The domestic equity indices were trading with steep losses in afternoon loses as rising domestic coronavirus cases dented investors sentiment. Global cues were subdued as COVID-induced lockdowns in Europe and potential U.S. tax hikes hit investors' risk appetite.
At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 809.78 points or 1.65% at 48,370.53. The Nifty 50 index skid 248.15 points or 1.71% at 14,301.25. The March 2021 F&O contracts will expire today, 25 March 2021.
Reliance Industries (down 1.83%), HDFC Bank (down 1.82%) and Infosys (down 1.20%) were major drags.
The broader market underperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 2.49%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 2.30%.
Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 501 shares rose and 2,294 shares fell. A total of 165 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,951.90 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 612.80 crore in the Indian equity market on 24 March 2021, provisional data showed.
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COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 12,47,93,058 with 27,43,520 deaths. India reported 3,95,192 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,60,692 deaths while 1,12,31,650 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
India recorded 53,476 new COVID-19 cases in a span of 24 hours, the highest single-day rise so far this year, taking the nationwide coronavirus tally to 1,17,87,534, the Union health ministry said on Thursday. Now, India has over 1.17 crore COVID-19 cases, the third-highest amount behind the United States and Brazil.
The government has expressed concern over the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra and Punjab. Maharashtra reported highest 28,699 cases in last 24 hours followed by Punjab with 2,254 cases. Addressing media in New Delhi yesterday, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said top ten districts where maximum active cases are concentrated are Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Akola and Bengaluru Urban.
Economy:
Fitch has revised India's GDP growth estimate to 12.8% for next fiscal from the previous 11% on the back of a stronger carryover effect, a looser fiscal stance, and better virus containment.
The ratings agency, in its latest Global Economic Outlook GEO, anticipates the level of the country's GDP to remain well below its pre-pandemic forecast trajectory. Fitch also expects GDP growth to ease to 5.8% in Fiscal Year 2023.
In a report it said, India's recovery from the depths of the lockdown-induced recession in the second quarter of 2020 has been swifter than expected. GDP surpassed its pre-pandemic level in the fourth quarter of current fiscal.
It also added that High-frequency indicators point to a strong start to 2021. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index PMI remained elevated in February, while the pickup in mobility and a rise in the services PMI point to further gains in the services sector.
The ratings agency notes that it no longer expects the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut its policy rate, owing to a brighter short-term growth outlook and a more limited decline in inflation than it had forecast.
Gainers & Losers:
Tata Steel (up 0.70%), Larsen & Toubro (L&T) (up 0.46%) and Cipla (up 0.01%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.
Maruti Suzuki India (down 4.13%), Eicher Motors (down 3.75%), IOCL (down 3.60%), Tata Motors (down 3.57%) and State Bank of India (down 3.50%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Welspun Enterprises fell 0.80%. The company agreed to take over a hybrid annuity mode project in Kerala from Calicut Expressway through the harmonious substitution process of the National Highways Authority of India. The project entails six-laning of existing Kozhikode Bypass (Vengalam Jn. to Ramanattukara Jn.) of NH-66 in Kerala.
The proposal of harmonious substitution has been submitted by the existing concessionaire to the lenders of the project and the proposal is subject to NHAI approval. The appointed date for the project has been declared by NHAI. The original bid project cost of the project, of 28.4 kms length, is Rs 1,710 crore. The current estimated bid project cost with price index escalation is over Rs 1,900 crore, and the first-year operations and maintenance is Rs 6.30 crore.
Ramco Systems slipped 0.99%. The firm has secured an order from a leading global technology company to unify and transform its payroll operations across Japan, China, Philippines and Malaysia. The technology major will leverage Ramco's managed payroll services including last mile services on public cloud to streamline and digitally transform its payroll operations across four countries in Phase-I.
Global Markets:
European shares opened lower while most Asian stocks advanced on Thursday, following a subdued session overnight on Wall Street yesterday.
Investors are on edge as many regions of the world are seeing rising COVID-19 cases as highly contagious variants continue to spread. Germany and France are extending or enforcing new lockdown measures.
US stocks gave up earlier gains and closed in the red Wednesday as tech stocks sold off, continuing a market rotation out of high-flying growth names.
On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appeared for a second day for virtual Capitol Hill testimony. Talking with members of the Senate Banking Committee, Powell said he expects the economy to experience superior growth in 2021 amid a recovery from the pandemic.
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