Barometers trade with modest gains; metal shares shine

The key equity benchmark continued to trade with decent gains in early afternoon trade buoyed by the Reserve Bank of India's firm monetary policy stance and positive global sentiment. The Nifty hovered above the 25,100 level. Metal shares extended gains for the fourth consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 351.20 points or 0.43% to 82,540.19. The Nifty 50 index rose 114.20 points or 0.46% to 25,117.45.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.93% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.11%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,777 shares rose and 1,248 shares fell. A total of 180 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India?s forex reserves dropped by $1.237 billion to $691.485 billion for the week ended May 30, the RBI said on Friday.

For the week ended May 30, foreign currency assets?a major component of the reserves?fell $1.952 billion to $584 billion, according to the RBI data.

The gold reserves increased by $723 million to $84.305 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $2 million to $18.569 billion, the apex bank said.

India?s reserve position with the IMF was also down by $6 million at $4.395 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.46% to 14.70. The Nifty 26 Jun 2025 futures were trading at 25,190, at a premium of 72.55 points as compared with the spot at 25,117.45.

The Nifty option chain for the 26 June 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 57.4 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 48.5 lakh contracts was seen at 24,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 1.18% to 9,517.35. The index added 4.33% in the past four trading sessions.

Hindustan Zinc (up 4.45%), Jindal Stainless (up 4.22%), NMDC (up 2.76%), Vedanta (up 2.71%), Lloyds Metals & Energy (up 2.58%), Hindustan Copper (up 1.61%), Adani Enterprises (up 1.53%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.42%), JSW Steel (up 0.65%), and Tata Steel (up 0.32%) advanced.

On the other hand, Welspun Corp (down 1.38%), APL Apollo Tubes (down 1.28%) and Steel Authority of India (down 0.32%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Persistent Systems added 1.72% after the company?s board has approved the re-appointment of Dr. Anand Deshpande as the managing director (MD) of the company for a next term of 5 consecutive years.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals rose 0.63%. The drug maker announced the upcoming launch of zanubrutinib in India, following approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

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