The key equity indices witnessed small gains in afternoon trade, lifted by positive global trade developments. Optimism from Asian markets and hopeful signals from US-China trade negotiations in London boosted investor sentiment. The Nifty traded above the 25,100 level. Oil & gas shares advanced after declining in the past trading session.
At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 122.24 points or 0.15% to 82,513.96. The Nifty 50 index rose 38.10 points or 0.15% to 25,140.30.
The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.27% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.26%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,078 shares rose and 1,916 shares fell. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 2.10% to 13.72.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Oil & Gas index rose 1.50% to 11,729.25. The index shed 0.08% in the past trading session.
Oil India (up 5.74%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 3.91%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (up 2.51%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 1.96%), GAIL (India) (up 1.4%), Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (up 1.27%), Reliance Industries (up 0.9%), Mahanagar Gas (up 0.7%), Petronet LNG (up 0.29%) and Gujarat Gas (up 0.29%) advanced.
On the other hand, Adani Total Gas (down 2.73%), Castrol India (down 2.67%) and Indraprastha Gas (down 1.43%) edged lower.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.19% to 6.275 from the previous close of 6.287.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.5425 compared with its close of 85.5700 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2025 settlement rose 0.47% to Rs 97,356.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.03% to 99.01.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.25% to 4.484.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2025 settlement rose 11 cents or 0.16% to $66.98 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Minda Corporation shed 0.77%. The company announced a joint venture with Japan-based Toyodenso Co. for advanced automotive switches for the Indian market.
IIFL Finance rose 0.61%. The company’s board has approved raising funds aggregating to Rs 600 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on a private placement basis.