Market Recap: Nifty Index Declines, Key Economic Indicators and News Updates (August 2, 2024)

Market Summary

The benchmark Nifty index fell by 1.17% to close at 24717.7 on 02-Aug. The Nifty Midcap150 index fell by 0.99% to close at 21492.2. The Nifty Smallcap250 index fell by 0.83% to close at 17677.7. The 10yr yield fell by 5 bps to close at 6.91%. The rupee gained 0.01% to close at 83.74 against the US Dollar.

Key News

* Petroleum products exports to Europe up 26% in July on higher demand, reports FE
* After staying elevated more than one year, prices of key pulses varieties — chana, tur and urad across mandis have been on the decline in the last 1 month, trade sources said, reports FE
* RBI is likely to keep the key interest unchanged at 6.5% on Thursday and wait for more macroeconomic data before taking a call on rate cut in line with expectations, experts said, reports ET
* India is seeking customs duty concession on several goods including cars, commercial vehicles and machinery from Sri Lanka under a comprehensive free trade agreement, reports ET
* An increase in capacity and spillover of sea cargo to air routes due to the Red Sea crisis helped Indian airports post double-digit volume growth in April-June quarter on a YoY basis, reports BL
* Passenger vehicle sales fell for the first time in two and a half years in July amid sluggish demand and high dealer inventory, reports ET
* India’s unemployment rate (UR) dropped by 1.3 percentage points in July from an 8-month high of over 9% in the previous month. The UR fell to 7.9% in July from 9.2% in June as per the Consumer Pyramids Household Survey, reports BS
* Write-offs in scheduled commercial banks have decreased over the last 5 years to just over 71.70 lakh crore at the end of FY24 from over 72.34 lakh crore in FY20, reflecting a decline of more than 27%, data presented in the Lok Sabha showed, reports BL