The domestic equity benchmarks traded near the flatline with some minor losses in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,400 level. Metal, private bank and realty shares declined while oil & gas, media and auto shares advanced. Trading could be volatile due to the expiry of monthly index options on the NSE.
At 13:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 110.37 points or 0.14% to 80,038.51. The Nifty 50 index shed 19.65 points or 0.08% to 24,393.85.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.19% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.06%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,085 shares rose and 1,738 shares fell. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.
Gainers & Losers:
Tata Motors (up 5.27%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (up 3.19%), SBI Life Insurance Company (up 2.84%), Larsen & Toubro (up 2.77%) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 2.73%) were major Nifty gainers.
Axis Bank (down 6.48%), Nestle India (down 3%), Titan Company (down 2.49%), Shriram Finance (down 1.97%) and Hindalco Industries (down 1.89%) were major Nifty losers.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) advanced 2.77% after the EPC major's consolidated net profit rose 11.74% to Rs 2,785.72 crore on 15.12% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 55,119.82 crore in Q1 FY25 over Q1 FY24.
Axis Bank tumbled 6.48%. The bank reported 4.1% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 6,034.64 crore on 16.97% increase in total income to Rs 35,844.22 crore in Q1 FY25 over Q1 FY24.
Stocks in Spotlight:
SBI Life Insurance Company added 2.77% after the company reported 36.34% surge in net profit to Rs 519.52 crore in Q1 FY25 from Rs 381.04 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Total income was at Rs 34,392.05 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2024, registering a growth of 24.2% year on year (YoY).
JK Paper dropped 7.79% after its consolidated net profit tumbled 54.73% to Rs 139.72 crore in Q1 FY25 as against Rs 308.67 crore posted in same quarter last year. Revenue from operations rose 8.16% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,713.65 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2024.
Craftsman Automation slipped 2.11% after the company reported 28.6% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 53.19 crore in Q1 FY25 from Rs 74.48 crore in Q1 FY24. Net sales increased by 10.9% year-over-year (YoY) to Rs 1,151.19 crore in the first quarter of 2024-25.
Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) declined 2.05%. The company said that it has received letter of acceptance from the Electrical Division of the South Eastern Railway for a project worth Rs 191.53 crore.
Global Markets:
European stocks tumbled and most Asian stocks traded lower on Thursday as investors took a breather from the AI-fueled rally that has propelled stocks higher this year. Japan and South Korea both saw declines of over 2%, with chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. leading the downturn despite strong earnings.
The US market suffered a significant setback, with the S&P 500 plunging 2.3% — its worst day since December 2022. This marked the end of the longest period without a 2% drop since the 2008 financial crisis. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 plummeted 3.64%, dragged down by its largest components. Alphabet Inc. fell 5% after revealing higher-than-expected spending on its AI initiatives. Tesla Inc.'s stock plunged 12% following a disappointing profit report and delay of its robotaxi service. Nvidia Corp. also dropped 6.8%. The slump in the 'Magnificent Seven' tech giants triggered a broad market sell-off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also declined 1.25%.
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