Indices trade with tiny cuts; PSU banks in demand

The domestic equity indices continued to trade with small losses in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 25,400 level. PSU bank shares advanced for the second straight day.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 39.20 points or 0.05% to 82,923.51. The Nifty 50 index shed 21.45 points or 0.08% to 25,367.45.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.60% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index hit an all-time high at 57,192.12.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,476 shares rose and 1,451 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

Indias retail inflation rose to 3.65% in August, slightly higher than 3.6% reported in July. The inflation was within the Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI) medium-term target of 2-6%.

Separately, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) rose slightly to 4.83% in July from 4.72% in June.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU bank index rose 1.41% to 6,723.30. The index advanced 3.09% in the two consecutive trading sessions.

Punjab & Sind Bank (up 3.82%), Indian Overseas Bank (up 3.74%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 3.63%), UCO Bank (up 3.19%), Central Bank of India (up 2.73%), Punjab National Bank (up 2.64%), Union Bank of India (up 2.06%), Canara Bank (up 1.96%), Bank of India (up 1.7%) and Bank of Baroda (up 0.93%) edged higher.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper jumped 1.29% to 6.899 as compared with previous close 6.923.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.8800 compared with its close of 83.9650 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 October 2024 settlement rose 0.54% to Rs 73,220.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.39% to 100.97.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 1.13% to 3.635.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2024 settlement gained 5 cents or 0.76% to $72.52 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Transformers and Rectifiers (India) advanced 3.81% to Rs 690 after the company announced that it has secured orders worth Rs 114 crore from Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (RRVPNL).

BLS International Services declined 4.04%. The firm said that it has signed definitive agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Citizenship Invest (CI) for a consideration of $31 million (approximately Rs 260 crore).

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