Stock Market Today: Nifty, Sensex Settle At Record Highs As HDFC Bank, Infosys Rise

• The local currency weakened 5 paise to close at 83.44 against the US dollar.

• It closed at 83.39 on Friday.

Source: Bloomberg

Recouping losses from last session, Indian benchmarks settle at record closing high on Monday tracking gains in shares of HDFC Bank Ltd., and Infosys Ltd.

The NSE Nifty 50 ended at 131.35 points or 0.55% higher at 24,141.95, and the S&P BSE Sensex settled 443.46 points or 0.56% higher at 79,476.19.

Intraday, the Nifty 50 rose 0.59% to 24,152.40, and the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.62% to 79,521.67.

The NSE Nifty 50 started the July month marginally lower but a sharp upmove in the IT counters pushed the Index higher to end the session at a record closing level of 24,141.95 with gains of 131.35 points, said Aditya Gaggar, director, Progressive Shares

As far as sectors are concerned, Media was the top gainer while PSU Bank was the major laggard by ending the day with a loss of 0.76%. During the day, buying traction was witnessed in the Cement stocks. By breaching its congestion, Mid and Smallcaps advanced over 0.90% and outperformed the Benchmark Index. Bullish Engulfing on the daily chart indicates the presence of a strong momentum and we believe that the Index is heading toward the 24,250-24,400 zone while the support level is shifted higher at 23,940, he said.

"This week, focus will be on the US payrolls report, FOMC minutes, and other employment data. Technically, Nifty’s record high at 24174 and Sensex's peak at 79,671.58 will be key hurdles," said Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president, research, Mehta Equities Ltd.

HDFC Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., and Bajaj Finance Ltd. added to the benchmark index.

NTPC Ltd., State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., and Axis Bank Ltd. pressured the benchmark.

On NSE, nine sectors advanced, and three declined out of 12. The NSE Nifty Media led gains among other sectors, and the NSE Nifty PSU Bank declined the most.

Broader indices outperformed. The S&P BSE Midcap rose 1.11% and the S&P BSE Smallcap rose 1.58%.

Seventeen sectoral indices of the 20 on BSE ended higher and three fell. S&P BSE Information Technology rose the most.

Market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. Around 2,628 stocks rose, 1,370 fell, and 146 remained unchanged on the BSE.

• Upgrade to ‘Buy’, Target Price at Rs 23; 28% upside potential

• Retains ‘High Risk’ rating

• Raises FY25-28E EBITDA by 3-7% on the back of 2-6% higher ARPUs.

• Target EV/EBITDA multiple raised by one notch to 12x driven by improved industry dynamics.

• TP in a bull case could rise to Rs 28, continget on a favourable outcome in the AGR case

• Peak of competitive intensity is behind us

• Tariff hikes in-line-with to slightly-ahead-of market expectations in terms of magnitude & timing.

• 5G monetisation has now been initiated by the telcos

Atul Auto Ltd. hit a 20% to Rs 752.25 on Monday after it reported its total sales more than doubled in June.

Its total sales rose 107.4% on year at 2,628 units in June, according to an exchange filing.

• Local sales at 50,103 units in June 2024 vs 50,001 units in June 2023, up 0.20%

• Exports at 14,700 units in June 2024 vs 15,600 units in June 2023, down 5.77%

• Total sales at 64,803 units in June 2024 vs 65,601 in June 2023, down 1.22%

Source: Company statement

India's benchmark equity indices extended gains through midday on Monday after a muted opening on the back of gains in IT and financial services stocks.

At 12 p.m., the Nifty was trading 97.65 points, or 0.41%, higher at 24,108.25, and the Sensex gained 322.02 points, or 0.41%, to trade at 79,354.74.

The market is in a structural uptrend, but looking at the current technical structure, it has deviated quite a bit from its mean, according to Milan Vaishnav, founder of Gemstone Equity Research.

He advised investors to keep travelling with the trend but also to be vigilant and mindful about guarding profits at higher levels. He also stated that he does not anticipate a runaway move in Nifty.

