Equity benchmarks traded sideways near the day's low in mid-morning trade. The Nifty held above 11,250 level. Metal shares bucked weak market trend. At 11:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 171.55 points or 0.3% at 38,375.87. The Nifty 50 index was down 20.35 points or 0.18% at 11,280.85.
The broader market was trading firm. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.11% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.05%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1367 shares rose and 886 shares fell. A total of 153 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 245.95 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,017.40 crore in the Indian equity market on 28 July, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 16,670,063 with 659,077 deaths. India reported 5,09,447 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 34,193 deaths while 9,88,029 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
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Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index gained 1.46% to 2,172.50, extending gains to third consecutive trading session. The index is up 4% in three trading days.
Tata Steel (up 3.1%), JSW Steel (up 1.98%), NMDC (up 1.76%), Steel Authority of India (up 1.55%), Hindalco Industries Ltd (up 1.49%), Vedanta (up 1.13%), Coal India (up 0.61%) and National Aluminium Company (up 0.3%) were top gainers in metal segment.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Edelweiss Financial Services hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 77.85. According to the media reports, the government has picked Edelweiss Financial Services and Deloitte as the two pre-initial public offer (IPO) transaction advisors for the listing of the country's biggest insurer - Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The scope of the mandate includes advising the government on the modalities of the IPO and the timing, arriving at an optimal capital structure, preparing restated consolidated financial statements for the past three years for LIC and its subsidiaries, structuring the transaction amongst other aspects.
MCX gained 2.29% to Rs 1744.35. The counter has gained 20% in four trading days from its previous closing low of Rs 1452.15 on 23 July 2020. The recent rally was triggered by robust Q1 results announced on 25 July. The company's consolidated net profit jumped 29.1% to Rs 56.43 crore on 8.1% decline in net sales to Rs 73.01 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. For the quarter ended 30 June 2020, MCX's operating income dropped 14% to Rs 73.01 crore from Rs 84.97 crore in Q1 June 2019. EBITDA for the quarter, advanced 29% to Rs 76.20 crore as against Rs 58.99 crore in Q1 June 2019. EBITDA margin stood at 62.10% while the PAT margin was 46% during Q1 FY21.
Bank of India up 2.3%. The bank said its board will meet on 3 August 2020 to consider raising funds by further issue of equity shares, bonds etc. through various modes which may include issue of equity shares through a qualified institutions placements (QIPs).
Global Markets:
The Dow Jones 30 Futures were trading 81 points lower, indicating a weak start in US markets today. Asian stocks were trading mixed on Wednesday as investors await the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
In US, stocks indexes closed lower Tuesday, as tech shares were under pressure and lawmakers continued their debate over the next coronavirus relief package. Shares of Amazon slipped 1.8% and Netflix declined by 1.4%. Alphabet shares fell 1.7%. Facebook shares dipped 1.5% and Apple closed 1.6% lower.
A plan unveiled by Senate Republicans would include relief for jobless Americans, another direct payment to individuals of up to $1,200, and more Paycheck Protection Program small business loan funds, among other provisions. It would also set federal unemployment insurance at 70% of a worker's previous wages, replacing the $600 per week which states stopped paying out this week.
On the vaccine front, Moderna Inc. kicked off its late-stage trial while Pfizer Inc and BioNTech entered late-stage trials of their candidates also.
The Federal Reserve began a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday that is expected to see Chairman Jerome Powell underline a willingness to take further action to support the economy and maintain easy financial conditions.
The Fed on Tuesday announced that its board of governors had decided to extend until the end of the year several emergency loan programs that had been set to expire on Sept. 30.
In US economic data, the Conference Board's consumer-confidence index fell to 92.6 in July from a revised 98.3 reading in June. The measure of how consumers feel about the economy right now actually rose to 94.2 in July from 86.7, but the subindex that gauges expectations about the future fell to a four-month low 91.5 from 106.1 in June.
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