Nifty trades below 24,550; media shares decline
At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 111.35 points or 0.14% to 78,317.69. The Nifty 50 index fell 107.25 points or 0.44% to 24,508.05.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 0.35% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index jumped 0.70%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,280 shares rose and 1,882 shares fell. A total of 204 shares were unchanged.
RBI MPC meeting:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), at its monetary policy meeting held from 3 August to 5 August 2026, kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 5.25% and retained its 'neutral' policy stance. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously voted to leave the benchmark policy rate unchanged.
The MPC raised its FY27 GDP growth forecast to 6.7% from 6.6% earlier. It projected FY27 CPI inflation at 5%, 10 basis points lower than the previous estimate, while core inflation was expected to average 4.3% during the year. Quarterly CPI inflation projections were placed at 5.3% for Q1, 4.7% for Q2, 5.9% for Q3 and 5.5% for Q4.
Malhotra said the impact of El Nino on the temporal and spatial distribution of rainfall remained a key risk to the inflation outlook. He added that global crude oil prices continued to witness sharp volatility due to geopolitical developments, clouding the near-term inflation trajectory. While underlying inflationary pressures remained contained, the risk of second-round effects from higher food, fuel and other input costs feeding into broader inflation persisted.
The MPC's decision came amid a challenging macroeconomic environment, with the lingering impact of the US-Iran conflict on domestic growth and inflation. However, easing crude oil prices and hopes of a peace deal improved market sentiment.
Economy:
India?s services sector continued to expand in July, but growth slowed sharply, according to the latest HSBC India Services PMI. The Business Activity Index fell to 53.3 in July from 57.4 in June, marking the weakest pace of expansion in 53 months, though remaining above the neutral 50.0 level.
New business inflows also grew at their slowest rate since February 2022, as firms reported softer demand, intense competition, fewer enquiries and delayed orders. However, export demand remained strong, with companies citing increased business from the UAE, UK and US. Among major segments, only Finance & Insurance recorded faster growth in output and sales.
Employment growth improved from June?s six-month low, although hiring remained modest. Around 6% of firms increased payrolls, while 92% reported no change. Lower bookings and weak sales also helped companies reduce backlogs at the fastest pace in nearly five years.
Input cost inflation eased to its lowest level since January and a six-month low overall, despite higher fuel, labour, material, technology and transport costs. At the same time, firms raised selling prices at the quickest pace since April.
At the broader level, the HSBC India Composite PMI Output Index declined from 57.1 in June to 54.3 in July, signalling the slowest private-sector growth since March 2022, although employment continued to rise and business confidence remained positive despite slipping to a seven-month low.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Media index fell 1.36% to 1,578.70. The index jumped 1.79% in the past trading session.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 4.87%), Sun TV Network (down 1.7%), Network 18 Media & Investments (down 1.5%), PVR Inox (down 1.25%), Tips Music (down 1.05%) Prime Focus (down 0.5%) fell.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.44% to 6.786 compared with the previous session close of 6.816.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 95.2150, unchanged from its close of 95.2800 in the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for the 5 October 2026 settlement rose 1.39% to Rs 1,46,303.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.02% to 99.89.
The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.35% to 4.611.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2026 settlement jumped $1.09 or 1.37% to $80.45 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
FSN E-Commerce Ventures declined 2.91%. The company's net profit jumped 226% to Rs 80 crore in Q1 FY27 from Rs 24 crore in Q1 FY27. Revenue from operations rose by 29% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2,782 crore during the period under review.
Castrol India rose 2.41% after the lubricant maker reported strong earnings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026. The company's profit after tax increased 42.5% YoY and 43.6% QoQ to Rs 347.70 crore in Q2 CY2026. Revenue from operations rose 25.0% YoY and 21.1% QoQ to Rs 1,871.47 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2026. Total income increased 25.2% YoY and 20.2% QoQ to Rs 1,885.47 crore.
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