Sensex jumps 556 pts, Nifty ends above 19,400, VIX climbs 5.78%.

Best Share Market Institute

Indian equity indices ended with major gains on Friday. After opening at 19,258.15, the Nifty 50 index marched higher as the session progressed to settle above the 17,400 level. Metal, auto and PSU bank stocks witnessed buying demand while healthcare and pharma shares declined.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rallied 555.75 points or 0.86% to 65,387.16. The Nifty 50 index added 181.50 points or 0.94% to 19,435.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.75%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,177 shares rose and 1,488 shares fell. A total of 121 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 5.78% to 11.37.

Economy:

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 58.6 in August from 57.7 in July, indicating second-best improvement in the health of the sector for nearly three years.

Pollyanna De Lima, Economics Associate Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: The PMI results for India painted a vibrant picture of the nation's manufacturing landscape in August. Robust and accelerated increases in new orders and production suggest that the sector looks set to provide a strong contribution to second quarter (fiscal) economic growth.?

Meanwhile, India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.8% in the April-June quarter of current fiscal (2023-2024), compared to a growth of 6.1% in the previous January-March quarter of fiscal 2022-23, according to official data shared by the National Statistical Office.

Output of eight key infrastructure sectors, known as the core sector, marginally slowed to 8% in July from 8.3% in June. This is due to a low base effect and positive growth in all the eight sectors during the month. In July last year, the core sector had grown by 4.8%. The print for June 2023 was also revised slightly upwards to 8.3% from 8.2% estimated earlier.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Rishabh Instruments received bids for 21.66 crore shares as against 77.90 lakh shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:30 IST on Friday (1 September 2023). The issue was subscribed 27.81 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday (30 August 2023) and it will close on Friday (1 September 2023). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 418-441 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 34 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

August Auto Sales Impact:

Tata Motors rose 1.56%. The auto major's domestic and international sales for August 2023 stood at 78,010 vehicles, down 1.06% compared to 78,843 units sold in August 2022.

Mahindra & Mahindra added 0.76%. The car manufacturer said that its overall auto sales for the month of August 2023 stood at 70,350 vehicles, registering a growth of 19.14% as against 59,049 vehicles sold in August 2022. Further, M&M's total tractor sales (domestic + exports) rose 1% YoY to 21,676 units in August 2023 from 21,520 units sold in August 2022.

Bajaj Auto gained 1.19% said that its total sales declined 15% to 3,41,648 units in August 2023 as compared with 4,01,595 units sold in same quarter last year.

TVS Motor Company advanced 2.48% after the company registered a sales growth of 4% increasing from 3,33,787 units in August 2022 to 3,45,848 units in August 2023.

Eicher Motors added 1.88% after the auto maker's unlisted subsidiary, VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) reported 29.4% year on year jump in commercial vehicles (CV) sales to 6,476 units in August 2023.

Maruti Suzuki India rallied 3.25% after its total sales in the month of August 2023 grew 14.48% to 189,082 units as compared with 165,173 units sold in the same period last year.

Ashok Leyland added 0.16%. The company announced that total vehicle sales jumped by 10% to 15,576 units in August 2023 from 14,121 units in August 2022.

Escorts Kubota fell 0.87%. The company's Agri Machinery segment sold 5,593 tractors in August 2023, up 8.5% as compared with 6,111 tractors sold in August 2022.

VST Tillers Tractors declined 1.50%. The tractor manufacturer's total sales increased 12.08% to 4,037 units in August 2023 from 3,602 units sold in August 2022.

Steel Strips Wheels shed 1.89% after the company announced that it has achieved net turnover of Rs 389.77 crore in August 2023, recording a growth of 10.44% on YoY basis.

Stocks in Spotlight:

HCL Technologies rose 1.12%. The company had completed the acquisition effective 31 August 2023 of 100% stake in ASAP Group, an automotive engineering services provider headquartered in Germany.