Shares of HDFC Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. contributed the most to the Nifty.

While those of Larsen & Toubro Ltd., NTPC Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., State Bank Of India, and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. weighed on the index.

Most sectoral indices were trading higher with Nifty Media and Nifty IT leading.

Broader indices outperformed their larger peers, with the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap trading 0.95% and 1.95% higher, respectively, during midday on Monday.

Barring BSE Power and BSE Utilitiies, all sectoral indices on the BSE rose led by S&P BSE IT.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers. Around 2,627 stocks rose, 1,210 fell and 177 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Wockhardt Ltd.'s shares hit a 20% upper circuit and rose to 823.90, the highest level since Jan 30, 2018. The scrip has been gaining since last nine sessions. It remained locked in 20% upper circuit as of 1:51 p.m., as compared to 0.52% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 index.

The stock surged 245.31% in 12 months, and 94.16% on year to date basis. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 10.17 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 88.47, which implied the stock is overbought.

• RBI joins Project Nexus to allow cross-border P2P and P2M transactions with four ASEAN countries

• RBI to work with four ASEAN countries to link fast payment systems, like UPI, for such transactions

• Countries in the project include Malaysia, Phillipines, Singapore and Thailand

• Agreement signed on June 30

Source: RBI statement

• L&T Finance Ltd. had 15.49 lakh shares changed hands in a bunch trade.

• The company's 0.06% equity changed hands at Rs 189.21 per share.

• Buyers and sellers are unknown.

Source: Bloomberg

• Fischer Medical Ventures Ltd. is in pact with Singapore-based Nervotec to market its technology globally.

Source: Exchange filing

• Zomato Ltd.'s 11.1 lakh shares or 0.01% equity changed hands in a bunch trade.

• The bunch trade happened on BSE at Rs 202.55.

• Buyers and sellers are unknown.

Source: Cogencis

• Rane Holdings to acquire balance 51% stake in joint venture company, Rane NSK Steering Systems for Rs 45 crore.

• Board approves settlement agreement with NSK, Japan & Rane NSK Steering Systems

Source: Exchange filing

• CASA rose 5.6% on year to Rs 28,042 crore

• Total business rose 15.2% to Rs 1.7 lakh crore

• Total deposits rose 14.4% to Rs 92,349 crore

• Advances grew 16.1% to Rs 77,709 crore

Source: Exchange filing

• Partnership to focus on middle and low-income segments in rural and semi-urban locations

• To focus on new to credit customers, or those who have not been tapped by larger institutions

Source: Company statement

• Total loans sanctioned rose 24.2% to Rs 1.13 lakh crore

• Total loan disbursements rose 27.9% to Rs 43,652 crore

Source: Exchange filing

• Godrej Properties Ltd. has acquired seven-acre land parcel in Bengaluru.

• The project to have estimated revenue potential of Rs 1,200 crore.

Source: Exchange filing

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. shares Monday hit a life high on Monday and was trading at nearly 6% after it reported significant growth in loan disbursement Q1 for financial year 2024.

• Customers looking for upfront parity of price in EVs and ICE

• Looking at reducing prices further

• In scooters, have reached 15% penetration

• Need a ‘Mutual Funds’ moment for clean mobility

• Need to accelerate the development of charging infrastructure

Source: Swadesh Srivastava, Head, Emerging Mobility Business Unit, Hero MotoCorp at IESW 2024

• NCC Ltd. received orders worth Rs 355 crore in June related to company building division.

Source: Exchange filing

• Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd. received a tentative approval from US FDA for Bosutinib tablets

• Alert: Bosutinib tablets are indicated for the treatment of certain type of leukemia

Source: Exchange filing

• NMDC cuts iron ore lump and fine prices by Rs 500 per ton for July 2024.

Source: Company

• Larsen & Toubro Ltd. received an offshore order in the range of Rs 1,000-2,500 crore from Oil and Natural Gas Corp.

