The headline equity indices ended near the flat line after a volatile session on Thursday, snapping a six day gaining streak. The Nifty closed below the 17,400 level after hitting the day's high of 17,490.70 in morning trade. Pharma, healthcare and IT stocks supported the indices. On the other hand, PSU bank, realty and media stocks were under pressure. Trading was volatile due to the expiry of weekly index options on the NSE today.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 51.73 points or 0.09% to 58,298.80. The Nifty 50 index declined 6.15 points or 0.03% to 17,382. Both the indices had climbed about 5.5% in six consecutive sessions.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.29% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.25%.

Meanwhile, the NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 4.37% to 19.26.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,559 shares rose and 1,781 shares fell. A total of 137 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The Reserve Bank of India's rate-setting panel on Wednesday began its three-day deliberations on the next bi-monthly monetary policy. The Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled to announce its decision on August 5. While a 25 bps hike is ruled out, market opinions are reportedly split between a 35 bps hike and a 50 bps hike.

Meanwhile, automobile retail sales in India fell 8 per cent on an annual basis in July on account of fall in registrations of passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and tractors. According to the data released by the automobile dealers' body FADA, the overall automobile retail sales last month stood at 14,36,927 units, as compared with 15,59,106 units in July 2021.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index advanced 2.34% to 12,978.40. The index shed 0.77% in the past trading session.

Lupin (up 5.21%), Zydus Lifesciences (up 5.2%), Ipca Laboratories (up 4.75%), Laurus Labs (up 4.17%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (up 3.34%), Cipla (up 3.27%), Gland Pharma (up 2.49%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 2.49%), Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries (up 2.43%) and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 2.34%), edged higher.

On the other hand, Granules India (down 1.42%), Abbott India (down 0.66%) declined.

Lupin rallied 5.21%. The drug maker reported a net loss of Rs 89.1 crore in Q1 FY23 as against a net profit of Rs 542.5 crore in Q1 FY22. Total revenue from operations declined 12.3% YoY to Rs 3,743.8 crore during the quarter.

Stocks in Spotlight:

InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) rose 0.70% after the company reported a net loss of Rs 1,064.3 crore in Q1 FY23, which is lower as compared with a net loss of Rs 3,174.2 crore recorded in Q1 FY22. The company cited depreciating rupee and higher fuel prices as the reasons for the net loss recorded in the quarter ended June 2022.

Revenue from operations increased by 327.5% to Rs 12,855.3 crore in the first quarter - the company's highest-ever quarterly revenue. IndiGo had recorded revenue of Rs 3,006.9 crore in the same period last year. The number of passengers in Q1 FY23 rose by 221.9% as compared with Q1 FY22.

Adani Transmission added 0.72%. The power transmission company's consolidated net profit tumbled 61.1% to Rs 168.46 crore despite of 22% jump in revenue to Rs 3,049 crore in Q1 FY23 over Q1 FY22. The company said it is not comparable due to Rs 288 crore one-off income (Rs 238 crore net-off tax) received in Q1FY22 and adverse forex movement of Rs 185 crore in the current quarter. On the segmental front, the operational revenue of the Transmission business was Rs 836 crore (up 10.4% YoY) while the revenue from the Distribution business was Rs 2,213 crore (up 27% YoY).

Adani Wilmar shed 0.18% after the company reported 10% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 19.4 crore on a 30% increase in revenue to Rs 1,478.4 crore in Q1 FY23 over Q1 FY22. Edible Oil business stood at 0.70 MMT, registering a growth of 6% y-o-y on volumes and revenues at Rs 11,519 crore, registering a growth of 23% on revenues. The moderate growth is despite several headwinds in the edible oil industry. Inflationary pressure was a key concern for the edible oil industry.

Vodafone Idea fell 3.84%. The telco reported consolidated net loss of Rs 7,296.7 crore in Q1 FY23 as against net loss of Rs 6,563.1 crore in Q4 FY22 and net loss of Rs 7,319.1 crore in Q1 FY22. On a consolidated basis, revenue for the quarter was Rs 10,410.1 crore, a QoQ improvement of 1.7% (up 13.7% YoY). On a YoY basis, revenue growth was strong at 13.7%, highest since merger.

ARPU (average revenue per user) improved to Rs 128, up 3.2% QoQ and higher by 23.4% YoY, aided by the tariff hikes. The subscriber base declined to 240.4 million as against 243.8 million in Q4 FY22. However, the 4G subscriber base continued to grow and with 1.0 million customers added in Q1, 4G base now stands at 119 million.

Adani Power gained 1.92%. The company reported a multi-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,779.86 crore in Q1 FY23 as compared to a net profit of Rs 278.22 crore in Q1 FY22. Revenue from operations in first quarter stood at Rs 13,723.06 crore, up 108.9% from Rs 6,568.86 crore reported in the same period last year.

Kalyan Jewellers India jumped 6.02% after the company recorded a consolidated PAT at Rs 108 crore in Q1 June 2022, as against a loss of Rs 51 crore for the same period of the previous year. On a consolidated basis, the company recorded revenue of Rs 3,333 crore for Q1FY23, a growth of 104% as compared to Rs 1,637 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

PI Industries gained 3.87% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 40.2% to Rs 262.40 crore on 29.3% jump in net sales to Rs 1,543.20 crore in Q1 FY23 over Q1 FY22.

GAIL (India) declined 0.39%. The company reported 52.16% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,252.95 crore on a 115.7% surge in revenue from operations to Rs 37,942.15 crore in Q1 FY23 over Q1 FY22.

Gujarat Gas slipped 4.27% after the company's standalone net profit declined 20% to Rs 381.10 crore on a 72.5% rise in net sales to Rs 5,303.23 crore in Q1 FY23 over Q1 FY22.

Global Markets:

Most of European shares and Asian stocks were trading higher on Thursday following the rally on Wall Street. Investors move on from the tensions over U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial visit to Taiwan. Pelosi met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday amid warnings from Beijing. Pelosi has since left the self-ruled island that China views as a runaway province to continue with her Asia tour.

Investors focus on Bank of England's monetary policy decision later on Thursday. The central bank is broadly expected to hike interest rates by 50 basis points, its largest single increase since 1995.

Wall Street ended sharply higher on Wednesday, with strong profit forecasts from PayPal and CVS Health Corp lifting sentiment. A better-than-expected services PMI reading for July gave investors confidence amid concerns about a U.S. recession.

The US services industry unexpectedly picked up in July as new orders grew solidly. The ISM's non-manufacturing PMI rebounded to a reading of 56.7 last month from 55.3 in June, ending three straight monthly declines.

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