After opening the day marginally higher, benchmark indices reversed the momentum as the session progressed and ended the day lower.

Indian benchmarks, Sensex, and Nifty50 indices extended weakness into a second day on Thursday amid selling in L&T, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, and Bharti Airtel.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 27 points.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 9 points.

ONGC, Coal India, and ITC are among the top gainers today.

Tata Consumer Products, Sun Pharma, and M&M the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at 24,429, up by 68 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index ended 0.4% higher and the BSE SmallCap index ended 0.6% higher.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed, with stocks in the energy sector, oil and gas sector witnessing the most buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the power sector and realty sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Trent, Grasim Industries, and Britannia hit their respective 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 83.56 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.2% higher at Rs 72,840 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 0.6% higher at Rs 93,388 per 1 kg.
 

Ahluwalia Contracts Rallies 8%. Here's why

In news from the real estate sector, shares of Ahluwalia Contracts jumped as much as 8.4% to hit an intraday high of Rs 1539.85 per share on Thursday.

The surge in share price came after the company announced that it had secured an order worth Rs 8.9 bn from the Airport Authority of India (AAI).

According to the order details, the company will be responsible for the development of Lal Bahadur International Airport in Varanasi.

Ahluwalia Contracts will engage in the construction of a new terminal building and allied works on the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) model.

The order, Ahluwalia Contracts said, needs to be completed in 36 months.

Established in 1965, Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Ltd began its journey as an EPC company. It was formally incorporated on 2 June 1979, acquiring the operations of four construction partnership firms the following month. By September 1990, it transitioned into a Public Limited Company.

Specialising primarily in civil construction activities, Ahluwalia Contracts has expanded its scope to include developing and managing commercial complexes under licencing agreements, alongside engaging in real estate trading. It stands as one of India's foremost integrated construction firms.

Ahluwalia Contracts is an EPC company, engaged in the business of civil construction activities with five decades of expertise in infrastructure development.

Why Oriental Rail Infra Share Price is Rising?

Moving on to news from the railway sector, Oriental Rail Infrastructure's share price touched a 52-week high of Rs 378.6 and locked at a 5% upper circuit in the early trade on July 11 after the company received an order from Indian Railways.

95% of the contract value will be paid upon receipt of an inspection certificate from the nominated agency and proof of dispatch or delivery of the material. The remaining 5% will be paid after the goods are received, inspected, and accepted.

The contract included the manufacturing and supply of 194 sets of 'Seats' for LHB GS coaches, 96 sets of 'Seats and Berths' for LHB SCN coaches, and 29 sets of 'Seats and Berths' with MS corrugated sheets for LHB AC3T coaches.

Oriental Rail Infrastructure shares have jumped 278% in the last nine months, while it has given a massive 560% one-year return.

Oriental Rail Infrastructure manufactures a wide range of products for Indian Railways. This includes passenger coach components like seats, berths, chairs, and lavatory doors.

Apart from this, through its subsidiary, Oriental Foundry, the company also manufactures heavier equipment like railway rolling stock, wagons, bogies, couplers, and draft gears.

They're a leader in the seat & berth segment, holding over 50% market share.
 

IRCTC Gains on New Collaboration

Moving on, Indian Railways has partnered with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) to promote 'One India - One Ticket', a government plan for integrated public transport.

The collaboration aims to improve the travel experience for railway and Metro passengers in Delhi/NCR.

The beta version of the DMRC QR code-based ticket was launched on Wednesday, enabling main-line railway passengers to book DMRC QR code tickets on the IRCTC website and the Android version of the mobile application. The full version launch is anticipated soon.

Railway passengers can book Delhi Metro tickets alongside their train tickets, either at the source or destination station within the Delhi/NCR region.

The system allows for easy cancellations, enhancing user convenience.

Once the DMRC ticket is purchased by the railway passenger, one DMRC QR code per passenger will be printed/available on the electronic reservation slip of IRCTC.

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