Source: Exchange filing

• S.C. Murmu to be ED in charge of Supervision

• J.K. Dash to be ED in charge of Regulation

• Charulatha Kar to be ED in charge of communication, HR management and RTI Act

Source: People in the know to NDTV Profit

• Green hydrogen to be made in India in Tuticorin with support from Singapore, Japan

• GST rates are being aligned to global value chains

• India as a policymaker is trying to create an ecosystem where investments are encouraged

• Close to $500 million of potential exists in India

Source: Sunil Bharthwal, Commerce Secretary, IESW 2024

• Total domestic PV sales rose 23% to 40,022 units

• Total domestic sales rose 11% to 69,397 units

• Total tractor sales rose 6% to 47,319 units

• Domestic tractor sales rose 6% to 45,888 units

• Three-wheeler sales fell 3% to 6,184 units

Source: Exchange filing

• The brokerage has set the price target of Rs 2,025, which implied a 15% upside.

• The 22nd largest player in IPM, outperformed IPM in past decade by 600 bps

• The brokerage expects 13% organic domestic sales CAGR over FY2024-27E

• Believes high-margin CMO vertical to double by FY28E led by healthy order book

• Forecasts 14% sales CAGR and 17% EBITDA CAGR over FY2024-27E

• Expects 230 bps expansion in EBITDA margins over FY2024-27E

Key risks include:

• Any senior management exits

• Resurfacing of NDMA concerns relating to Rantac

• High domestic sales concentration

• Aggressive amortization policy of the acquired brands

Shares of J.B. Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. jumped 8.63% to Rs 1,906.00, the highest level since its listing on April 29, 2003. It was trading 1.74% higher at Rs 1,785.10 as of 10:55 a.m., as compared to 0.33% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 index.

The scrip gained 50.73% in 12 months, and 9.62% on year to date basis. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 17 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 49.75.

Out of 14 analysts tracking the company, 11 maintain a 'buy' rating, two recommend a 'hold,' and one suggests 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 8.5%.

The NSE Nifty IT rose 1.57% to 36,726.50, the highest level since its incorporation. It was trading 1.56% higher at 36,722.40 as of 10:47 a.m., as compared to 0.29% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 index.

Shares of Tech Mahindra Ltd. rose to the highest level in over two years after the company launched Indus LLM, a indigenous foundational model designed to converse in multiple Indic languages and dialects.

The scrip rose 1.96% to Rs 1,458.45, the highest level since April 11, 2022. It was trading 1.76% higher at Rs 1,455.50 as of 10:39 a.m., as compared to 0.29% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 index.

Godrej Properties Ltd. pared its gains on Monday after hitting its life high at opening. This comes after the company alerted exchanges that they plan to develop a nearly 11-acre land parcel in Hinjewadi, Pune.

Shares of MOIL Ltd. extended losses for the fifth straight session on Monday to their lowest in nearly a month. The fall in stock prices today came after the manganese-ore mining company revised the prices of manganese ore, fines and chemical grades.

On the NSE, MOIL's stock fell as much as 4.3% during the day to Rs 473.10 apiece, the lowest since June 5. It was trading 1.84% lower at Rs 485.65, compared to a 0.27% advance in the benchmark Nifty at 9:42 a.m.

The share price has lost 11.4% during its five-session fall. It has risen 57% on a year-to-date basis and 162% in the last 12 months. The total traded volume so far in the day stood at 0.30 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 46.55.

Out of four analysts tracking the company, two have a 'buy' rating on the stock and as many suggest 'sell,' according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analyst price targets implies a potential upside of 0.2%.

• April-June growth to be softer than seasonality but expect 2Q commentary to be positive

• The weak start to the year on margins

• Sector has bottomed out on YoY basis in Q4FY24, likely to improve hereon

• On QoQ basis, growth trends likely to be soft with large divergence across companies

• Expect Infosys and LTIMindtree to be at higher end of growth, Wipro/TechM at lower end

• Expect most companies to retain FY24 outlook

• Infosys and TCS stack up well in terms of valuation and expectations

• Run up in Wipro makes it less favourable in term of risk reward

• HCLT needs strong execution to meet its guidance

• In mid caps, Coforge looks better than peers Mphasis/L:TTD/tata Elxsi/Cyient

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. rose to record high on Monday after the company said it has secured an order from Bangladesh worth nearly $21 million.

