Barometers nudge higher; breadth strong

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with tiny gains in early trade, as investors kept an eye on the US-India trade deal. The Nifty traded above the 25,400 level. Barring the Nifty metal index, all the other sectoral indices on the NSE traded in green.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 90.14 points or 0.11% to 83,329.61. The Nifty 50 index added 8.85 points or 0.03% to 25,411.80.

The broader market outperformed frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 0.33% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 0.27%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE 2,052 shares rose and 872 shares fell. A total of 137 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 1.02% to 12.26.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,481.19 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,333.06 crore in the Indian equity market on 3 July 2025, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

UCO Bank added 1.51% after the bank's total deposits jumped 11.57% to Rs 2.99 lakh crore as on 30th June 2025 compared with Rs 2.68 lakh crore as on 30th June 2024. As on 30th June 2025, total advances stood at Rs 2.25 lakh crore, up 16.58% compared with Rs 1.93 lakh crore as on 30th June 2024.

Vedanta's aluminum rose 0.58%. The company's production rose 1% to 6,05,000 tonnes in Q1 FY26 compared with 5,96,000 tonnes in Q1 FY25. Zinc International production rises 50% YoY to 57,000 tonnes.

Bajaj Finance advanced 2.48% after the company's deposits book grew by 15% to approximately Rs 72,100 crore as of 30th June 2025 compared to Rs 62,774 crore as of 30 June 2024. Asset under management (AUM) jumped 25% YoY to Rs 4,41,000 crore as on 30 Jun 2025.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper added 0.11% to 6.297 from the previous close of 6.290.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.3800 compared with its close of 85.5500 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2025 settlement declined 0.17% to Rs 96,950.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.19% to 96.63.

The United States 10-year bond yield lost 0.32% to 4.326.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2025 settlement fell 30 cents or 0.44% to $68.50 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks were mixed on Friday, taking cues from Wall Street, where investors cheered a surprisingly upbeat U.S. jobs report that soothed fears of an economic cooldown.

Overnight, U.S. indices were all green. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notched fresh record highs, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.77%. The S&P 500 rose 0.83%, and the Nasdaq led the pack with a 1.02% gain. U.S. market is closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that nonfarm payrolls increased by 147,000 in June, above expectations and revised upward from 144,000 in May. The unemployment rate declined slightly to 4.1%, while average hourly earnings rose 0.2% month-over-month, indicating limited wage-driven inflation. Initial jobless claims also fell to a six-week low.

In corporate developments, shares of Tripadvisor rose following reports that activist investor Starboard Value has acquired a stake exceeding 9% in the company. Datadog shares also advanced after it was announced the company will be added to the S&P 500 index.

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