Sensex, Nifty edge lower; breadth strong

The key benchmark indices traded with minor lossses in early trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,500 level. Consumer durables, media and oil & gas shares advanced while auto, pharma and banking shares declined.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 55.31 points or 0.07% to 80,373.73. The Nifty 50 index shed 24.80 points or 0.16% to 24,439.30.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.48% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.39%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,977 shares rose and 678 shares fell. A total of 107 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,975.31 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,418.82 crore in the Indian equity market on 23 July 2024, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bajaj Finance declined 1.93%. The company reported 13.82% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,911.98 crore on a 24% jump in total income to Rs 10,418 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Q1 FY24.

Hindustan Unilever fell 2.45%. The company reported 2.67% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 2,538 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared to Rs 2,472 crore recorded in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations was at Rs 15,166 crore in Q1 FY25, up 1.57% from Rs 14,931 crore reported in the same period a year ago.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals declined 3.57%. The companys consolidated revenue jumped 10.3% to Rs 2,859 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 2,591 crore in Q1 FY24. Net profit increased 20.9% YoY to Rs 457 crore in Q1 FY25.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was up 1.75% to 7.092 as compared with previous close 6.970.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.7000, compared with its close of 83.6950 during the previous trading session.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.03% to 104.48.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.42% to 4.243.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2024 settlement added 39 cents or 0.48% to $81.40 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian shares traded mixed on Wednesday after major US technology companies, including Tesla and Alphabet, released underwhelming earnings reports.

Adding to the negative sentiment, Japanese manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in July, according to the au Jibun Bank flash manufacturing PMI. This data, coupled with ongoing frustration over the Bank of Japan's low-interest-rate policy, is putting pressure on the central bank to address inflation concerns.

In the US, stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday as investors digested mixed corporate earnings reports and kept a close watch on the evolving presidential election. The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.16%, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.06%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.14%

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the PCE data, and US GDP data are both expected to be released later this week, potentially impacting interest rate expectations.

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