The company has received the order from Directorate General, Defense Purchase, Ministry of Defense, Bangladesh Government for construction and delivery of advance ocean going tug vessel, it said in an exchange filing on Monday.

The scrip rose as much as 10.00% to Rs 2,309.00 apiece, the highest level since Oct 10, 2018. It was trading 9.52% higher at Rs 2,298.90 apiece, as of 10:15 a.m. This compares to a 0.24% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has risen 297.12% in 12 months, and rose 163.19 on year to date basis. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 2.3 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 78.80, which implied the stock is overbought.

Out of five analysts tracking the company, three maintain a 'buy' rating, and two suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies a downside of 45.9%.

• Manorama Industries Ltd. has enhanced an overall fractionation capacity from 15,000 ton per annum to 40,000 ton per annum.

Source: Exchange filing

• Asian Paints Ltd. increased capacity of Mysuru plant to 6 lakh kilolitre per annum from 3 lakh kilolitre per annum.

• Invests Rs 1,305 crore for capacity increase at Mysuru plant.

Source: Exchange filing

The NSE Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.37% higher to 55,944.70, the highest level since its inception. It was trading 0.36% higher at 55, 936.80 as of 09:38 a.m.

The NSE Nifty Smallcap 250 rose 0.92% to 17,268.95, the highest level since its inception. It was trading 0.89% higher at 17,263.10 as of 09:39 a.m.

Indian benchmarks started the week's first session on a muted note as Bharti Airtel Ltd., Bajaj Auto Ltd. rose, and Infosys Ltd., and ICICI Bank Ltd. dragged.

As of 09:18 a.m., the NSE Nifty 50 was 1.35 points higher at 24,011.95, and the S&P BSE Sensex was 13.40 points down at 79,019.33.

Reliance Securities expects consolidation and minor retracement to pull back near to the previous resistance of 23,700 levels. On the higher side the weekly pivot resistance is placed at 24,350 levels followed by the highest call open interest at 24,400 while on the downside 23,700 will be the new support, said Vikas Jain, senior rersearch analyst.

RSI has turned overbought on hourly charts as it has witnessed an up move over the last week and other key technical indicators are reversing from the higher range. Highest call OI has moved higher to 24,400 strikes while the downside the highest put OI is at 23,700 for the weekly expiry, Jain said. 

Bharti Airtel Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. added to the index.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd., NTPC Ltd., State Bank of India, Power Grid Corp., and ICICI Bank Ltd. limited gains in the benchmark index.

On NSE, six sectors advanced, four declined, and two remained flat out of 12. The NSE Nifty Energy emerged as the top loser while the NSE Nifty Media led gains.

Broader markets outperformed benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Midcap and Smallcap were 0.19% and 0.68% higher, respectively.

On BSE, five sectors declined, and 15 advanced out of 20. The S&P BSE Metal rose the most, and the S&P BSE Utilities declined the most.

Market breadth was skewed in favour of buyers. Around 2,162 stocks rose, 923 declined, and 126 remained unchanged on BSE.

• Garden Reach Shipbuilders received a construction order worth nearly $21 million from Bangladesh.

Source: Exchange filing

The NSE Nifty 50 was 17.65 points or 0.1% lower at 23,992.95, and the S&P BSE Sensex was 10.62 points higher at 79043.35.