ITD Cementation India jumped 7.59% after the company announced that it has secured a marine contract worth approximately Rs 3,290 crore.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation rallied 3.93% after Fitch Ratings affirmed the company's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) at 'BBB-' with 'stable' outlook.

NCC shed 0.41% after the company received 4 new orders aggregating to Rs 8,398 crore in the month of August 2023 relating to Electrical Division.

Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) gained 2.48% after the company informed the appointment of Sanjay Swarup as chairman & managing director of CONCOR from the date of his assumption of charge of the post on or after 1 October 2023.

Balaji Amines fell 0.58%. The company announced that its consolidated net profit declined 57.1% to Rs 52.73 crore in Q1 FY24 from Rs 122 crore posted in Q1 FY23. Revenue from operations slumped 30.8% to Rs 463.67 crore in Q1 FY24 as compared with Rs 670.17 crore in Q1 FY23.

Aeroflex Industries added 0.89% after the company announced that it has repaid the entire outstanding Kotak Mahindra Bank loan amounting to Rs. 32.49 crore from the proceeds of initial public offer and internal accruals.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones futures were up 123 points, indicating a positive opening in the US stock market today.

Markets in Europe and Asia edged higher on Friday as investors await a key U.S. jobs report with the intent to gauge the outlook for Federal Reserve policy.

China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index came in at 49.7, representing a softer rate of contraction compared to July's figure of 49.3.

Meanwhile, China's central bank announced first reserve ratio cut in 2023 to counter Yuan depreciation. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it would cut the foreign exchange reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 200 basis points (bps) to 4% from 6% beginning September 15, as per reports.

US stocks ended mixed on Thursday after inflation and weekly jobless data. Investors are keenly awaiting employment data due on Friday for clues on the Fed's monetary policy outlook.

Barometers trade with minor cuts, PSU bank shares decline.

The key equity indices traded with minor losses in mid-morning trade. The Nifty hovered below the 19,350 mark. PSU bank shares extended losses for the third day in a row.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 21.91 points or 0.03% to 65,065.34. The Nifty 50 index shed 20.70 points or 0.11% to 19,326.75.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.21% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.55%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,875 shares rose and 1,552 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged.

Trading was volatile as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month August series to September series. The August 2023 F&O contracts expire today, 31 August 2023.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Rishabh Instruments received bids for 90.12 lakh shares as against 77.90 lakh shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:18 IST on Thursday (31 August 2023). The issue was subscribed 1.16 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday (30 August 2023) and it will close on Friday (1 September 2023). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 418-441 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 34 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index shed 0.70% to 4,495.80. The index fell 1.51% in three trading sessions.

Bank of Baroda (down 1.38%), Central Bank of India (down 1.27%), Canara Bank (down 1.18%), Bank of India (down 1.14%), UCO Bank (down 1.11%), Union Bank of India (down 0.81%), Punjab National Bank (down 0.55%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 0.49%), State Bank of India (down 0.43%) and Indian Bank (down 0.12%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Mahindra Logistics added 0.18%. The company announced that its board approved the appointment of Saurabh Taneja, as chief financial officer (CFO) and key managerial personnel (KMP) of the company with effect from 1 September 2023.

Gallantt Ispat advanced 2.84% after the company announced that it has received the delivery of one railway rake out of the two rakes purchased by it, and the same would help in bringing down freight costs and improve efficiency.

Sportking India rose 0.38%. The company said that CRISIL Ratings has reaffirmed its 'CRISIL A/Stable/CRISIL A1' ratings on the bank facilities of the company.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed on Thursday as China's factory activity contracted for a fifth straight month in August. The official manufacturing purchasing managers index came in at 49.7, representing a softer rate of contraction compared with July's figure of 49.3.

US stocks rose on Wednesday after latest GDP data hinted at pause in interest rate hike.

The United States' second quarter GDP growth was revised downward from an initial estimate of 2.4% to 2.1% annualised, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The downward revision mostly reflects lower estimates for corporate expenditure, which is partially offset by an upward revision for state and local government spending.

