21-Aug-2025 12:30
Benchmarks trade with moderate gains; oil & gas shares advance
The domestic equity indices traded with decent gains in the early-afternoon trade, extending their five-day rally on hopes of a potential GST rate cut. However, investors remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's annual symposium, awaiting signals on the future direction of interest rates.
The Nifty traded above the 25,050 mark. Oil & gas shares advanced after declining in the past trading session. Trading activity may be volatile today as markets brace for the weekly expiry of Nifty50 futures and options contracts.
At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 200.56 points or 0.25% to 82,058.40. The Nifty 50 index rose 41.35 points or 0.17% to 25,091.90.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.31% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.20%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,250 shares rose and 1,651 shares fell. A total of 196 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
India's private sector witnessed a sharp acceleration in business activity in August, with robust gains across both manufacturing and services, according to the latest HSBC Flash PMI data.
The HSBC Flash India Composite PMI Output Index surged to 65.2 in August, up from 61.1 in July, signaling one of the fastest rates of expansion in over a year.
The services sector led the upturn, with the HSBC Flash India Services PMI Business Activity Index climbing to 65.6, compared to 60.5 in July. This marks a significant boost in services output and reflects strong demand conditions and rising new business intakes.
Meanwhile, manufacturing also remained firmly in growth territory. The HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI Output Index rose to 64.2, up from 62.5 in July. The broader Manufacturing PMI, which includes new orders, employment, and inventories, edged up to 59.8, compared to 59.1 in the previous month.
India's eight core industries grew by 2% in July 2025 compared to the same month last year, according to data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Wednesday. The growth was driven by higher production in steel, cement, fertilisers, and electricity.
These eight sectors'coal, crude oil, natural gas, petroleum refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity'account for 40.27% of the weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), making them key indicators of overall industrial performance.
Steel, which holds the highest weight (17.92%) in the index, surged 12.8% in July, buoyed by strong demand from government infrastructure projects. Cement output rose 11.7%, reflecting robust construction and infrastructure activity. Fertiliser production increased 2%, supported by healthy kharif sowing and good monsoon rains. Electricity generation edged up by 0.5%.
However, several sectors saw declines. Coal production dropped 12.3% due to heavy monsoon rains. Crude oil and natural gas output fell by 1.3% and 3.2% respectively, while refinery production dipped 1%.
Cumulatively, core sector growth for April'July FY26 stood at 1.6% year-on-year. Steel and cement led the gains with growth of 8.5% and 8.9%, respectively.
The revised core sector growth for June 2025 stood at 2.2%, pointing to a steady industrial trend in the early months of the fiscal year.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 1.56% to 11.60. The Nifty 28 August 2025 futures were trading at 25,140 at a premium of 84.10 points as compared with the spot at 25,091.90.
The Nifty option chain for the 28 August 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 85.3 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 79.1 lakh contracts was seen at 25,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The NIFTY Oil & Gas index rose 0.52% to 11,244.10. The index declined 0.13% in the past trading session.
Gujarat State Petronet (up 1.32%), Reliance Industries (up 0.96%), Oil India (up 0.86%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (up 0.84%), Gujarat Gas (up 0.72%), Indraprastha Gas (up 0.65%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 0.57%), Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (up 0.53%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 0.36%) and Castrol India (up 0.25%) advanced.
On the other hand, Adani Total Gas (down 0.87%), Aegis Logistics (down 0.58%) and Mahanagar Gas (down 0.54%) edged lower.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Fedbank Financial Services gained 1.61% after the company's board is scheduled to meet on 25 August 2025, to consider raising Rs 2,500 crore via non convertible debentures (NCDs).
Bajaj Finserv rose 1.25% after a foreign broker initiated coverage with a 'buy' rating and a target price of Rs 2,420, citing strong earnings visibility and limited threat from Jio Financial.
Nucleus Software Exports added 1.04% after the company's board announced the appointment of Vishnu R Dusad, managing director (MD) of the company, as interim chief financial officer (CFO), effective 20 August 2025.
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