The equity benchmark ended near the day's high after a stellar run on Wednesday. Buying was supported by positive global shares. Sentiment also improved after the finance minister said the government would unveil measures to limit the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The S&P BSE Sensex, surged 428.62 points or 1.05% at 41,323, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index was up 137.80 points or 1.15% at 12,130.30, as per the provisional closing data.
The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.34% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index surged 1.41%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1525 shares rose and 1002 shares fell. A total of 180 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 38 stocks advanced while 12 stocks declined.
The Union Cabinet is currently addressing the media from 15:30 IST today.
Economy:
More From This Section
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the Indian government will soon announce measures to deal with the impact of deadly Coronavirus outbreak on the domestic industry and the economy. The minister's statement came after a comprehensive consultation on the effects of the Coronavirus in a review meeting of the Ministry of Finance in the national capital. Sitharaman said she would hold a meeting with the secretaires of different ministries on Wednesday and then announce steps to deal with the situation in consultation with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). FM also said there were no reports of shortage of medicines or medical equipment, instead the pharma industry is asking for lifting of ban on exports of certain items. However, there could be some disruptions in supplies and concerns have been expressed by the representative of pharma, solar and chemical industries, she said.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Pharma index rose 2.20% to 8,379.05, outperforming the other sectoral indices on the NSE.
Wockhardt (up 9.53%), IPCA Laboratories (up 5.9%), Strides Shasun (up 3.46%), Piramal Enterprises (up 3.29%), Cipla (up 2.65%), Cadila Healthcare (up 2.48%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 1.68%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.68%), Lupin (up 0.41%), Divi's Laboratories (up 0.22%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.05%) advanced.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 1.31%) and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.32%) declined.
Aurobindo Pharma surged 20.21%. The drug maker said that with regard to the USFDA inspection of unit IV, a general injectable formulation manufacturing facility of the company, the company has received the Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) with Voluntary Action Initiated (VAI) status from USFDA.
In an exchange filing made on November 13, Auro Pharma had announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) inspected company's unit IV, a general injectable formulation manufacturing facility situated at Pashamylaram, Hyderabad, from 4 to 13 November 2019. At the end of the inspection, the company was issued a 'Form 483' with 14 observations.
Describing the situation in terms of raw material import from China as "grim," India Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) has reportedly said the Indian Pharma Industry has enough stocks of active pharmaceutical ingredient (APIs) for two to three months only. As per reports, India imports Rs 17,000 crore worth of APIs from the Novel Coronavirus-hit nation.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Shree Cement (up 2.55%) will replace private lender Yes Bank (up 1.43%) in the benchmark index Nifty 50 from 27 March 2020, NSE Indices, a subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), said on Tuesday, 18 February 2020 after market hours.
IDFC First Bank rose 3.64% to Rs 39.85 after CRISIL assigned its 'CRISIL AA rating with a stable outlook to its Rs 2,000 crore Tier II bonds (Under Basel III) of the bank. The credit rating agency said that ratings reflects the bank's healthy capitalisation, increased focus on retailisation of the loan book and expectation of improvement in earnings profile going forward. These strengths are partially offset by the relatively low, albeit increasing, proportion of current account and savings account (CASA) deposits in borrowings.
HDFC Mutual Fund reduced its aggregate holding in Balkrishna Industries to 5.99% from 8.06% earlier. The fund house sold 2.07% stake in the auto parts maker in the open market on 17 February 2020.
Shares of Balkrishna Industries rose 2.22% at Rs 1256.70 on BSE. It fell as much as 0.73% at the day's low of Rs 1229.15 in morning trade.
SpiceJet surged 4.52% to Rs 87.85 after the media reported that the low cost airliner has launched 20 new flights scheduled to commence operations from 29 March onward.
Man Industries (India) added 3.01% to Rs 56.45. The company has received new export order of approximately Rs 300 crore from MENA Region. With this the total unexecuted order book of the company stands at approximately Rs 1,600 crore.
Mishra Dhatu Nigam (MIDHANI) slipped 0.96% to Rs 217. Since the announcement of its Q3 earnings, the stock has risen 31.28% in the past four sessions from its recent closing low of Rs 165.30 on 12 February 2020.
MIDHANI reported 257.8% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 60.50 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against Rs 16.91 crore in Q3 December 2018. Net sales in the December quarter stood at Rs 206.02 crore, up by 36% from Rs 151.48 crore reported in the same period last year. Profit before tax (PBT) during the Q3FY 20 stood at Rs 58.45 crore, up by 155.4% from Rs 22.89 crore recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year. The order book position of the company as on 1 January 2020 stood at Rs 1776 crore.
Trigyn Technologies added 1.34% to Rs 45.30. Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace (OECM) awarded a deal to Trigyn Technologies to provide IT technical resource augmentation services in the East and West of Ontario, Canada. The services will be provided to OECM customers, which include Ontario's publicly funded education institutions, and broader public sector organizations, including municipalities, hospitals, community care access centers, developmental services organizations, crown corporations, as well as not-for-profit organizations. The award is for a period of three years, with an option to extend for an additional two years, bringing the potential term to five years.
Global Markets:
European shares extended gains while Asian markets ended higher on Wednesday as investors tried to shake off concerns over the coronavirus epidemic following a slight decline in the number of new cases.
China's National Health Commission said that as of Tuesday night, a total of 74,185 cases of the new coronavirus had been confirmed in the country and 2,004 people have died.
In US, the Nasdaq Composite index eked out a record finish on Tuesday, even though other major stock benchmarks fell after Apple Inc. said its second-quarter earnings would take a hit from the viral outbreak in China, reigniting fears that the disease may disrupt manufacturing supply chains and have broad implications for the global economy and financial markets.
Apple said revenue in the current quarter won't reach its target range of between $63 billion and $67 billion due to the impact of the infectious disease.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News