At 12:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 298.24 points or 0.77% at 38,316.05. The Nifty 50 index dropped 71.7 points or 0.63% at 11,336.70. Both these indices rose about 2% in the previous three sessions.
The broader market continued to outperform the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.72% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index surged 0.8%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1543 shares rose and 966 shares fell. A total of 156 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 459.01 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 97.13 crore in the Indian equity market on 19 August, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 22,328,069 with 7,86,303 deaths. India reported 6,86,395 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 53,866 deaths while 20,96,664 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed that India is on the heels of crossing 3 crore cumulative COVID-19 tests and the total number of recoveries has crossed 2 million. Coupled with this is another achievement of highest ever single day recovery of 60,091 in the last 24 hours. With this high number of COVID-19 patients recovering and being discharged from the hospitals and home isolation (in case of mild and moderate cases), the Recovery Rate has scaled the twin peak of crossing 73% (73.64%). This has also led to the declining Case Fatality Rate, which stands at a new low of 1.91% today. The record high recoveries have ensured that the actual caseload of the country viz. the active cases has reduced and currently comprises less than 1/4th (only 24.45%) of the total positive cases. India has posted 13,61,356 more recoveries than the active cases (6,76,514).
Derivatives:
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The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 2.43% to 20.4425. The Nifty August 2020 futures were trading at 11,336.75, at a discount of 3.75 points compared with the spot at 11,340.50.
The Nifty weekly option chain for 20 August 2020 expiry showed maximum Call OI 90.92 lakh contracts at the 11,400 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 55.16 lakh contracts was seen at 11,200 strike price.
The Nifty option chain for 27 August 2020 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 24.71 lakh contracts at the 11,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 36.42 lakh contracts was seen at 11,000 strike price.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Kennametal India declined 1.26% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 9.5 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2020 as against a net profit of Rs 17.60 crore recorded in the quarter ended 30 June 2019. Revenue from operations during the quarter slumped 58.8% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 95.6 crore. On the segmental front, the revenue from machining solutions was at Rs 22.1 crore (down 64.7% YoY) and the revenue from hard metal and hard metal products was at Rs 73.5 crore (down 60.8% YoY).
IIFL Wealth Management rose 1.48%. The board of directors of IIFL Wealth Management has declared a one-time special interim dividend of Rs 40 per equity share of the face value of Rs 2 each. The record date for this purpose is 27 August 2020.
L&T Finance was up 2.83%. The Committee of Directors of L&T Finance Holdings on Wednesday, 19 August 2020, approved the offer and issuance of up to 2,000 unsecured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of face value of Rs 10 lakh at par aggregating to nominal amount of up to Rs 200 crore on a private placement basis at the coupon/interest rate of 8% per annum payable annually. The NCDs will be listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the tenure of the NCDs shall be 1095 days. NCDs will be redeemed at par on 28 August 2023. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 August 2020.
PNB Housing Finance gained 0.98%. The board of directors of the company has approved to raise equity capital aggregating upto Rs 1800 crore through preferential issue/rights issue. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 August 2020.
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