Market extends gains, Nifty above 19,350; PSU banks slide.

The key equity indices extended gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty scaled above the 19,350 mark. PSU bank stocks declined after rising in the past trading session.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 121.42 points or 0.19% to 65,118.02. The Nifty 50 index added 50 points or 0.26% to 19,356.05.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.54% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.67%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,089 shares rose and 1,397 shares fell. A total of 161 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 0.74% to 12.31. The Nifty 31 August 2023 futures were trading at 19,348.60, at a discount 7.45 points as compared with the spot at 19,356.05.

The Nifty option chain for the 31 August 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 139.4 lakh contracts at the 19,400 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 131.9 lakh contracts were seen at 19,300 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index fell 0.51% to 4,541.75.The index advanced 0.75% in the past trading session.

Union Bank of India (down 5.7%), Indian Bank (down 1.65%), UCO Bank (down 1.23%), Central Bank of India (down 0.84%), Bank of Maharashtra (down 0.51%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 0.48%) and Punjab & Sind Bank (down 0.29%) slipped.

On the other hand, Punjab National Bank (up 0.72%), Bank of India (up 0.35%) and Bank of Baroda (up 0.32%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bayer CropScience gained 0.92%. The chemical manufacturer said that Duraiswami Narain has resigned from the position of vice chairman & managing director and chief executive officer of the company, effective from close of business hours on 31 October 2023.

Meanwhile, the company's board has approved the appointment of Simon Wiebusch as the vice chairman, managing director and CEO of the company, with effect from 1November 2023.

Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF) jumped 4.67% after the company announced that the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has granted the Navratna Status to RCF.

Gravita India rose 0.14%. The company said that its step down subsidiary situated in Togo, West Africa has started commercial production of lead from its existing recycling plant having an annual capacity of around 6,000 MTPA. The company has been sourcing scrap from Togo for the last 3 years and has set a strong scrap collection network before establishing the plant.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper declined 0.22% to 7.162 from its previous close of 7.178.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.6100, compared with its close of 82.6300 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2023 settlement rose 0.18% to Rs 58,995.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.21% to 103.84.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.54% to 4.190.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2023 settlement shed 4 cents or 0.05% to $84.38 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks were trading higher on Tuesday after US equities moved higher overnight, with traders awaiting a raft of economic figures over the next few days for clues on the outlook for global central bank policy.

Wall Street ended higher and U.S. Treasury yields retraced earlier gains on Monday, capping the first session of a week likely to be light in volume but heavy with economic data that could affect whether the Federal Reserve will take a rate-hike breather in September.

Indices snap 2-day losses, Sensex rises 110 pts, Nifty above 19,300.

The headline equity indices ended with minor gains on Monday, snapping a two-day losing streak. The Nifty traded a tad above the 19,300 level after hitting the day's low of 19,249.70 in morning trade. Realty, pharma and healthcare stocks were in demand while IT, FMCG and oil & gas shares declined.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 110.09 points or 0.17% to 64,996.60. The Nifty 50 index added 40.25 points or 0.21% to 19,306.05.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.59% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.67%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE 2,061 shares rose and 1,677 shares fell. A total of 169 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, advanced 2.60% to 12.40.

Economy:

India's foreign exchange reserves declined by $7.273 billion to a near two-month low of $594.89 billion as of Aug. 18 and posted their steepest weekly fall in more than six months, data from the country's central bank showed on Friday.

Gold reserves were down by $515 million to $43.824 billion, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $119 million to $18.205 billion, the apex bank said.

The country's reserve position with the IMF was also down by $25 million to $5.072 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Vishnu Prakash R Punglia received bids for 184.36 crore shares as against 2.19 crore shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:27 IST on Monday (28 August 2023). The issue was subscribed 84.07 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Thursday (24 August 2023) and it will close on Monday (28 August 2023). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 94-99 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 150 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index rose 0.94% to 537.95. The index decliend 1.31% in the past trading session.

