Indices edge higher in early trade; breadth strong

The key equity benchmarks traded with minor gains in early trade. The Nifty traded above the 24,500 level. FMCG, private bank and pharma shares advanced, while auto, realty and IT bank stocks declined.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 123.74 points or 0.15% to 80,204.31. The Nifty 50 index rose 36.60 points or 0.15% to 24,537.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.04% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.12%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,834 shares rose and 949 shares fell. A total of 139 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,856.51 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 6,920.34 crore in the Indian equity market on 28 August 2025, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Afcons Infrastructure rose 0.43%. The companys board has elevated chairman Shapoorji Mistry as chairman emeritus and Krishnamurthy Subramanian as executive chairman, while Pallon S. Mistry was inducted to the board of the company.

CG Power & Industrial Solutions added 1.91% after the companys subsidiary, CG Semi, had the launch of its first outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facility in Sanand, Gujarat.

Allcargo Logistics advanced 1.56%. The companys LCL volume stood at 774 cubic meters for the month of July 2025, down 5% YoY. Global trade is expected to grow for the rest of the year; however, it will be different across trade lanes and will be in a stop/go pattern in anticipation of tariffs.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.43% to 6.566 from the previous close of 6.538.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 87.7200 compared with its close of 87.5850 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 3 October 2025 settlement rose 0.05% to Rs 102,155.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.12% to 97.98.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.17% to 4.214.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2025 settlement shed 57 cents or 0.83% to $68.05 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday, breaking ranks with Wall Street as investors also assessed a slate of economic data in the region.

The Tokyo core CPI, which strips out fresh food but includes energy, climbed 2.5% from a year earlier, easing from Julys 2.9% increase. The figure, however, remained above the Bank of Japans 2% target.

Japans unemployment rate also eased to 2.3% in July, down from 2.5% the previous month.

Overnight stateside, the three major averages closed higher. The broad market S&P 500 index finished 0.32% higher at 6,501.86 after hitting a new all-time intraday high above the 6,500 level.

The Nasdaq Composite ended the day up 0.53% at 21,705.16, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 71.67 points, or 0.16% to end at 45,636.90, which was also a record.

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