• UBS maintained a 'Buy' on Indigo and raises the target price to Rs 5,400 from Rs 4,000, which implied an 18% upside,

• Sees continued strength in India's air travel demand

• Expects 11-17% CAGR in Indian air travel demand over FY24-30E

• Expects Indigo's market share gains in international travel to continue

• Remains constructive on Indigo's medium-term profitability driven by a highly favourable industry structure

• Expects Indigo to generate a 13% EBITDA CAGR over FY24-27E

• Short-term profit impact on sudden rise in supply, seasonality or sharp fuel price increases cannot be ruled out

• Any associated dip remains an ideal buying opportunity

• Expects Indigo's Q1FY25 yields to be impacted considering the sharp rise in Air India/Vistara's near-term capacity

• Expects a weaker Q2 on seasonality

• The yield on the 10-year bond opened flat at 7.02%.

• It closed at 7.01% on Friday.

Source: Cogencis

• The local currency opened flat at 83.4 against the US dollar.

• It closed at 83.39 on Friday.

Source: Bloomberg

• Transformers & Rectifiers (India) Ltd. received an order worth Rs 72.5 crore from NCC Ltd.

• The company also received an order worth Rs 55.9 crore from Power Grid Corp.

• It has received an order worth Rs 20.1 crore from Adani Energy Solutions Ltd.

Source: Exchange filing

• Morgan Stanley maintained an underweight with target price Rs 967, which implied downside of 42%.

• Amara Raja now matches Exide on capability but lags on customer wins.

• Ramp-up timeline remain unknown

• Tie-up gives it LFP prismatic and cylindrical technology

• Already in use in India,Tata Motors buys from Gotion;

• Expects battery business to eventually reach low double-digit ROCEs

• Large customer wins will be key to track

• Scale will be key to generating returns in batteries as EV battery deflation continues

• Remain selectively overweight in the battery segment

• Will share more details in 1-2 months, prefer Exide over Amara

• Citi Research kept a 'Buy' on Bharti Airtel Ltd., and set the target price at Rs.1,750, which implied an upside of 20.7%.

• Bharti Airtel has announced average hike of 16%

• It has raised tariffs even in the low-end feature-phone segment

• The new tariffs help narrow the extent of Jio’s pricing discount to Bharti.

• Continue to assume ARPUs of Rs235/270/305 over FY25/26/27

• Remain positive from a medium-term view

• Would use any meaningful correction as an enhanced buying opportunity

• Domestic hot rolled coil steel prices moderate during the week, down 2.2% MoM

• Rebar prices down 3.3% WoW led by demand slowdown due to onset of monsoons

• Believe discount of domestic iron ore prices vs global prices imply downside risk

• Expect domestic supply to exceed domestic demand in coming months

• Steel stocks continued to do well on expectations of policy reform continuity

• Believe outperformance of stocks is over on no improvement in inventory levels and spreads

• Maintain Equalweight on Tata Steel at Rs 145 target, which implied of 17% downside.

• Maintain Underweight on SAIL at Rs 113 target which implied 21% downside.

• Maintain Underweight on JSW Steel at Rs 650 target, which implied 31% downside.

• Maintain Underweight on Jindal Steel Power at Rs 655 target which implied 38% downside.

• U.S. Dollar Index at 105.63

• U.S. 10-year bond yield at 4.39%

• Brent crude up 0.45% at $85.38 per barrel

• Nymex crude up 0.48% at $81.93 per barrel 

• Bitcoin was up 2.54% at $63,474.43

• The GIFT Nifty was 2 points or 0.01% at 24,122.00 as of 08:02 a.m.

• Nifty July futures up by 0.15% to 24,132 at a premium of 122 points.

• Nifty July futures open interest up by 1.65%.

• Nifty Bank July futures down by 0.73% to 52,530 at a premium of 187 points.

• Nifty Bank July futures open interest up by 0.8%.

• Nifty Options July 4 Expiry: Maximum call open interest at 25,000 and maximum put open interest at 23,000.

• Bank Nifty Options July 3 Expiry: Maximum call open interest at 53,000 and maximum put open interest at 50,000.

• Securities in ban period: India Cements, Indus Tower.

The Indian rupee strengthened by 7 paise to close at 83.39 against the US dollar.

• Price band changes from 5% to 20%: Tata Investment Corp., Wockhardt Pharma.

