The key equity indices traded near the flatline with small losses in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,350 mark. Oil & Gas shares extended gains for the second trading session. Trading could be volatile due to weekly F&O series expiry today.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 73.19 points or 0.09% to 79,850.12. The Nifty 50 index lost 13.30 points or 0.05% to 24,311.15.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.29% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.58%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,153 shares rose and 1,710 shares fell. A total of 120 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stated that India is on track to become the world's third-largest economy within the next 3-4 years. Goyal highlighted the government's commitment to transforming India into a global manufacturing hub and achieving a $2 trillion export target by 2030. He emphasized that India's rapidly growing start-up ecosystem, expanding infrastructure, and investments in manufacturing are creating numerous opportunities for trade, business, jobs, and exports. The government is working to integrate India into global value chains and establish more global capacity centers to boost services exports. Goyal asserted that the $2 trillion export target is feasible with the right building blocks and a strong macroeconomic foundation.

The government is finalizing 'Jan Vishwas 2.0' to converge industry interests with national goals, decriminalize certain aspects, and reduce compliance burden. The government remains committed to calibrated reforms, expanding healthcare, providing basic amenities, and speeding up infrastructure development. With the right policies and industry collaboration, India is poised to achieve its ambitious economic goals in the coming years.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index added 1.18% to 12,790.10. The index gained 1.22% in the two trading sessions.

Oil India (up 5.66%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (up 4.19%), Petronet LNG (up 2.84%), Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (up 2.53%) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 1.61%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 1.11%), Reliance Industries (up 0.7%), Indraprastha Gas (up 0.47%), Adani Total Gas (up 0.42%) and GAIL (India) (up 0.35%) edged higher.

On the other hand, Aegis Logistics (down 3.24%), Gujarat Gas (down 1.07%) and Mahanagar Gas (down 0.94%) moved lower.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal rose 0.03% to 6.978 as compared with previous close 6.977.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.5950, compared with its close of 83.5150 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2024 settlement rose 0.31% to Rs 72,895.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.14% to 104.90.

The United States 10-year bond yield added 0.14% to 4.284.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2024 settlement added 41 cents or 0.48% to $85.49 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Ahluwalia Contracts (India) rallied 4.0% after the civil construction company secured an order for development of Lal Bahadur International Airport, Varanasi worth Rs 893.48 crore.

Data Patterns (India) surged 5.17% after Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) awarded the company a project for developing radar signal processor with active antenna array simulator.

Oriana Power was locked in 5% upper circuit after the construction engineering firm received a new order for a 40 MWp solar power plant under the captive segment.