Key indices are trading slightly higher in early trade. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 38.32 points or 0.1% at 39,082.67. The Nifty 50 index was up 17.35 points or 0.15% at 11,539.15.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.39%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.2%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is strong. On the BSE, 1019 shares rose and 671 shares fell. A total of 104 shares were unchanged.
On the macro front, India's exports slipped 12.66% to $22.7 billion in August, on account of decline in the shipments of petroleum, leather, engineering goods and gems and jewellery items, according to the government data released on 15 September 2020. The country's imports too declined 26% to $29.47 billion in August, leaving a trade deficit of $6.77 billion, compared to a shortfall of $13.86 billion in the same month last year, as per the data.
Central bank's meetings:
Traders also looked ahead to the Federal Reserve concluding its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. The Federal Open Market Committee will give its quarterly update on where it sees GDP, unemployment and inflation going. The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England announce their respective policy decisions on Thursday.
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Stocks in news:
Infosys rose 0.14%. Infosys announced that it has been selected by Essential Utilities, one of the largest publicly traded water, wastewater and natural gas providers in the U.S., as a strategic partner to drive its digital transformation.
Aurobindo Pharma gained 2.02%. Aurobindo Pharma and The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) announced a collaboration to develop vaccines to protect against SARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19. Under the signed agreement between CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Aurobindo Pharma, Aurobindo will partner with CSIR for development of several novel COVID-19 vaccines.
Indiabulls Housing Finance rose 2.42% to Rs 190.35. The company's board approved allotment of 3.47 crore equity shares to eligible qualified institutional buyers at an issue price of Rs 196.37 per share, aggregating to Rs 682.87 crore.
REC rose 0.69%. REC said that the board of directors accorded its approval for infusion of Rs 150 crore as equity in a company, proposed to be promoted as Joint Venture alongwith three other Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) i.e. Power Finance Corporation Limited, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited and NTPC Limited, for the purpose of establishment/creation of Common Backend Infrastructure Facility (CBIF) for Smart Meters in the country.
Power Mech Projects fell 0.85%. The company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 32.59 crore in Q1 June 2020, compared to net profit of Rs 28.41 crore in Q1 June 2019. Total income fell 43.99% to Rs 276.85 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019.
Global Markets:
Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors await the Federal Open Market Committee's quarterly update.
Provisional trade statistics from Japan's Ministry of Finance released Wednesday showed the country's exports in August falling 14.8% as compared to a year ago.
In US, stocks rose on Tuesday, building on the strong performance from the previous session, on the back of broad market gains and solid economic data. Apple on Tuesday announced new devices and services, including a new Apple Watch and two new iPad models.
In the U.S., the Empire State Manufacturing index came in at 17 for September, rebounding from a print of 3.7 in August.
Back home, benchmark indices ended with strong gains on Tuesday, tracking positive global cues. Banks and pharma shares rallied while auto and FMCG shares declined. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex added 287.72 points or 0.74% at 39,044.35. The Nifty 50 index gained 81.75 points or 0.71% at 11,521.80.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,170.89 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 895.63 crore in the Indian equity market on 15 September, provisional data showed.
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