Key equity benchmarks extended rally and hit a fresh intraday high in afternoon trade. At 13:40 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 1,690.47 points or 5.16% at 34,468.61. The Nifty 50 index added 518.15 points or 5.40% at 10,108.30.
The sharp rebound in US futures eased investor concerns. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased early losses and were up 1,000 points, implying a strong opening in the US market on Friday.
A clarification from the stock market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), on Friday (13 March 2020) also calmed investors. "Sebi and Stock Exchanges have a robust risk management framework in place which automatically gets triggered in response to movements in the indices (BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty) as well as individual stocks both in cash and derivatives market," it said.
The regulator further said that the positions of margin payments, margin utilization, adequacy of collaterals (securities deposited by the brokers with the clearing corporations) and the pay-in's obligations being met by the clearing members (brokers) are being continuously monitored. Similarly, the settlement and clearance of trades are also being constantly monitored. Sebi and stock exchanges are prepared to take suitable actions as may be required, it added.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 2.32%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.49%.
The market breadth turned positive. On the BSE, shares 1,219 rose and 1,016 shares fell. A total of 147 shares were unchanged.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemonium:
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India reported its first confirmed Covid-19 death and the number of positive cases in the country neared 80. COVID-19 has so far claimed 4,600 lives while more than 126,000 people have been infected globally.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi clamped down on foreign travel by his ministers. The government temporarily barred the entry of foreigners by cancelling most visas till 15 April. These measures came in wake of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the spread a pandemic.
Top Gainers & Losers:
HDFC (up 11.05%), Grasim Industries (up 10.26%), Tata Steel (up 8.21%), ICICI Bank (up 7.27%) and Bajaj Finance (up 6.92%) advanced.
UPL (down 6.59%), Asian Paints (down 1.34%), Nestle India (down 1.17%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.50%) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 0.18%) declined.
Stocks in Spotlight:
PSU bank stocks were in demand. State Bank of India (up 15.90%), Bank of Baroda (up 14.12%), Punjab National Bank (up 10.81%), Bank of India (up 9.93%), Canara Bank (up 9.64%) and Bank of Maharashtra (up 5.98%) gained.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel jumped 6.20%. Bharti Airtel has acquired a 10% strategic stake in fitness start-up Spectacom Global, under the Airtel Start-up Accelerator Program, which focuses on supporting growth of early stage Indian start-ups.
Meanwhile, during market hours today, 13 March 2020, CRISIL has assigned its 'CRISIL GVC Level l' rating to the telecom major. As per the exchange filing, the rating indicates that its capability with respect to corporate governance, and value creation for all its stakeholders, is the 'highest'.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rallied 13.29% after the company said its board will consider a share buyback on Tuesday, 17 March 2020.
Wipro rose 1.43% after the IT major informed that it has entered into an agreement with SAP SE to jointly go to market and co-develop solutions for the retail and fashion industry. The intent of this engagement is to co-develop new solutions, which will help retail and fashion companies effectively manage business processes and customer experience.
PSU OMC Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) surged 13.91%. BPCL declared an interim dividend of Rs 16.50 per equity share with a record date of 24 March 2020.
Coal India advanced 2.16%. The state-run coal producing major announced that it will pay an interim dividend of Rs 12 per share with a record date of 20 March 2020.
State Bank of India (SBI) announced that executive committee of central board (ECCB) at its meeting held on Wednesday, 11 March 2020 accorded approval for purchase of 725 crore shares in Yes Bank at Rs 10 per share, subject to all regulatory approvals. SBI's shareholding in Yes Bank will remain within 49% of the paid up capital of Yes Bank.
Shares of SBI soared 15.21% while Yes Bank was trading 4.59% higher.
Meanwhile, National Stock Exchange in a press release after market hours yesterday said that Bandhan Bank will be replace Yes Bank in Nifty Bank index with effect from 27 March 2020. The Nifty Bank index has a total of 12 stocks.
NSE further said that ITC will replace Yes Bank in Nifty 50 Value 20 index.
Pharma major Cipla climbed 8.91%. The board approved a payment of interim dividend of Rs 3 per share and one-time special dividend of Re 1 per share.
Foreign Markets:
European stocks opened higher on Friday after a historic sell-off yesterday. Italy remains the worst affected coronavirus-hit nation with over 15,000 cases and 1,016 confirmed deaths as of Thursday, 12 March 2020.
Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that up to 10,000 people in the U.K. may be infected with the COVID-19.
Back in Norway, Norges Bank, the central bank of the country, cut its key interest rate to 1% from 1.5% on Friday, 13 March 2020 in a surprise move, to counter the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
In US, stocks tumbled on Thursday with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index suffering their worst day since the 19 October, 1987 "Black Monday" crash. Stock prices plunged despite a move by the US Federal Reserve to offer some $1.5 trillion worth of funding to keep credit flowing through financial markets to businesses as governments move to restrict the movement of people in an attempt to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
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