The benchmark indices hit fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade. The Nifty continued to trade below the 9100 mark. At 12:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 604.21 points or 1.91% at 30,957.01. The Nifty 50 index shed 164.05 points or 1.78% at 9,075.15.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index lost 1.66% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.27%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 575 shares rose and 1439 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged. In the Nifty 50 index, 19 shares advances and 31 shares declined.
Investors were concerned about a second wave of coronavirus infections after the China's Wuhan city where the pandemic originated reported its first new cases since its lockdown was lifted. Wuhan reported five new cases on Monday.
Rapidly rising Covid-19 cases in India also weighed on the market sentiment. Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 41,77,584 far with 2,86,330 deaths. India reported 46,008 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 2,293 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Prime Minister's address:
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 8 pm today evening. At video conference with chief ministers (CMs) held yesterday, PM Modi reportedly promised resumption of more economic activities in the weeks to come and asked states to take the lead in deciding the contours of the next phase of lockdown and share their strategies with him by May 15.
As per reports, the centre has indicated that an economic package for the states was on the anvil, and the PM expressed the need to strengthen health infrastructure with onset of monsoon round the corner. PM also acknowledged that the next challenge was to prevent the virus from 'spreading to rural areas'. The fear of spread with the return of Indians stranded abroad was also flagged, media reports said.
A government statement reportedly issued after the meeting acknowledged the CMs suggested support to MSMEs, infrastructure projects like power, easing of interest rates on loans, and assured market access to agricultural produce.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.45% to 38.21. The Nifty April 2020 futures were trading at 9,073.55, a discount of 1.6 points compared with the spot at 9,075.15.
On the options front, the Nifty option chain for 28 May 2020 expiry showed maximum call open interest (OI) of 24.74 lakh contracts at the 10,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 25.12 lakh contracts was seen at 9,000 strike price.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Biocon rose 0.14% to Rs 352.10. Biocon Biologics India, a subsidiary of Biocon, has received the certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliance from EMA represented by the competent authority of Germany for its biologics drug substance (DS), facilities at Bengaluru. These facilities are used for manufacturing drug substance of Pegfilgrastim and Recombinant Human Insulin and manufacturing related activities for Insulin Glargine and Insulin Aspart and were inspected by the regulatory agency between January 20 and 23, 2020. This certification will enable the firm to continue addressing the growing needs of patients in the EU markets and enhance access to the firm's high quality biosimilars.
Seamec surged 4.93% to Rs 314.95. HAL Offshore placed a Notification of Award (NOA) for charter hire of SEAMEC III for 2 years. The vessel is likely to be deployed around end July or early August after completing the dry docking and modifications required to meet the contractual obligation. The aggregate value of contract is about $22,986,400 inclusive of GST.
Further, the company's subject vessel 'Seamec Princess' has been contracted with L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering for working at Mumbai High Offshore. The tenure of the contract is for a firm period of 20 days with option for extension. The contract has commenced from 11 May 2020. The aggregate value of contract is about Rs 8.07 crore.
InterGlobe Aviation rose 3.86% to Rs 998.50. The media reported that Rahul Bhatia, IndiGo's biggest shareholder, is eyeing Australia's second-largest airline Virgin Australia Holdings, which went bankrupt last month amid the coronavirus pandemic. Virgin Australia has attracted at least 20 potential buyers as its administrator, Deloitte, races to sell the airline within two months of its collapse. Deloitte is seeking indicative bids by Friday and binding offers in June, targeting a deal by the end of that month. According to an Australian business and finance newspaper, the Indian proposal aims to relaunch the airline in its original form as a low-cost carrier to return it to profit.
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