The key indices were currently trading near the day's high in mid-morning trade. At 11:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 250.33 points or 0.61% at 41,590.49. The Nifty 50 index added 60.90 points or 0.50% at 12,181.20.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.18% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.74%.
The market breadth favoured buyers. On the BSE, 1363 shares rose and 897 shares fell. A total of 167 shares were unchanged.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) jumped 3.28% to Rs 2019.20 after the company announced that the Public Investment Fund (PIF) will invest Rs 9,555 crore (approximately $1.3 billion) for an equity stake of 2.04% into Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL).
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 48,600,930 with 1,232,214 deaths. India reported 520,773 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 124,985 deaths while 7,765,966 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
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US Election 2020:
According to the latest count, Democratic Party candidate and former vice president Joe Biden has won 264 electoral votes while President Donald Trump has won 214 electoral votes. Five states namely Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina still counting votes. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the election.
However, Trump has already filed court cases to challenge the counting of votes in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan. He also wants a recount in Wisconsin, media reports said.
In the Senate, the Republican Party has so far won 48 seats while the Democratic Party has won 46 seats. Either party needs 51 seats for a majority in the Senate.
In the House, the Democratic Party has won 208 seats so far while the Republican Party has won 193 seats. Either party needs 218 seats for a majority in the House.
The media reported that Biden has a strong chance to win the election but he will preside over a divided house and that will it difficult for any major policy changes to be enacted.
The US Dow Jones Futures were currently down 249 points and Nasdaq futures were down 232 points.
Buzzing Segment:
The Nifty Pharma index shed 0.50% to 11,646.80. The index had gained 4.7% in the past three sessions.
Cadila Healthcare (down 1.49%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 1.26%), Dr. Reddy's Labs (down 0.84%), Lupin (down 0.68%) and Cipla (down 0.44%) declined while Alkem Laboratories (up 0.86%) and Divi's Labs (up 0.26%) advanced.
Earnings Impact:
Berger Paints India rose 0.81% to Rs 652.20 after consolidated net profit jumped 13.6% to Rs 221.05 crore on 9% rise in net sales to Rs 1,742.55 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.
Torrent Power fell 0.30% to Rs 315.55 after the company's consolidated net profit tumbled 73% to Rs 202 crore in Q2 September 2020 from Rs 755 crore in Q2 September 2019. Consolidated net sales for Q2 September 2020 stood at Rs 3,128 crore, declining nearly 19% to Rs 3,842 crore in Q2 September 2019.
The company said performance of franchised distribution businesses was impacted due to COVID 19 pandemic causing reduction in electricity demand mainly in commercial and industrial customer categories and increase in T&D loss. Decrease in contribution from renewable generation due to abnormally lower wind speeds during the quarter, lower contribution from merchant power sales due to lower prices of electricity in the spot market also impacted revenue. This was offset by a decrease in interest cost, both due to lower debt and reduction in interest rates.
Global Markets:
Asian markets edged higher on Friday as investors continued to monitor the developments on the US election front.
The US stock market finished session sharp higher on Thursday, 5 November 2020, adding to the strong gains posted in the previous two sessions, on hopes that the winner of the US election would soon be determined with Joe Biden on the brink of claiming the presidency. While Biden currently seems poised to unseat President Donald Trump, Democrats are not expected to take control of the Senate.
Investors bought technology and healthcare firms on bets that a divided US Congress would mean no major tax hikes or regulatory changes that would derail the sectors. Shares of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft and Apple were all up at least 2.5%. Qualcomm shares surged 12.8% after the chipmaker forecast fiscal first-quarter revenue above estimates. General Motors shares gained 5.4% on strong earnings.
US first-claims for unemployment benefits edged down to 751,000 in the week ended October 31st, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 758,000.
Meanwhile, the US Fed decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25%. The accompanying statement said the Fed expects rates to remain unchanged until labor market conditions have reached levels consistent with the central bank's assessments of maximum employment and inflation has risen to 2% and is on track to moderately exceed 2% for some time.
The Fed also said it plans to increase its holdings of Treasury securities and agency mortgage-backed securities at least at the current pace to sustain smooth market functioning and help foster accommodative financial conditions. In their assessment of the economy, the members of the Fed said economic activity and employment have continued to recover but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year.
Weaker demand and earlier declines in oil prices have been holding down consumer price inflation, the central bank added. The Fed also said overall financial conditions remain accommodative, in part reflecting policy measures to support the economy and the flow of credit to U.S. households and businesses.
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