• Ex/record Dividend: GHCL Textiles, GHCL, Geojit Financial Services.

• Ex/record AGM: Tata Communications.

• Ex/record Demerger: Oriental Carbon & Chemicals.

• Moved to a short-term framework: PNB Gilts, Titagarh Rail Systems.

• IFGL Refractories: To meet analysts and investors on July 3.

• Nazara Technologies: To meet analyst and Investors on July 3.

• Deepak Nitrite: Promoter Ila D Mehta bought 1.46 lakh shares on June 26.

• Tide Water Oil (India): Promoter Standard Greases & Specialities Pvt. bought 48,081 shares on June 27.

• Styrenix Performance Materials: Promoter Shiva Performance Materials sold 29 lakh shares on June 27.

• Star Cement: Promoter Laxmi Chamaria sold 84,354 shares on June 24 and June 25.

• Saurashtra Cement: Promoter Promilla Khanna sold 80,000 shares between June 19 and June 26.

• Steel Exchanger India: Promoter Umashiv Garments sold 1 crore shares on June 26.

• Styrenix Performance Materials: Promoter Shiva Performance Materials created a pledge for 35.17 lakh shares.

• Borosil: Kiran Kheruka sold 16.32 lakh shares (1.36%) at Rs 318.08 apiece, Pradeep Kumar Kheruka sold 7.64 lakh shares (0.64%) at Rs 318.05 apiece, Rekha Kheruka sold 7.48 lakh shares (0.62%) at Rs 318.06 apiece, while Carnelian Asset Management & Advisors Pvt. bought 13.85 lakh shares (1.16%) at Rs 318.05 apiece, and Carnelian Structural Shift Fund bought 6.6 lakh shares (0.55%) at Rs 318.05 apiece.

• HFCL: Nextwave Communications sold 200 lakh shares (1.38%) at Rs 107.6 apiece.

• Neogen Chemicals: Haridas Thakarshi Kanani sold 14.95 lakh shares (5.66%) at Rs 1,611.14 apiece, while Custody Bank of Japan Ltd. Re Rb Amundi India Small Cap Equity Mother Fund bought 7.7 lakh shares (2.91%) at Rs 1,610 apiece, and India Acorn Icav bought 2.51 lakh shares (0.95%) at Rs 1,610 apiece.

• Omaxe: Ebisu Global Opportunities Fund Ltd. bought 26.06 lakh shares (1.42%) at Rs 109.55 apiece, and Nomura Singapore Ltd. sold 26.06 lakh shares (1.42%) at Rs 109.5 apiece.

• Ugro Capital: Societe Generale bought 5 lakh shares (0.53%) at Rs 290.71 apiece.

• Samhi Hotels: GTI Capital Alpha sold 1.03 crore shares (4.74%) at Rs 187.1 apiece, while Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore Pte bought 30.92 lakh shares (1.4%) at Rs 187.1 apiece, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund bought 21.38 lakh shares (0.97%) at Rs 187.1 apiece, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority - Behave bought 11.35 lakh shares (0.51%) at Rs 187.1 apiece, JM Financial Mutual Fund bought 10.69 lakh shares (0.48%) and among others at Rs 187.1 apiece.

• HCL Technologies: Fidelity Investments sold 1.24 crore shares (0.45%), while ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund bought 69.52 lakh shares (0.25%), Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore PTE bought 10.31 lakh shares (0.03%), and Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius bought 8.86 lakh shares (0.03%), among others, at Rs 1440.5 apiece.

• Solara Active Pharma Science: Authum Investment and Infrastructure Ltd. bought 20 lakh shares (4.16%) while, TPG Growth IV SF PTE sold 20 lakh shares (4.16%) at Rs 495 apiece.

• Aurobindo Pharma: The company’s unit acquired the entire share capital of Ace Laboratories, UK, and made it a wholly owned subsidiary of Agile Pharma BV, The Netherlands.

• Vraj Iron and Steel: The public issue was subscribed to 119.04 times on day 3. The bids were led by institutional investors (163.9 times), non-institutional investors (208.81 times), and retail investors (54.93 times).

