Closing Bell: Sensex, Nifty end higher amid volatility; PSU banks drag

Taking Stock: Sensex, Nifty End With Minor Gains After Hitting Fresh Record Highs

On the sectoral front, the Nifty PSU bank index shed 2 percent but the metal index was up 1 percent, and the IT index gained 0.7 percent... Read More

Indian rupee ended flat at 74.17per dollar, amid buyingsawin the domestic equity market.It opened flat at 74.16 per dollar against previous close of 74.18 and traded in the range of 74.14-74.18.

Benchmark indices ended in the positive territory on August 5 amid volatility.

At close, the Sensex was up 123.07 points or 0.23% at 54,492.84, and the Nifty was up 35.80 points or 0.22% at 16,294.60. About 1036 shares have advanced, 1933 shares declined, and 101 shares are unchanged.

On the sectoral front, Nifty PSU bank index shed 2 percent, while metal index rose 1 percent, and IT index was up 0.7 percent. The midcap index ended flat, while smallcap index fell 0.4 percent.

Bharti Airtel, Eicher Motors, ITC, Tech Mahindra and Tata Steel were the top Nifty gainers. SBI, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv were among the top losers.

Bharti Airtel announced the launch of ‘Airtel Office Internet’ – a unified enterprise grade solution for the emerging digital connectivity needs of small businesses, SOHOs and early stage tech start-ups.

Bharti Airtel was quoting at Rs 597.70, up Rs 23.50, or 4.09 percent on the BSE.

The market witnessed the continuation of positive trend and an attempt to hold above the support level above the Nifty 50 Index level of 16200. Sustaining above 16200 is the key factor from a short-term perspective, maintaining above this level is important for the market to gain momentum and extend the rally until 16500. The momentum indicators like RSI and MACD indicating a positive outlook to continue.

Oil prices declined towards $70 a barrel on Thursday as more countries imposed fresh movement restrictions to counter a surge in COVID-19 cases, though Middle East tensions offered support.

The JLR UK sales were down 46.6% at 4,528 units against 8,476 units. The Jaguar UK sales were down 53.1% at 1,288 units against 2,746 units and Land Rover UK sales were down 43.4% at 3,240 units versus 5,730 units, YoY.

Tata Motors was quoting at Rs 299.40, up Rs 1.20, or 0.40 percent on the BSE.

Drug major Aurobindo Pharma is looking to commercialise a COVID-19 vaccine, build a portfolio of biosimilar products, expand API production as part of its growth plans going ahead, as per company's annual report for 2020-21.

The Hyderabad-based drug major is looking to develop products with higher complexity, focus on injectables business and expand business in high growth markets like China.

Aurobindo Pharma was quoting at Rs 912.50, up Rs 6.45, or 0.71 percent on the BSE.

Gold prices were on the back foot on Thursday as an uptick in the dollar following hawkish comments from a key Federal Reserve official raised early tapering bets and dented demand for the safe-haven metal.

REC has reported 22.2 percent jump in its Q1 net profit at Rs 2,246.6 crore versus Rs 1,839 crore and revenue was up 18.2% at Rs 9,587.4 crore versus Rs 8,109 crore, YoY.

REC was quoting at Rs 155.65, up Rs 1.30, or 0.84 percent on the BSE.

The company has reported net profit at Rs 141.5 crore versus Rs 66 crore and revenue was up 43.1% at Rs 1,749 crore versus Rs 1,222 crore, YoY.

Birla Corporation was quoting at Rs 1,401.85, up Rs 39.40, or 2.89 percent on the BSE.

Vodafone Idea's Stock Down 46% Year-to-date, Should You Remain Invested?

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While manufacturing has rebounded strongly post the second wave, services continue to remain in a contractionary mode as indicated by the services PMI numbers which registered a third reading of below 50 at 45.4. However, the pact of contraction slowed down as the reading improved from 41.2 in June. The services sector witnessed a contraction across all parameters including business activity, new orders and employment.

Due to the contraction in the services PMI numbers the composite index too registered a reading of 49.2 in July up from 43.1 in June but still marginally below the 50 mark.

Manufacturing activities however was the bright spot as the PMI increased from 48.1 to 55.3. However, we expect the services sector to bounce back into the expansionary mode going forward due to continued unlocking of the economy while manufacturing activities are expected to strengthen further from current levels.

Overall we expect continued improvement in economic activities which will be positive for the markets though the possibility of a third Covid wave will be the key risk to watch out for.