Indiabulls Real Estate (up 3.56%), Godrej Properties (up 2.34%), Sobha (up 2.13%), Phoenix Mills (up 1.73%) and DLF (up 1.49%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 0.54%), Oberoi Realty (up 0.11%) edged higher.

On the other hand, Macrotech Developers (down 1.7%), Brigade Enterprises (down 0.77%) and Mahindra Lifespace Developers (down 0.59%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care surged 6.47% after the company's net profit zoomed to Rs 151.24 crore in June 2023 quarter as against Rs 42.55 crore posted in June 2022 quarter. The company said that the jump in profit after tax (PAT) was because of strong base business growth and one-time help.

Revenue from operations rose 9.8% to Rs 852.53 crore in the quarter ended June 2023 as compared with a year ago, driven by strong brand fundamentals and integrated growth strategy.

HDFC Bank rose 1.02% after the bank announced that its board has approved the re-appointment of Sanmoy Chakrabarti as the chief risk officer (CRO) of the Bank, for a further period of 5 years, with effect from 14 December 2023 to 31 December 2028.

Patel Engineering was locked in an upper circuit of 5% after the company along with JV partner has received letter of award (LoA) for Dibang multipurpose project for construction of civil works for Lot-4. The LoA is received from NHPC, which was declared as L1 earlier. The project is to be completed in 86 months. The value of the project stood at Rs 3,637.12 crore. The company being 50% partner in the JV, its share in the project is Rs 1,818.56 crore.

Sprayking Agro Equipment locked in an upper circuit of 5% after the company received repeat order worth Rs 1.5 crore for supplying Brass parts.

Gland Pharma gained 1.40%. The US drug regulator conducted a pre-market inspection covering its quality system/current good manufacturing practice regulations for medical devices (21 CFR Part 820) at the company's Pashamylaram Facility at Hyderabad from 23 August 2023 to 26 August 2023. The inspection concluded with two observations on Form 483 with respect to ANDA filed for the product to be manufactured in a PEN device.

Bharat Electronics (BEL) added 1.24%. BEL said that it has received order worth Rs 1,075 crore from Hindustan Shipyards for supply of CMS, Communication Systems, EW Systems and other sensors for Fleet Support Ships.

BEML gained 2.85% after the company received contract for export order from KAMSS, Russia, for BEML Dozer BD355 valuing at $19.71 million. The contract is to be executed in different phases starting from August 2023, for which purchase order has been received by the company.

Venus Remedies rallied 4.45% after the company has received marketing approval from Saudi Arabia, the largest pharmaceutical market in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, for its product Enoxaparin in pre-filled syringes.

LT Foods rose 1.69% after the company clarified that the recent notification by the Government of India regarding the minimum export price of Basmati Rice does not impact its exports.

Indian Bank added 0.51% after the bank said that a meeting of directors is scheduled on 30 August 2023 to consider the modes/modalities of raising the equity capital within the limit of Rs 4,000 crore (including premium). The public sector bank may raise equity capital of the bank through QIP/FPO/rights issue or in combination thereof.

CCL Products (India) fell 2.04% after the company reported the breakdown of a key equipment at its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ngon Coffee Company in Vietnam. In a recent announcement, CCL Products (India) has revealed a significant setback at its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ngon Coffee Company in Vietnam. The company reported the breakdown of a key equipment, which is expected to result in a temporary interruption of production during the upcoming quarter.

Global Markets:

Markets in Europe and Asia advanced on Monday after China's support for its equities market revived positive sentiment and as Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve would ?proceed carefully? on whether to raise interest rates again.

Chinese equities rose as the government lowered stamp duty on stock trades for the first time since 2008 and pledged to slow the pace of initial public offerings.

Meanwhile, shares of the world's most indebted property developer China Evergrande Group plunged as much as 87% on its open on Monday, trading for the first time since 21 March 2022. In July, the beleaguered company filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court.

