The equity indices pared gains in mid-afternoon trade as investors booked profits at higher levels. At 14:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 212.2 points or 0.47% at 45,291.77. The Nifty 50 index gained 61.8 points or 0.47% at 13,320.35.
The Sensex hit a record high of 45,418.33 and the Nifty hit a record high of 13,352.65 in the afternoon trade on COVID vaccination optimism after Pfizer-BioNTech and Serum Institute (Oxford-Astra) both applied for an early EUA (emergency usage authorizations) for India.
The broader market continued to remain robust. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.62% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.14%.
Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,988 shares rose and 927 shares fell. A total of 183 shares were unchanged.
The Dow Jones Futures 30 were down 168 points, indicating a weak start on Wall Street today.
COVID-19 Update:
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Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine maker by number of doses produced, has sought government approval for emergency use authorisation of the coronavirus vaccine that it is developing with the University of Oxford and British drugmaker AstraZeneca.
The move comes close on the heels of Pfizer Inc applying for a similar authorization of its coronavirus vaccine in India. It is to be noted that Pfizer India's parent company Pfizer has already got emergency-use clearance in the United Kingdom and Bahrain.
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 6,70,73,749 with 15,36,072 deaths.
India reported 3,96,729 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,40,573 deaths while 91,39,901 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Economy:
In the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season, the government continues to procure Kharif crops at its Minimum Support Price (MSP) from farmers as per its existing MSP schemes. About 32.92 lakh paddy farmers have benefitted from Kharif Marketing Season Procurement Operations with MSP value of over Rs 63,563 crore.
Agriculture Ministry said over 336 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been procured against the last year corresponding purchase of around 280 lakh metric tonnes. This shows an increase of 20.27% over last year. Out of the total purchase of over 336 lakh metric tonnes, Punjab alone has purchased 202.77 lakh metric tonnes till the close of procurement season in the state on 30th of last month. It is 60.23% of total procurement in the country.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 1.83% to 1,728.95, extending its winning run to third consecutive trading session. The index has surged 8.31% in three trading days.
Bank of Maharashtra (up 5.28%), Central Bank of India (up 4.56%), Canara Bank (up 4%), SBI (up 2.18%), UCO Bank (up 1.93%), Bank of Baroda (up 1.52%), Indian Overseas Bank (up 1.36%) and Indian Bank (up 0.96%) were top gainers.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Goodyear India jumped 15.68% to Rs 1015.05 after the company said its board declared an interim dividend of Rs 80 per share for the Financial Year 2020-21. The company has fixed 15 December 2020 as the record date for determining the entitlement of the shareholder for the interim dividend.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose 1.02% after the company said it won multiple orders for construction and mining equipment business. The orders are for supplying 66 units of Komatsu 100 ton & 60 ton dump trucks, 15 units of Komatsu wheel loaders, 7 units of Komatsu hydraulic excavators and allied equipment. The scope includes supplying equipment and maintenance contracts for supporting operations over three to four years.
Numbers to Track:
In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee edged lower to 73.9 as compared to its previous closing of 73.8.
The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 5.926% compared with its closing of 5.897% in the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2021 settlement fell 0.44% to Rs 48,957.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.41% to 91.07.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2020 settlement fell 58 cents to $48.67 a barrel. The contract gained 1.11% to end at $49.25 in the previous trading session.
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