Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

Barometers trade in range; breadth remains positive

Image
Capital Market
Last Updated : Feb 15 2021 | 2:50 PM IST

Benchmark indices traded in a range during early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, surged 504.46 points or 0.98% at 52,048.76. The Nifty 50 index soared 128.60 points or 0.85% at 15,291.90.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.49% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.53%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,499 shares rose and 1,362 shares fell. A total of 161 shares were unchanged.

Domestic shares have rallied sharply since January 2021 following a range of positive developments, including a high-spending union budget, strong corporate earnings, robust foreign fund flows and progress on COVID-19 vaccinations.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.47% to 21.7175. The Nifty 25 February 2021 futures were trading at 15,294.10, at a discount of 14.60 points as compared with the spot at 15,308.70.

More From This Section

The Nifty option chain for 25 February 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 20.4 lakh contracts at the 15,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 28.2 lakh contracts was seen at 14,000 strike price.

Economy:

The rate of inflation, based on monthly wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at (2.03%) (provisional) for the month of January 2021 (over January 2020) as compared to 3.52% during the corresponding month of the previous year. All commodities index stood at 2.03% in January 2021 as against 1.22% in December 2020 and 2.29% in November 2020. Food index was at (0.26%) in January 2021 from 0.92% in December 2020 and 4.79% in November 2020.

India's retail inflation, which is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), eased to 4.06% in the month of January 2021. The retail inflation during the month of December 2020 was at 4.59%.

Separately, the country's factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), witnessed a growth of 1% in December 2020, two separate data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed on Friday. The IIP had grown 0.4% in December 2019, the data showed.

Coronavirus Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 10,88,12,060 with 23,99,789 deaths. India reported 1,39,637 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,55,732 deaths while 1,06,21,220 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Financial Services index rose 1.92% to 17,342.30. The index added 18.83% in the past eleven sessions.

Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company (up 12.26%), Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (up 6.72%), Shriram Transport Finance Company (up 6.23%), Piramal Enterprises (up 5.15%) and Power Finance Corporation (up 3.84%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

ONGC rose 1.44%. ONGC's consolidated net profit dropped 31.1% to Rs 3,763.53 crore on 8.4% fall in net sales at Rs 1,00,288.83 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019. Profit before tax (PBT) tumbled 31% to Rs 6,138.14 crore in Q3 December 2020 as against Rs 8,889.77 crore in Q3 December 2019. Current tax expense for the quarter jumped 14.6% to Rs 2,467.24 crore as against Rs 2,153.61 crore paid in Q3 December 2019.

Total crude oil fell 3.3% to 5.632 million metric tonnes (MMT) in Q3 December 2020 over 5.823 MMT in Q3 December 2019. Total gas declined 5.9% to 5.809 billion cubic metre (BCM) in Q3 FY21 from 6.173 BCM in Q3 FY20. Value added products skid 9.9% to 809 kilo tonnes (KT) in Q3 December 2020 as against 898 KT in Q3 December 2019.

Sunteck Realty declined 2.14% after the real estate developer's consolidated net profit skid 34.2% to Rs 22.15 crore on 3.3% increase in net sales at Rs 204.65 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019. Pre-sales (new bookings) grew 7% to Rs 349 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Rs 325 crore in Q3 December 2019. Collections surged 52% to Rs 252 crore in Q3 December 2020 from Rs 166 crore in Q3 December 2019. EBITDA slipped 9% to Rs 45 crore in Q3 FY21 as against Rs 49 crore in Q3 FY20. Operation margin stood at 22% in Q3 FY21 from 29% in Q3 FY20. Net profit margin was at 11% in Q3 FY21 as compared to 15% in Q3 FY20.

Power Grid Corporation of India fell 0.02%. The board of Power Grid Corporation of India, on 11 February 2021, approved the acquisition of 74% shareholding of the JV partner i.e. Jaiprakash Power Ventures in Jaypee PowerGrid (JPL) (a joint venture company of Power Grid Corporation of India and Jaiprakash Power Ventures). JPL was incorporated to implement a specific transmission lines associated with Karcham-Wangtoo HEP (1,000 MW).

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

Also Read

First Published: Feb 15 2021 | 12:37 PM IST

Next Story