US stocks rallied Friday as traders cheered comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the annual central bank conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that point to stronger-than-expected economic growth.

U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said that inflation remains ?too high? and that the central bank is ?prepared to raise rates further if appropriate.?

Speaking at Jackson Hole over the weekend, Powell acknowledged that progress has been made on inflation and that the Fed will remain flexible as it contemplates further moves, but gave little indication that it's ready to start easing rates anytime soon.

Sensex, Nifty at the low point of the day; bank stocks decline.

The key equity indices extended losses and hit the day's low in morning trade. The Nifty traded tad above the 19,250 level. Bank stocks witnessed significant selling pressure.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 416.33 points or 0.64% to 64,836.01. The Nifty 50 index lost 131.55 points or 0.68% to 19,255.15.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.69% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.45%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1284 shares rose and 1983 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.

Investor sentiment took a hit after the RBI, in its latest minutes, hinted that further rate hikes could be a possibility due to re-emerging of inflationary pressures. Although, RBI expects vegetable prices shocks to calm ahead, however, it sees risks to the food and the overall inflation outlook from El Nino conditions, volatile global food prices and skewed monsoon distribution. And hence, RBI said these factors warrant a close monitoring.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index fell 0.85% to 44,118.55. The index had advanced 1.14% in the past two sessions.

IndusInd Bank (down 1.47%), Punjab National Bank (down 1.43%), Axis Bank (down 0.77%), State Bank of India (down 0.62%) and ICICI Bank (down 0.6%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers were HDFC Bank (down 0.52%), Bank of Baroda (down 0.5%) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 0.28%).

On the other hand, Bandhan Bank (up 1.28%), Federal Bank (up 0.92%) and AU Small Finance Bank (up 0.7%) moved up.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.10% to 7.200 from its previous close of 7.193.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.6900, compared with its close of 82.5625 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2023 settlement fell 0.16% to Rs 58,716.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.26% to 104.25.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.33% to 4.253.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2023 settlement added 30 cents or 0.36% to $83.66 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

DB Realty fell 2.62%. The company sold its entire stake in unit Royal Netra Constructions for Rs 2.55 crore to Man Infraconstruction and Platinumcorp Constructions.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers lost 1.01%. The company signed an MoU with DEMPO Group, Goa, to launch a collaboration model to build commercial vessels in their shipyards in Goa and Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

Astra Microwave Products jumped 5.09%. The company got orders worth Rs 158 crore from ISRO, DRDO, and DPSU for the supply of satellite sub-systems, airborne radar, sub-systems of radar, and EW projects.

Prakash Industries slipped 2.60%. The company received the Environment Ministry's approval for the Bhaskarpara coal mine in Chhattisgarh, which will reduce costs and boost revenue through the open market sale of coal.

ADF Foods advanced 0.53%. The company set 11 September 2023 as the record date for the stock split in the ratio of 5:1.

Reliance Industries (RIL) shed 0.47%. RIL and Oberoi Hotels and Resorts will jointly manage three properties across India and the UK. Properties include Anant Vilas in Mumbai, Stoke Park in the UK, and a new project in Gujarat.

Bharat Electronics (BEL) gained 1.27%. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has accorded 'Acceptance of Necessity' for the procurement and installation of an electronic warfare (EW) suite on Mi-17 V5 helicopters. The EW suite will be procured from BEL.

Shoppers Stop slumped 9.58%. The company's MD and CEO, Venu Nair, has resigned effective 31 August 2023 due to personal reasons. Homestop chief Kavindra Mishra has been promoted as executive director and CEO for a period of three years, effective 1 September 2023.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures were up 45 points, indicating a positive opening in the US stocks today.

Asia-Pacific markets fell across the board as investors prepared for signals on U.S. monetary policy from central bankers' comments at the Jackson Hole meeting on Friday, including a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

In Asia, the core inflation rate for Japan's capital Tokyo came in at 2.8% for August, slightly below the market expectation of 2.9%. This is the lowest growth rate seen in Tokyo's core inflation since September 2022.

