The domestic equity benchmarks pared all gains and traded in negative terrain in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,200 level after hitting the day’s high of 24,340.50 in afternoon trade. IT, metal and oil & gas shares declined while media, healthcare and auto shares advanced. Trading was volatile due to weekly F&O series expiry today.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 453.48 points or 0.57% to 79,014.53. The Nifty 50 index added 130.80 points or 0.54% to 24,166.70.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.05% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.34%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,016 shares rose and 1,814 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, gained 4.73% to 16.94.

Economy:

On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its meeting today (August 8, 2024) decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.50%.

Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate remains unchanged at 6.25% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.75%.

The MPC also decided to remain focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation progressively aligns to the target, while supporting growth.

These decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4% within a band of +/- 2%, while supporting growth.

The projected real GDP growth for 2024-25 is maintained at 7.2%. The quarterly breakdown is as follows: Q1 at 7.1%; Q2 at 7.2%; Q3 at 7.3%; and Q4 at 7.2%. Real GDP growth for Q1:2025-26 is projected at 7.2%.

The projected CPI inflation for 2024-25 remains unchanged at 4.5%. The quarterly breakdown is as follows: Q2 at 4.4%; Q3 at 4.7%; and Q4 at 4.3%. CPI inflation for Q1:2025-26 is projected at 4.4%.

During the recent policy meeting, Dr. Shashanka Bhide, Dr. Rajiv Ranjan, Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra and Shaktikanta Das voted to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.50%. Dr. Ashima Goyal and Prof. Jayanth R. Varma voted to reduce the policy repo rate by 25 basis points.

The minutes of the MPC’s meeting will be published on August 22, 2024. The next meeting of the MPC is scheduled during October 7 to 9, 2024.

Gainers & Losers:

HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 2%), Tata Motors (up 1.95%), HDFC Bank (up 1.33%), Cipla (up 0.93%) and Bharti Airtel (up 0.75%) were major Nifty gainers.

LTIMindtree (down 2.88%), Grasim Industries (down 2.80%), Infosys (down 2.74%) Asian Paints (down 2.73%), and Power Grid Corporation of India (down 2.73%) were major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) slipped 3%. The company reported 41.36% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 450.69 crore in Q1 FY25 as comapred with Rs 318.82 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations fell 3.4% YoY to Rs 3,331.58 crore during the quarter.

Lemon Tree Hotels tumbled 8.11% after the company reported a 15.55% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 19.81 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared to Rs 23.46 crore posted in Q1 FY24. However, revenue from operations jumped 19.52% year on year (YoY) to Rs 268.02 crore in Q1 FY25.

BSE surged 8.07% after the exchange platform’s consolidated net profit surged 147.62% to 265.05 crore in Q1 FY25 as against Rs 107.04 crore posted in Q1 FY24. However, revenue from operations increased 24.43% sequentially to Rs 607.70 crore in the qarter ended 30 June 2024.

Balaji Amines dropped 5.95% after the company’s consolidated net profit declined 17.90% to Rs 43.29 crore in Q1 FY25 as against Rs 52.73 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations was at Rs 384.75 crore in Q1 FY25, down 17.02% from Rs 463.67 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Radico Khaitan added 0.62%. The company’s standalone net profit jumped 20.7% to Rs 76.3 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 63.2 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) increased 19.1% YoY to Rs 1,136.5 crore during the quarter.

KPI Green Energy was hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company’s consolidated net profit surged 98.76% to Rs 66.11 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared to Rs 33.26 crore recorded in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations climbed 83.78% year on year (YoY) to Rs 348.01 crore in Q1 FY25.

ITD Cementation India surged 14.92% after the company's consolidated net profit zoomed 91.89% to Rs 100.19 crore in Q1 FY25 as against 52.21 crore posted in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 29.95% year on year (YoY) to Rs 2,381.49 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2024.

Apollo Tyres declined 1.88% after the company’s consolidated net profit slipped 23.91% to Rs 302 crore in Q1 FY25 as against Rs 396.91 crore recorded in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations grew by 1.45% to Rs 6,334.85 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared to Rs 6,244.58 crore posted in the same period a year ago.

Global Markets:

European stocks declined while Asian stocks traded mixed on Thursday, following a decline on Wall Street. The continued volatility in global markets reflects investor concerns over the global economy.

Market participants are also closely monitoring corporate earnings reports being released worldwide.

US stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq leading the decline amid a slump in technology shares. A weak demand for a 10-year Treasury auction further rattled investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.60%, the S&P 500 lost 0.77%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.05%.