New Delhi: Gold prices jumped over 9 per cent this month which is about five times the returns of broader equity markets but investors largely moved gains into safer assets rather than reinvesting in precious metals, a report said on Wednesday.

Precious metal inflows dropped from Rs 8,680 crore in June to Rs 4,084 crore in July, while Rs 1,40,390 crore flooded into money market funds against last month’s Rs 65,530 crore of outflows, the report from Vallum Capital said.

The immediate trigger for gold price gains was the US jobs report that came in far weaker than expected, briefly reducing fears of another Federal Reserve interest rate hike, the report added.

Fixed income reversed too from Rs 53,006 crore of outflows in June to Rs 5,947 crore of inflows in July — a Rs 58,954 crore swing in one month.

Within India, auto and transport had exceptional months on the back of the country’s first‑ever 4‑lakh passenger vehicle in July. Technology recovered sharply as global investors rotated out of Korean semiconductor stocks directly into Indian software companies, but Rs 1,345 crore left technology funds anyway.

Healthcare absorbed Rs 737 crore in fresh money, quietly building on over 16.4 per cent for the year.

According to the report, PSU banks gained over 3.8 per cent on strong quarterly results, while private banks’ shares fell -4 per cent as the flow gap between the two widened sharply.

Micro-cap emerged as the strongest performer, delivering 4.6 per cent in one month, 15.9 per cent YTD and 12.7 per cent over one year, while small-cap returned 2.8 per cent in the month, 11.4 per cent YTD and 13.3 per cent over one year.

Large-cap funds, meanwhile, sit at -3.9 per cent YTD yet absorbed Rs 14,977 crore in July flows, up Rs 5,291 crore from June, the report noted.

Mumbai, Aug 19: Domestic equity market benchmarks opened on a flat note on Wednesday with crude oil prices surging to almost $92 and rising global bond yields dampening appetite for risk assets.

Sensex opened at 77,218.05, down 17.41 points or 0.02 per cent, while Nifty started the session at 24,152.05, declining 2.85 points or 0.01 per cent.

Sectorally, IT stocks led gains among sectoral indices in early trade with Nifty IT rising 0.82 per cent, while most other sectors remained subdued. Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom gained 0.59 per cent, followed by Nifty Realty and Nifty REITS & Realty, which rose up to 0.2 per cent each.

Among the declining indices, Nifty Metal fell 0.35 per cent, followed by Nifty Auto which declined 0.14 per cent. Nifty MidSmall Healthcare dropped 0.10 per cent, Nifty Pharma, Nifty Chemicals and Nifty500 Healthcare declined 0.09 per cent each.

Analysts said the ongoing weakness was primarily driven by rising crude oil prices and higher bond yields globally.

They said uncertainty over the Middle East conflict has pushed crude prices higher, raising concerns over inflation and putting upward pressure on bond yields adding that US 30-year yields are at their highest level since 2007.

However, strong domestic fundamentals, improving GDP and earnings growth prospects for FY27 and robust domestic liquidity are helping the Indian market remain resilient.

Long-term investors could use the weakness to accumulate quality growth stocks, particularly as momentum remains stronger in the mid- and small-cap segments, according to the market experts.

Additionally, Asian markets also declined amid continued weakness in semiconductor stocks, while crude oil prices rose to their highest level in more than three weeks as international benchmark Brent crude traded around $92 per barrel after Iran took a tougher stance and said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed, while the US ruled out extending the ceasefire.

New Delhi : Larsen & Toubro Technology Services (LTTS) on Wednesday said it has won a five-year contract worth more than $75 million from a leading global technology enterprise.

In a regulatory filing, the company said the engagement will involve deploying its Engineering Intelligence (EI) capabilities across the client’s product development and engineering lifecycle.

In addition, the deal will cover product engineering, software development, testing and validation, sustenance engineering, platform operations and other digital engineering services, LTTS said.

Under the engagement, the company will also use its suite of Engineering Intelligence solutions to establish a dedicated engineering centre for the client’s technology and digital functions.

However, it did not disclose the name of the client — citing contractual obligations. It said the contract was awarded by an international entity and would be executed over a period of five years.

The latest order comes as LTTS continues to expand its engineering and artificial intelligence capabilities across global markets.

Moreover, the company had reported a 17.4 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 352 crore for the first quarter of the current financial year. While revenue during the quarter rose 11.5 per cent to Rs 2,940 crore.

However, on a constant-currency basis revenue growth stood at 1.9 per cent, compared with 12.8 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

LTTS last week also announced the launch of AgenticIQ, an end-to-end agentic artificial intelligence platform aimed at enabling engineering and manufacturing companies to deploy autonomous AI agents at scale.

Shares of LTTS on Wednesday traded at Rs 3,517.65 apiece on the BSE in early deals.

LTTS is a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro and provides engineering research and development and digital engineering services to customers across industries.