Sensex trades 290 pts higher; metal shares shine

Domestic equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in mid-morning trade, supported by a sharp rally in IT stocks, a rebound in metal shares, and strength in the broader markets. Investor sentiment was further aided by easing crude oil prices amid ongoing Iran-US peace talks. However, market participants remained cautious, with volatility expected to stay elevated due to the weekly Sensex derivatives expiry. The Nifty traded above the 24,050 mark, while metal stocks rebounded after declining in the previous two sessions.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 290.73 points or 0.38% to 77,213.37. The Nifty 50 index rallied 84.10 points or 0.34% to 24,087.90.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 0.48% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index jumped 0.79%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,461 shares rose and 1,459 shares fell. A total of 224 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 3.70% to 12.75.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2026 settlement added 20 cents or 0.27% to $73.15 a barrel.

Economy

India's fiscal deficit reached Rs 1.62 lakh crore in the first two months of FY27 (through May), accounting for 9.6% of the full-year budget target, up sharply from 0.8% a year earlier. Total receipts stood at Rs 7.19 lakh crore, while expenditure was Rs 8.81 lakh crore. Revenue receipts came in at Rs 6.99 lakh crore, including Rs 3.48 lakh crore in tax revenue and Rs 3.51 lakh crore in non-tax revenue.

Initial Public Offer (IPO):

Knack Packaging received bids for 6,78,29,432 shares as against 1,89,64,018 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:25 IST on 02 July 2026. The issue was subscribed 3.58 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 01 July 2026 and it will close on 03 July 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 161 and 170 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 88 equity shares and multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index jumped 0.79% to 12,493.05. The index declined 1.19% in the past two consecutive trading sessions.

NMDC (up 2.08%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.86%), Jindal Steel (up 1.85%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.44%), Adani Enterprises (up 1.29%), Jindal Stainless (up 1.28%), JSW Steel (up 1.02%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.92%), Tata Steel (up 0.82%) and National Aluminium Company (up 0.72%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Capital Small Finance Bank added 1.69% after the bank?s total deposits increased by 16.3% to Rs 10,596 crore as of 30 June 2026 from Rs 9,110 crore as of 30 June 2025.

Texmaco Rail & Engineering added 1.30% after the company said it has received two domestic orders for manufacture and supply of wagons and rakes worth Rs 351.16 crore.

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank advanced 2.53% after the private sector lender reported healthy business growth for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.

NMDC rose 1.73% after the company reported a 44.26% year-on-year (YoY) increase in iron ore production to 5.15 million tonnes (MT) in June 2026, compared with 3.57 MT in June 2025.

GK Energy added 1.41% after the company said it had secured a 10 MW rooftop solar project order worth Rs 48.02 crore.

Global Markets:

Asian markets traded mixed on Thursday as caution prevailed ahead of key U.S. employment data, which could provide fresh clues on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path. The muted sentiment followed overnight losses on Wall Street.

South Korea's Kospi led losses across Asian markets, plunging 7.36%, triggering a five-minute trading halt by the Korea Exchange after the benchmark breached the circuit-breaker threshold amid heightened market volatility.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average scaled to a record high before cooling on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq Composite struggled amid declines in chipmakers.

The 30-stock average lost 13.96 points, or 0.03%, to close at 52,305.24.The S&P 500 dropped 0.22%, ending at 7,483.23. The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.66% to 26,040.03.

The tech-heavy index fell as investors dumped semiconductor names, taking profit after the swath of stocks surged more than 80% in the first half of 2026. Micron tumbled more than 10%, although it?s still up more than 260% in the year to date. Sandisk also shed over 10%, but the stock is still toting an advance of more than 750% in 2026. Nvidia and Broadcom also fell roughly 1% and 2%, respectively, in the session.

Wall Street is now looking ahead to the June jobs report. As per media reports, the US economy is expected to have added 115,000 jobs last month.

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