Markets@10: Selling pressure stays; bank index rises

Following international trends, the market initially opened with a half-percent increase but soon faced significant selling pressure, leading the Nifty index to dip slightly into the red. However, the market made a recovery after about an hour of trading, with the Sensex gaining 500 points and the Nifty adding 110 points, despite ongoing selling pressure.

In contrast, the Bank Nifty saw a rise of over 1 percent, with financial stocks making notable gains. The mid-cap and small-cap indices, which had performed well in the morning, experienced a sharp decline later on. Metal stocks, however, continued to perform well.

ICICI Bank's shares rose by 3 percent after better-than-expected results for the second quarter, prompting brokerages to raise their target price for the stock to Rs 1,600. Yes Bank and Bandhan Bank also surged by 9 percent following positive results.

On the downside, IDFC First Bank's shares plummeted by 10 percent due to disappointing results, though losses were later reduced. Foreign brokerage Jefferies has given the stock a "buy" rating.

Reliance's share price dropped sharply after the record date for its 1:1 bonus issue passed, but it later recovered slightly by 0.25 percent to over Rs 1,330.

Shares of IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation) fell by 10 percent after reporting a loss in the second quarter. Conversely, Sriram Finance saw a boost of 5 percent due to strong second-quarter results and improved asset quality.

Oil marketing companies gained as crude oil prices decreased, and paint companies also saw an uptick.

The Adani Group has agreed to acquire ITD Cementation, a company in the infrastructure and construction sector, although ITD's shares fell by 4 percent.

The rupee opened slightly stronger today, with the dollar trading down a paise at Rs 84.07, later adjusting to Rs 84.08.

Gold update

Gold is priced at $2,730 per ounce in the global market, while in Kerala, the price of jewellery gold dropped by Rs 360 to Rs 58,520.

Crude oil prices also saw a marginal decline, with Brent crude trading at $72.58.