Indices drift higher in early trade; breadth strong
At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 437.19 points or 0.55% to 77,412.81. The Nifty 50 index rose 120.40 points or 0.50% to 24,142.50.
In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.28% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index jumped 0.12%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,722 shares rose and 1,287 shares fell. A total of 172 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tanked 3.06% to 12.98.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,843.40 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 3,637.26 crore in the Indian equity market on 24 June 2026, provisional data showed.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Life Insurance Corporation of India fell 2.10% after its chief financial officer (CFO), Sunil Agarwal has resigned from the position to pursue better prospects.
Embassy Development jumped 6.92% after it has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Uttar Pradesh government. Under MoU, entails a heavy capital investment of Rs 1,500 crore to develop premium real estate projects in the high-growth Lucknow corridor.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was down 0.24% to 6.771 as compared with previous close 6.787.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 94.3500 compared with its close of 94.5500 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2026 settlement fell 0.05% to Rs 141,150.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.08% to 101.50.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.07% to 4.403.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2026 settlement fell $1.23 or 1.67% to $72.51 a barrel.
Global Markets:
Asian markets traded higher on Thursday after strong earnings and outlooks from chip giants Micron and Qualcomm helped alleviate some concerns over the red-hot AI rally that has pushed global stocks to record highs.
Following the earnings announcement from chip majors, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.5% and 1.9%, respectively. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 29 points, or less than 0.1%.
Tech-heavy markets in Japan and South Korea gained in trade after Micron said its customers had committed $22 billion for its memory chips, while Qualcomm stated that it anticipates $15 billion in sales from its data centre business by 2029.
Investor concern that valuations for AI-related companies have become stretched following years of gains has weighed on markets in recent days, leading to volatile sessions.
Oil prices extended their decline as stranded tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz following an initial accord to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, easing supply concerns.
Brent crude futures dipped 0.5% to $73.34 a barrel, inching closer to pre-war levels. U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 0.38% to $70.07 a barrel.
Easing oil prices may help reduce some inflation pressure but elevated prices are likely to keep the U.S. Federal Reserve under pressure to raise interest rates with investors pricing in at least one rate increase this year.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite pulled back on Wednesday as Micron Technology shares fell, with investors looking ahead to the release of chipmaker?s earnings after the bell.
The tech-heavy index slipped 0.43% to end at 25,476.64, while the S&P 500 declined 0.10% to 7,358.22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 182.06 points, or 0.35%, to end at 51,848.90.
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