The market barometers were hovering with modest gains in afternoon trade. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 135.84 points or 0.27% at 50,391.59. The Nifty 50 index gained 46.55 points or 0.31% at 14,836.50.
The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.17%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.22%.
Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1,775 shares rose and 1,081 shares fell. A total of 154 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 31 stocks advanced while 18 stocks declined. 1 stock remained unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,520.92 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 399.74 crore in the Indian equity market on 3 February 2021, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 10,43,89,724 with 22,68,691 deaths. India reported 1,55,025 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,54,703 deaths while 1,04,80,455 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
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Economy:
The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index (IHS Markit India Services PMI) rose from 52.3 in December to 52.8 in January, pointing to a quicker expansion in output. Still, the headline figure remained below its long-run average of 53.3 and was consistent with a moderate pace of growth.
Gainers & Losers:
ITC (up 4.82%), ONGC (up 4.12%), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (up 4.03%), Shree Cement (up 4.03%) and Coal India (up 3.97%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.
IndusInd Bank (down 2.33%), Asian Paints (down 1.80%), Bharti Airtel (down 1.62%), Titan Company (down 1.44%) and Tech Mahindra (down 1.37%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.
Nifty Results Today:
State Bank of India (up 0.68%), NTPC (up 1.80%) and Hero MotoCorp (up 1.13%) will announce its quarterly result today.
Earnings Impact:
Apollo Tyres jumped 6.86% after the tyre-maker reported a 155% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 443.81 crore in Q3 FY21 from Rs 173.86 crore in Q3 FY20. Net sales for the quarter ended December 2020 stood at Rs 4,965.30 crore, up 14.2% over Rs 4,347.16 crore in quarter ended December 2019. Apollo Tyres said topline performance was driven by strong demand recovery across segments in India.
Godrej Properties skid 2.54% after the company's consolidated net profit tumbled 69.2% to Rs 14.35 crore on a 55.5% fall in revenue from operations to Rs 170.49 crore in Q3 FY21 over Q3 FY20. Profit before tax in Q3 December 2020 stood at Rs 31.39 crore, down by 64.4% from Rs 88.13 crore in Q3 December 2019. The company incurred a current tax expense of Rs 6.61 crore during the quarter.
Hindustan Copper hit an upper circuit of 10% at Rs 69.15 after the PSU company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 108.19 crore in Q3 FY21 compared with net loss of Rs 95.61 crore reported in Q3 FY20. Consolidated net sales in Q3 FY21 zoomed 477% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 538.42 crore. The copper miner reported a consolidated profit before tax of Rs 129.08 crore in Q3 FY21 compared with pre-tax loss of Rs 121.20 crore in Q3 FY20. Current tax expense in Q3 FY21 stood at Rs 32.93 crore in Q3 FY21.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Cadila Healthcare fell 0.14%. The pharmaceutical company announced that its antimalarial compound ZY19489 (MMV253) in development with Swiss-based product development partnership Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) has now completed Phase-I clinical evaluation. ZY19489 has the potential to be a single-dose cure for P. Falciparumand P. Vivaxmalaria due to its novel mechanism of action, rapid parasites killing activity across all intra-erythrocytic malaria stages, low resistance potential and long half-life.
HCL Technologies rose 0.05%. The IT major announced that it has signed a five-year digital workplace services agreement with Airbus. HCL Technologies will establish a modernized digital workplace to enhance the user experience and service quality for the majority of Airbus employees globally. HCL Technologies was selected as Airbus' preferred partner as it was able to offer the broadest combination of standard functionality and innovation capabilities to generate greater efficiency and improved time to market, the press release stated.
Global Markets:
European stocks open higher on Thursday following a positive market sentiment in the past couple of sessions along with a busy week of earnings reports.
Most Asian stocks declined on Thursday amid profit selling. In US, the Dow and S&P 500 rose slightly on Wednesday, registering a third straight session of gains, with Alphabet Inc's shares hitting a record high following its strong quarterly results.
The House passed a budget resolution Wednesday, a key step as Democrats push toward a vote on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. Approval of the measure allows Congress to move forward with reconciliation, through which Democrats can pass an aid bill without Republican support. The Senate is expected to approve a resolution later this week.
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