The equity barometers pared losses after hitting fresh intraday low in afternoon trade. The Nifty regained the 13,900 mark after briefly slipping below that level. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 127.39 points or 0.27% at 47,485.69. The Nifty 50 index lost 24.85 points or 0.18% at 13,907.75.
The broader market was negative. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.21%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.14%.
Sellers outpaced buyers. On the BSE, 1,365 shares rose and 1,467 shares fell. A total of 158 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 19 stocks advanced while 31 stocks declined.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,349.53 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,010.50 crore in the Indian equity market on 29 December 2020, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 8,19,97,581 with 17,89,512 deaths. India reported 2,62,272 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,48,439 deaths while 98,34,141 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
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The central government on Monday, 28 December 2020 extended the existing COVID-19 guidelines till 31 January 2021 as well as maintained strict surveillance and caution during this period amid concerns of new and highly infectious COVID-19 strain in the UK. The new Coronavirus variant discovered in the UK has now been detected in Taiwan.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Maharashtra government has extended lockdown restrictions in the state till 31 January 2021.
Economy:
The government has invited the protesting farmer' unions for talks today to end the impasse over the three farm laws. This will be the sixth round of talk between the government and farmers to end the deadlock. The Centre has written to the 40 protesting farmers' unions and invited them for talks. Apart from the farm laws, discussions will be held on MSP and on legislations related to air quality and the electricity.
Gainers & Losers:
UPL (up 2.66%), Eicher Motors (up 2.05%), Bajaj Finance (up 1.43%), Grasim Industries (up 1.22%) and Tech Mahindra (up 1.13%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.
IndusInd Bank (down 1.85%), Axis Bank (down 1.40%), GAIL (India) (down 1.37%), IOCL (down 1.10%) and State Bank of India (SBI) (down 1.03%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.
Stocks in Spotlight:
New Delhi Television (NDTV) slipped 0.88%. The Securities and Exchange Board of India imposed a penalty of Rs 5 crore on the company for not disclosing information on loan agreements with Vishvapradhan Commercial to public shareholders.
NDTV stated that journalists Radhika and Prannoy Roy, who are its founders and promoters, continue to hold majority stake with 61.45% of the paid-up share capital of the company. There has been no change in control through any arrangements or transactions with third parties. Any report or allegation to the contrary is baseless, it added.
Panacea Biotec jumped 3.93%. A minor fire incident took place on 29 December 2020 in a technical engineering floor in one of the air handling unit of the soft gelatin manufacturing block in the pharmaceutical formulations facility of Panacea Biotec's wholly owned subsidiary, Panacea Biotec Pharma at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh.
There is no loss or injury to human life or damages of property due to this incidence except damages to some equipments and stocks which got wet due to water used in dousing the fire.
The fire incidence was brought under control with the help of the fire control systems installed in the plant and the fire control department of the State Government of Himachal Pradesh. The facility has adequate insurance coverage for such loss and has informed the insurance company about this incident.
Global Markets:
European stocks were mixed on Wednesday as positive momentum wanes following the reaching of a post-Brexit trade deal between the EU and U.K. last week. Lawmakers in the U.K. are to vote on Wednesday, whether to approve the post-Brexit trade deal reached by negotiators on Christmas Eve. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on parliament to back the deal.
Most Asian shares were trading higher on Wednesday. Today is the final trading day in 2020 for stocks in Japan and South Korea as their markets will be closed on Thursday.
China's 2019 GDP growth was revised downward to 6.0%, according to a statement released Wednesday by the country's National Bureau of Statistics. That compared against a pre-revision 2019 growth rate of 6.1%.
U.S. stocks declined moderately from record high on Tuesday, 29 December 2020, with all three indexes the S&P 500 index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite closing lower, as investors elected to cash in on the recent strength in the markets.
At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 68.30 points, or 0.22%, to 30,335.67. The S&P 500 index was down 8.32 points, or 0.22%, to 3,727.04. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 49.20 points, or 0.38%, to 12,850.22.
President Donald Trump signed legislation late Sunday providing $900 billion in aid to individuals and businesses and $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies. Trump has called for the direct payments included in the bill to be increased to $2,000 from $600, and the House voted Monday to approve a measure increasing the size of the stimulus checks. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., blocked an effort by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to unanimously approve the House bill.
In U.S. economic data, the S&P Case-Shiller home price index for October showed a year-over-year rise of 7.9%, the fastest pace in six years.
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