.

The United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) conducted an audit of the facility from 28 May to 6 June 2024. The US drug regulatorhas now determined the inspection classification of the facility as “Voluntary Action Indicated”.

Goa Carbon gained 6.38% after the company informed that it has resumed operations at its Goa unit located at St. Jose de Areal, Salcete-Goa. The company on 29 July 2024 informed that the operations at its Goa unit had been temporarily shut down for maintenance work from the same date. The operations are resumed now.

Samvardhana Motherson International slipped 2.75%. The company’s prominent client BMW announced a downward revision to its financial outlook for 2024. On Tuesday, the German luxury carmaker BMW has cut its profit margin forecast for the year due to sluggish demand in China, its key market, and problems related to a braking system supplied by Continental.

BMW has cut its EBIT margin guidance for 2024 to between 6% to 7% from the 8% to 10% range earlier. EBIT margin for the motorcycle segment is also likely to be in the same range from the 8% to 10% range earlier. According to Samvardhana Motherson International’s 2024 annual report, BMW accounted for 5% of the total revenue of the company. The share of Chinese market in the company’s total revenue was at 11% for the period under review.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones index futures were down 109 points, indicating a weak opening in the US stocks today.

Europeans stocks advanced while Asian stocks traded lower on Wednesday, as investors focus on the latest U.S. inflation data set to be released later in the day. Crude oil prices remained near three-year lows, below $70 per barrel, due to concerns about weak demand.

The upcoming debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump could significantly influence the U.S. election. Investors will then turn their attention to the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which could provide clues about potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

While the Fed is expected to lower rates next week, the magnitude of the cut remains uncertain, especially after a mixed jobs report last Friday.

U.S. stock markets experienced a volatile session on Tuesday, closing mixed as investors prepared for the CPI report. The S&P 500 (+0.5%) and Nasdaq Composite (+ 0.9%) finished slightly higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.2%) closed lower.

Apple shares declined after the company lost a legal battle in the EU over a $14 billion tax bill. This followed the recent launch of the iPhone 16, which was met with some disappointment regarding its artificial intelligence capabilities.