Overall inflation for Tokyo came in at 2.9%, lower than the 3.2% seen in July.

On Thursday in the U.S., all three major indexes fell as the tech fueled rally ended, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average seeing its worst day since March, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite saw their biggest one-day loss since Aug. 2.

The Dow closed 1.08% lower and the S&P 500 lost 1.35%. The Nasdaq saw the largest loss, shedding 1.87%.

All of the S&P sectors were in the red on Thursday, with information technology, consumer discretionary and communication services being the biggest laggards of the market. Financials made a short-lived recovery in the afternoon, rising just above flat.

Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker has reportedly said on Thursday that he doesn't see the need for further interest rate hikes and could see cuts happening in 2024 depending on data.

Initial jobless claims last week fell more than expected, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time filings for unemployment benefits totaled 230,000 for the period ended Aug. 19, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week and less than the Dow Jones estimate for 240,000.

Continuing claims, data for which runs a week behind, totaled 1.702 million, a slight decrease but a bit higher than the widely reported market estimate of 1.69 million.

Key barometers turn red; metal shares edge higher.

The domestic equity benchmarks gave up all gains and turned red in trade. The Nifty traded below the 19,400 level. Metal shares extended gains for fourth day in a row.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 82.21 points or 0.13% to 65,137.82. The Nifty 50 index lost 21.45 points or 0.11% to 19,375.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.52% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.74%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2078 shares rose and 1177 shares fell. A total of 169 shares were unchanged.

New Listing:

Shares of TVS Supply Chain Solutions were currently trading at Rs 200.35 at 10:20 IST on the BSE, representing a premium of 1.7% compared with the issue price of Rs 197.

The scrip was listed at a price of Rs 206.30, at a premium of 4.72% as compared to the issue price.

So far, the stock has hit a high of 208.50 and a low of 199. On the BSE, over 9.46 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter so far.

The initial public offer (IPO) of TVS Supply Chain Solutions was subscribed 2.78 times. The issue opened for bidding on 10 August 2023 and it closed on 14 August 2023. The price band of the IPO was fixed at Rs 187-197 per share.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 0.80% to 6,687.70. The index has added 3.20% in four sessions.

Hindalco Industries (up 2.48%), National Aluminium Company (up 1.8%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 1.72%), NMDC (up 1.32%) and Steel Authority of India (up 1.23%) were the top gainers.

Among the other gainers were Tata Steel (up 1.02%), Hindustan Copper (up 1%), Jindal Stainless (up 0.78%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 0.69%) and JSW Steel (up 0.41%).

Adani Enterprises (down 0.76%), Welspun Corp (down 0.39%) and Hindustan Zinc (down 0.24%) turned lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Communications rose 1.23%. The company's board approved the issue of 1,75,000 NCDs of face value of Rs 1 lakh each aggregating Rs 1750 crore on private placement basis. The deemed date of allotment is 29 August 2023.

K P R Mill shed 0.72%. The company announced that U.S. based FII, Fidelity has acquired more than 1% stake in the company during last week.

NBCC (India) rose 0.12%. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between NBCC and DMRC to work together in the field of building & infrastructure development in overseas.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper fell 0.19% to 7.204 from its previous close of 7.218.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.9500, compared with its close of 82.9900 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2023 settlement added 0.03% to Rs 58,593.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.08% to 103.48.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.50% to 4.307.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2023 settlement gained 17 cents or 0.20% to $84.20 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks are mixed on Wednesday as investors assess private business activity surveys from Australia and Japan, as well as inflation figures from Singapore.

Australia's business activity contracted at the fastest pace in 19 months, according to Juno Bank, with its flash composite purchasing managers index coming in at 47.1 for August. Japan saw a faster expansion in its business activity, with its flash PMI for August at 54.3 compared to July's 53.8.

US stocks ended mixed on Tuesday ahead of a key speech later this week from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.