India's major equity indices ended the Thursday session in positive territory, supported by advances in the Auto, Oil & Gas and Public Sector Undertakings groups.
On the National Stock Exchange, the Nifty 50 closed up 0.28%. The BSE Sensex 30 finished the day higher as well, climbing 0.35%.
The session's top performers on the Nifty 50 included Hero MotoCorp Ltd (NSE:HROM), which led gains by jumping 3.44% - an increase of 177.00 points - to finish at 5,326.10. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (NSE:MAHM) added 2.18% or 70.20 points to close at 3,292.00, while Coal India Ltd (NSE:COAL) rose 1.74% or 7.15 points to end the session at 417.20.
At the other end of the Nifty 50, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (NSE:APSE) fell 3.41% or 58.70 points to trade at 1,661.00 at the close. HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd (NSE:HDFL) declined 2.12%, a drop of 11.80 points, to finish at 544.90. Shriram Finance Ltd. (NSE:SHMF) slipped 1.50%, losing 15.70 points to end at 1,029.00.
On the BSE Sensex 30, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (BO:MAHM) was among the best performers, rising 2.01% to 3,287.85. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (BO:MRTI) climbed 1.77% to close at 14,189.00, and Nestle India Ltd (BO:NEST) advanced 1.61% to finish at 1,523.00.
BSE laggards included Adani Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd (BO:APSE), down 3.46% to 1,661.00, UltraTech Cement Ltd (BO:ULTC), which lost 1.32% to settle at 11,840.00, and Bajaj Finserv Ltd (BO:BJFS), which eased 0.82% to end at 1,909.30.
Market breadth on the National Stock Exchange skewed negative, with falling stocks outnumbering advancers by a count of 1,652 to 888; 59 issues finished unchanged. The Bombay Stock Exchange also saw more declines than advances, with 2,394 stocks down, 1,546 rising and 186 unchanged.
Notable stock-level moves highlighted intraday extremes. HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd (NSE:HDFL) retreated to 52-week lows, dropping 2.12% or 11.80 points to 544.90. By contrast, Nestle India Ltd (BO:NEST) reached an all-time high, adding 1.61% or 24.15 points to close at 1,523.00.
Volatility as measured by the India VIX was higher, rising 1.25% to 12.16, indicating a modest uptick in implied volatility for Nifty 50 options.
Commodities and currency moves accompanied the equity session. Gold futures for August delivery increased 0.94%, adding $37.80 to trade at $4,074.10 per troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil futures for September delivery slipped 0.27% or $0.23 to reach $84.23 a barrel, while the October Brent contract fell 0.24% or $0.21 to trade at $87.88 a barrel.
On the currency front, the rupee was slightly weaker against the dollar, with USD/INR up 0.04% at 95.69. EUR/INR rose 0.08% to 109.77. The US Dollar Index Futures declined 0.17% to 100.56.
The session closed with mixed signals: benchmark indices posted modest gains led by a handful of sector leaders even as the broader market showed a greater number of decliners and implied volatility in options ticked higher.