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The key equity benchmarks ended with minor cuts on Tuesday amid high volatility. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 100.42 points or 0.19% to 53,134.35. The Nifty 50 index lost 24.50 points or 0.15% to 15,810.85.

Trading was steeply volatile. After opening above the 15,900 mark, the Nifty marched higher and hit the day's high of 16,025.75 in early afternoon trade. The index, however, failed to hold on to gains and came off the day's high in afternoon trade. The index hit the day's low of 15,785.45 in late trade, but managed to close a tad above the 15,800 mark.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.35% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.20%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,664 shares rose and 1,637 shares fell. A total of 142 shares were unchanged.

Among the sectoral indices on the NSE, the Nifty Healthcare index (up 0.34%), the Nifty Metal index (up 0.30%) and the Nifty Oil & Gas index (up 0.18%) outperformed the Nifty50 index. Meanwhile, the Nifty Media index (down 0.90%), the Nifty IT index (down 0.70%) and the Nifty Private Bank index (down 0.43%) underperformed the Nifty50 index.

Economy:

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 59.2 in June from 58.9 in May, reaching its highest mark since April 2011 and signaling a steep rate of increase. The upturn stemmed from ongoing improvements in demand following the retreat of pandemic restrictions, capacity expansion and a favorable economic environment.

Although firms expect the recovery to be sustained over the coming 12 months, concerns surrounding price pressures restricted business confidence. Input costs continued to rise at a historically elevated pace, although one that was the slowest in three months, while charge inflation hit a near five-year high.

The S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index was at 58.2 in June , little-changed from 58.3 in May and indicative of a marked rate of expansion. Growth of Indian private sector output steadied in June, as a faster increase in services activity offset a slower rise in factory production. Aggregate new orders also increased at a marked pace that was broadly similar to May. Service providers signalled a stronger expansion than manufacturers, as growth among the former picked up to the quickest in over 11 years.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.391 as compared with 7.374 at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee was lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 79.3350, compared with its close of 78.95 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2022 settlement rose 0.11% to Rs 52,177.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, added 0.95% to 106.14.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2022 settlement rose 46 cents or 0.41% at $112.09 a barrel.

Foreign Markets:

The Dow Jones index futures were down 135 points, indicating a negative opening in the US stocks today.

European shares declined while most Asian shares settled higher on Tuesday as investors look ahead to the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate decision later today.

China's service sector activity also grew, according to the Caixin services purchasing managers' index. The index rose to 54.5 in June compared to 41.4 in May as Covid measures were eased.

Japan's services activity expanded at the fastest pace since October 2013, according to the final au Jibun Bank Japan Services Purchasing Managers' Index. The print rose to 54, compared to 52.6 in May.

South Korea's June inflation accelerated to the fastest pace since the Asian financial crisis. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.0% in June from a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday, the fastest since November 1998 and exceeding the central bank's 2% target for the 15th consecutive month.

The U.S. Federal Reserve to release the minutes from its latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday.

The U.S. market was closed on Monday for the July Fourth public holiday.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Steel rose 0.67%. The company's India business reported 6% rise in crude steel production to 4.92 million tons in Q1 FY23 from 4.63 million tons posted in Q1 FY22. Deliveries stood at 4.06 million tons in Q4 FY23, lower by 2% year on year (YoY), due to moderation in exports following the imposition of 15% export duty.Marico fell 1.34%. The company increased its stake in Apcos Naturals by 4.14% to 56.52% for undisclosed consideration.

Cipla gained 0.79%. The United States Food and Drug Administration conducted a pre-approval inspection at the company's Indore plant from June 27 to July 1. It has received two observations on FDA Form 483 with respect to ANDA filed for the product to be manufactured at the said plant.

HDFC Bank shed 0.25% and HDFC lost 0.59%. The private lender on Monday (4 July 2022) said it has received banking sector regulator Reserve bank of India (RBI)'s approval for the proposed amalgamation of HDFC into HDFC Bank.

On 2 July 2022, the proposed merger got approval from both stock exchanges — BSE and NSE.

Vedanta added 0.09%. The company said its total aluminium production grew 3% to 5,65,000 tonnes in Q1 FY23 compared with 5,49,000 tonnes in Q1 FY22.

Tata Consultancy Services slipped 0.57%. The company has has been selected by Outokumpu, the global leader in sustainable stainless steel, to transform its IT landscape with an agile and secure cloud-based digital core to reduce its carbon footprint and support its strategic aspirations.

Seperately, TCS said that in the EPIC Systems Corporation matter, the US District Court for Western District of Wisconsin passed an order reducing the jury award of punitive damages to $ 140 million and directed the Clerk of the Court to file an amended judgement accordingly. The company remains committed to respecting and protecting proprietary information as well as its reputation, the IT firm said.

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) fell 2.58%. The company said that it had recorded 8,267 MU volume in June 2022, achieving 17% YoY volume growth across all market segments. For Q1 FY23, IEX achieved 23,437 MU volume and witnessed a 10% YoY growth across all its market segments.JTL Infra advanced 3.17%. The company recorded sales volume of 33,302 metric tonnes (MT) in Q1 FY23 compared from 29,235 MT in Q1 FY22, a growth of 13.9% YoY.Kirloskar Ferrous Industries rose 1.08%. The company informed about the resumption of operations of mini blast furnace-II at Koppal plant.

RBL Bank tumbled 6.81%. The private lender's total deposits rose 6% YoY to Rs 79,217 crore as of 30 June 2022. Gross Advances stood at Rs 62,095 crore as of 30 June 2022, recording a growth of 7% YoY.

South Indian Bank added 3.81%. The private lender's gross advances grew 11% YoY to Rs 64,760 crore as of 30 June 2022. The bank's total deposits stood at Rs 88,202 crore as of 30 June 2022, up 4% YoY.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB) gained 2.30%. The bank's total deposits aggregated to Rs 18,433 crore as on 30 June 2022, up 34.8% YoY. Gross loan book grew 38.3% YoY to Rs 19,409 crore as on 30 June 2022.

Krsnaa Diagnostics advanced 1.76%. The company emerged as the lowest (L-1) bidder for setting up of a radiology unit at Indira Gandhi Hospital, New Delhi.

BLS International Services rallied 3.71%. The company announced that it has signed a contract with the Royal Thai Embassy to provide visa services in Kenya.

Marksans Pharma zoomed 14.47%. A meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled to be held on 8th July 2022 to consider the proposal for buyback of fully paid up equity shares of the company.