• Bharat Electronics: The company received a contract worth Rs 3,172 crore from Vehicles Nigam to supply sighting and fire control systems for Indian Army tanks and received additional orders worth Rs 481 crore for meteorological equipment.

• Vodafone Idea: The telco joined its peers Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel to raise rates for prepaid and post-paid consumers by 10–21%. The new plans will come into effect on July 4.

• Cochin Shipyard: The company’s unit signed a pact with Norway's Wilson ASA for constructing four 6,300 TDW dry cargo vessels and an agreement for four additional vessels to be formally contracted by Sept. 19, 2024. The overall project cost for eight vessels is about Rs 1,100 crore.

• UltraTech Cement: The company commissioned an additional 3.35 MTPA clinker and 1.8 MTPA grinding capacity at its Tadipatri unit in Andhra Pradesh. This increased the capacity of the grinding unit in Jharsuguda, Odisha, by 0.4 MTPA.

• Jindal Stainless: The company acquired a 100% stake in Sulawesi Nickel Processing Industries Holdings PTE, Singapore, for setting up a joint venture in Indonesia for investing, developing, constructing, and operating a stainless-steel melt shop in Indonesia.

• Tata Steel: The company converted its debt holding of $565 million in unit T Steel Holdings into equity.

• Titan: The company formed a 76-24 JV with Rhythm Jewellery in Bangladesh for manufacturing jewellery products.

• TVS Motor: The company acquired an additional stake in TVS Credit Services for Rs 283 crore.

• Dr. Reddy's Laboratories: The company partnered with Zydus Life for co-marketing of the Pertuzumab biosimilar.

• Orchid Pharma: The company partnered with Cipla to launch the antibiotic Cefepime-Enmetazobactam in India.

• Godrej Properties: The company acquired leasehold rights for an 11-acre land parcel in Pune, offering a developable potential of 2.2 million square feet with an estimated revenue potential of Rs 1,800 crore.

• EMudhra: The company acquired 100% of US-based TWO95 International Inc. through its wholly owned subsidiary eMudhra Inc., US, to strengthen the company's presence and positioning in the US market.

• Coromandel International: The company unveiled Magnesium-Enriched Paramfos Plus in Bengaluru to boost crop yield and quality.

• Gail (India): The company advances its net-zero target for Scope-1 and Scope-2 greenhouse gas emissions to 2035.

Most Asian markets declined on Monday after data showed China's manufacturing activity struggled to come out of negative territory, raising concern about the world's second largest economy.

The Nikkei 225 was 0.50% higher as of 06:44 a.m. The S&P ASX 200 and Kospi were trading 0.40% and 0.26% lower, respectively.

US stocks faced uncertainty as the quarter concluded, following a robust surge driven by speculation that the Federal Reserve may initiate rate cuts within the year.

The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.12% and 0.41%, respectively as on Friday. Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.12%.

Brent crude was trading 0.28% higher at $85.24 a barrel. Gold was lower by 0.04% at $2,325.73 an ounce.

The GIFT Nifty was trading 14.5 points or 0.06% higher at 24,134.50 as of 06:47 a.m.

India's benchmark stock indices closed higher on a weekly basis for the fourth consecutive week, marking their best month so far in 2024. However, on Friday, they snapped their four-day record run to end lower.

On Friday, the Nifty closed 0.14%, or 33.90 points, lower at 24010.60, and the Sensex fell 0.27%, or 210.45 points, to end at 79032.73.

Overseas investors turned net sellers of Indian equities on Friday after a day of buying. Foreign portfolio investors offloaded stocks worth Rs 23.1 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

Domestic institutional investors turned net buyers after a session of selling and mopped up equities worth Rs 6,658.3 crore, the NSE data showed.

The Indian rupee strengthened by 7 paise to close at 83.39 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year government bond closed flat at 7.01%, even as the JPMorgan Chase & Co. began adding domestic gilts to its benchmark emerging-market bond index.