Key Highlights
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Nifty trades above 24,650 while Sensex inches up, despite cautious global cues and ongoing FII selling.
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Sector movers: Metals, auto, and PSU banks rise; IT and media underperform.
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Midcaps and smallcaps outperform, highlighting broader bullish undertones.
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Gold and silver prices surge; crude oil remains volatile.
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Global markets display caution as Wall Street ends mixed and Asian indices diverge.
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Bitcoin sees marginal gains; Ethereum outperforms among crypto majors.
Indian Stock Market Snapshot
The Indian stock markets navigated mixed global signals to trade higher around 1:00 pm IST. The Nifty 50 stood above 24,650, up about 0.44%, while the Sensex advanced nearly 300 points, or 0.38%. Consistent buying in midcaps and smallcaps supported overall market sentiment, with the Nifty MidCap100 and SmallCap indices gaining 0.21% and 0.12%, respectively.
Top gainers in the large-cap universe included Tata Steel, Bharat Electronics, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, and UltraTech Cement. Key laggards were Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Zomato, and ICICI Bank.
Sectoral Movements
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Metals: Strong gains with Tata Steel leading on robust quarterly results and optimism about China demand.
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Auto: Rallies as Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor, and Mahindra & Mahindra ride on upbeat July sales numbers.
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PSU Banks: Minor boost with Nifty PSU Bank index up 0.52%, reflecting ongoing government reforms.
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Energy: Sarda Energy & Minerals rallied 15%, showing strength in select energy names.
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IT: Under pressure, with Infosys and Tech Mahindra dragging after US tech volatility and concerns over global IT spending cuts.
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Media & Power: Witness selling as defensives lag and high-beta bets rule intraday sentiment.
Key Market Dynamics
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) persisted as net sellers, offloading equities worth ₹3,366 crore (August 1). Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) continued their buying streak, providing a cushion against FII exodus by buying ₹3,187 crore worth of shares.
Market volatility has inched up, with the India VIX climbing to 11.98, underlining uncertainty ahead of the RBI policy meeting.
Focus remains on big-ticket Q1 earnings (DLF, Escorts Kubota, Marico among others) and the Reserve Bank of India’s three-day Monetary Policy Committee, which is largely expected to maintain the status quo.
Gold, Silver, and Commodity Markets
Gold: Spot prices hit a fresh high, rising by ₹50 in the last 24 hours. In major metros, 24-carat gold traded at ₹1,01,400 per 10 grams, while 22-carat gold stood at ₹92,950 per 10 grams. International prices also edged higher, up 0.22% to $3,355.93 per ounce at the time of writing.
Silver: Prices held steady at ₹1,13,000 per kilogram, reflecting robust safe-haven demand and resilience against global uncertainties.
Crude Oil
WTI crude oil prices remained volatile, trading around $67.53 per barrel, a marginal daily gain of 0.3% following OPEC+ announcements of a supply increase. However, prices are still down about 7.4% year-on-year, demonstrating ongoing pressure from geopolitical headlines, US policy developments, and OPEC maneuvers.
Cryptocurrency Markets
Bitcoin traded at $114,287, up 0.7% in the last 24 hours, with market dominance slightly down to 61%. Ethereum outperformed, rising 2.5% to $3,532. The overall crypto market cap increased to $3.72 trillion, and trading volumes were higher, reflecting revived risk-on sentiment among digital asset investors.
International Market Gist
Wall Street showed bearish sentiment: Nasdaq dropped by 2.24% driven by select tech names, while the Dow declined 1.23% on renewed tariff and macroeconomic concerns. The S&P 500 also struggled for direction.
Asian peers displayed a divergent mood, with the Hang Seng up 0.91% and Nikkei down sharply by 1.22%. Uncertainties over Chinese growth, new tariffs, and FII behavior continue to steer the region’s short-term outlook.
Outlook
Globally, economic uncertainties, policy watch events, and earnings results clearly have markets on tenterhooks. Domestically, strong inflows from DIIs, optimism around select sectors, and supportive policy outlooks are cushioning indices against external headwinds. Volatility is likely to remain elevated as the RBI policy and major earnings triggers play out. Meanwhile, precious metals and select cryptocurrencies offer diversification opportunities as safe havens.
Sources: Equitymaster, Business Standard, Angel One, Moneycontrol, Kalinga TV, Times of India, 5paisa, CoinCodex, Trading Economics, Goodreturns, ABP Live
