Nifty trades below 24,850, media shares under pressure

Business Standard

2 days ago

The key equity indices pared all gains and traded with minor losses in the mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,850 mark. Media shares witnessed selling pressure for the fifth consecutive trading session.
At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 111.27 points or 0.14% to 81,351.88. The Nifty 50 index lost 21.40 points or 0.08% to 24,817.60.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rallied 0.22% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.22%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE 1,735 shares rose and 2,092 shares fell. A total of 216 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
India's forex reserves dipped by $1.18 billion to $695.49 billion for the week ending July 18, data by the Reserve Bank of India showed on Friday.
For the week ended July 18, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, slipped by $1.201 billion to $587.609 billion, the data released on Friday showed.
However, the gold reserves increased by $150 million to $84.499 billion during the week, the RBI said.
The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $119 million to $18.683 billion, the apex bank said.
India's reserve position with the IMF declined by $13 million to $4.698 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.
IPO Update:
The initial public offer (IPO) of Shanti Gold International received bids for 2,92,79,775 shares as against 1,26,67,200 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:25 IST on Monday (28 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 2.31 times.
The initial public offer (IPO) of Brigade Hotel Ventures received bids for 7,19,43,238 shares as against 5,11,93,987 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:25 IST on Monday (28 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 1.42 times.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Media index fell 1.06% to 1,651.90. The index fell 6.87% in the five consecutive trading sessions.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 2.12%), D B Corp (down 2.1%), Nazara Technologies (down 1.1%), Tips Music (down 0.82%) and Saregama India (down 0.75%), PVR Inox (down 0.51%), Sun TV Network (down 0.46%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 0.33%) and Network 18 Media & Investments (down 0.26%) declined.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Sigachi Industries rose 0.46%. The company reported a standalone net loss of Rs 100.35 crore in Q1 FY26 as against a net profit of Rs 13.16 crore posted in Q1 FY25. However, revenue from operations jumped 34% year on year to Rs 128.25 crore in Q1 FY26.
Lodha Developers declined 2.54%. The company has reported 42% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 674.70 crore on a 22.7% increase in net sales to Rs 3,491.70 crore in Q1 FY26 as compared with Q1 FY25.
Global Markets:
Asian markets traded mixed on Monday as investors awaited further details on upcoming U.S.-China trade talks, set to begin later in the day in Stockholm.
The talksled by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifengare expected to cover a broader range of topics, and Bessent anticipates an extension of the current trade truce between the worlds two largest economies.
A trade deal between the U.S. and EU boosted market sentiment and offered some clarity ahead of major policy decisions by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan later in the week.
One could expect more trade deals to be announced this week as nations race to conclude trade agreements with the US, before the August 1 deadline that has been self-imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
On Wall Street, all three major averages finished in positive territory on Friday and posted gains for the weekly period.
The S&P 500 ended the session 0.40% higher, closing at 6,388.64, while the Nasdaq Composite finished the day up 0.24% to reach 21,108.32. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 208.01 points, or 0.47%, to settle at 44,901.92.