The domestic equity benchmarks ended near the flatline with some positive bias on Friday. The Nifty settled above the 24,800 level. Barring the Nifty Auto index, all the other sectoral indices on the NSE ended in red.

As per provisional closing, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 33.02 points or 0.04% to 81,086.21. The Nifty 50 index added 11.65 points or 0.05% to 24,823.15.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.66% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.15 %.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,063 shares rose and 1,873 shares fell. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 4.25% to 13.55.

IPO Update :

The initial public offer (IPO) of Orient Technologies received 1,06,10,57,592 bids for shares as against 74,49,846 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 13:20 IST on Friday (21 August 2024). The issue was subscribed 142.43 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday (21 August 2024) and it will close on Friday (23 August 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 195 to Rs 206 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 72 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index added 1.07% to 25,836.40. The index shed 0.09% in the past trading session.

Bajaj Auto (up 4.92%), TVS Motor Company (up 2.17%), Tata Motors-DVR (up 2%), Samvardhana Motherson International (up 1.94%), Tata Motors (up 1.64%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.97%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.95%), Bosch (up 0.34%), Apollo Tyres (up 0.33%) and Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.21%) edged higher.

On the other hand, Exide Industries (down 2.6%), MRF (down 0.78%) and Eicher Motors (down 0.77%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Adani Power (APL) rose 0.19%. The company said that it has received an approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Hyderabad Bench to acquire 100% stake in Lanco Amarkantak Power (LAPL).

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries advanced 1.39% fter the company announced that it has launched Tedizolid Phosphate tablets in India under the brand name Starizo.

RailTel Corporation of India jumped 5.81% after the company informed that it has received a work order worth Rs 52.66 crore from Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board for providing various services.

JSW Energy fell 1.08%. The company said that its wholly owned subsidiary JSW Neo Energy has received letter of award (LoA) for setting up 300 MW ISTS-connected Wind-Solar Hybrid Power Project from NTPC.

Jain Irrigation Systems zoomed 11% after the company signed memorandum of association of Coffee Board of India for the commercial release of high quality, disease-resistant coffee plants to growers.

Jindal Saw rose 0.29%. The company’s board has approved the sub division of every two equity share of face value of Rs 2 each into one equity shares having face value of Re 1 each.

Poly Medicure added 3.47% after the company said that it has raised Rs 1,000 crore by way of issue of qualified institutional placement (QIP).

Prism Johnson rallied 3.87% after the company announced that it has entered into a shareholders agreement for acquiring 50% of the issued and paid-up capital of Sunbath Sanitary.

Global Markets:

Europeans market advanced while most Asian stocks ended higher on Friday as investors anticipated comments from Jerome Powell later on Friday.

The yen strengthened early Friday after Japanese inflation data surpassed expectations. Government figures revealed that core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 2.7% year-over-year in July, while headline CPI inflation increased by 2.8% during the same period.

U.S. stocks declined on Thursday, with the S&P 500 falling 0.89% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 dropping 1.67%. The Dow Jones also decreased by 0.43%. Nvidia Corp. led losses in the tech sector with a sharp 3.7% drop, while Intel Corp. fell by 6.1%. Conversely, bank stocks rose, and energy shares gained alongside rising oil prices. Notably, Peloton Interactive Inc. soared 35% after reporting earnings that exceeded estimates.

Fed Chair Powell is scheduled to speak at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday, where he is expected to provide further insights into the central bank’s plans for potential interest rate cuts.

New jobless claims in the U.S. increased slightly last week but remained relatively low, suggesting a gradual slowdown in the labor market. This trend could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to begin lowering interest rates next month. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 232,000 for the week ended August 17, according to the Department of Labor.