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After opening the day on a negative note, Indian share markets continued the downtrend as the session progressed and ended the day lower.

Benchmark indices ended flat after data from China fuelled deflation concerns and Moody's U.S. banking downgrade triggered a sell-off in Wall Street, ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) policy decision this week.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 149 points (up 0.2%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 61 points (up 0.3%).

Hindalco and Tata Motors were among the top gainers today.

Maruti Suzuki and ICICI Bank were among the top losers today.

Check out the NSE Nifty heatmap to get the complete list of gainers and losers.

The Gift Nifty was trading at 19,674, down by 114 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets ended on a positive note. The BSE Midcap index ended 0.4% higher and the BSE SmallCap index rose 0.6%.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the oil and gas sector and energy sector witnessing most of the buying.

On the other hand, stocks from the realty sector and banking sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Trent and Coforge hit their 52-week highs today.

Now track the biggest movers of the stock market using stocks to watch today section. This should help you keep updated with the latest developments...

Asian share markets ended on a mixed note. The Hang Seng ended 0.3% higher while the Shanghai Composite and Nikkei ended fell 0.5%.

The rupee is trading at 82.85 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading flat at Rs 59,241 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading lower by 0.1% at Rs 70,123 per kg.
 

Why Delhivery share price is rising

In news from the courier services sector, Delhivery shares traded up 1% today after the company won a contract from Havells India.

The contract to design, build, and operate the factory-to-customer supply chain for Havells in western India.

Strengthening this partnership further, Delhivery and Havells will jointly inaugurate new warehouses in western India to cater to the multi-channel demand spanning general and modern trade to emerging e-commerce retail.

With its latest acquisition of Algorhythm tech, Delhivery will seek to unlock further value through data-driven optimization of Havells' supply chain.

Delhivery shares hit an eight-month high after a big block deal by Carlyle. 
 

Data Patterns Q1 net profit jumps 81.4%

Moving on to the news from the defense sector, shares of Data Patterns jumped nearly 4% in trade today, after the company reported robust Q1 results.

The defense and aerospace electronics solutions provider has recorded consolidated profit at Rs 258.3 m for the quarter ended June FY24, rising 81.4% over a year-ago period, driven by higher other income and top-line numbers.

Revenue during the quarter grew by 31.2% year-on-year to Rs 897 m, while other income stood at Rs 116.1 m for the quarter against Rs 17 m in the same period last fiscal.

Data Patterns stock has given a return of 43.7% over the last six months because of that the stock has outperformed the Nifty50 benchmark index by a considerable margin. As the benchmark Nifty50 index has given a return of 9.2% over the same duration.

Speaking of the defense sector, note that the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan has emphasized the need for self-reliance in security space.

Given the increasing focus on self-reliance, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has set a target of doubling defense production to US$ 25 bn by 2025. To boost this, the Indian government is likely to spend a massive US$130 bn over the next 7-8 years on the modernization of the armed forces.

The increase in budgetary allocation, along with other factors, will ensure that India's top defense stocks remain in the limelight for the foreseeable future.

That is why we believe that the defense sector could produce the next set of multibagger stocks over the long run.
 

Why did IdeaForge slip 6% today?

Moving on to the news from the drone sector, shares of IdeaForge Technology slipped 6% to Rs 1,008.05 on the BSE in Wednesday's intra-day trade after the drone maker announced its first quarterly results since its stock market debut last month.

The stock was quoting lower for the sixth straight day, falling 13% during the period. It was also at its lowest level since its market debut on 7 July.

This downfall was seen after the company posted disappointing Q1 results.

For the April-June 2023 quarter, IdeaForge reported a 54% year-on-year (YoY) decline in its consolidated profit at Rs 188.6 m against Rs 412.5 m in the year-ago quarter (Q1FY23). The company had reported a loss of Rs 54.2 m in the previous quarter (Q4FY23).

Revenue from operation was down 2.2% YoY to Rs 970.7 m from Rs 992.7 m. Reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) margin contracted to 29.4% from 55.5% in Q1FY23.

Aligning with the sectoral opportunities, the company is actively pursuing new product development and business models.

The drone revolution has begun, and the exploding drone market is reshaping major industries and creating new ones. IdeaForge has been one such top drone stock in the market.

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