Domestic equity benchmarks ended with minor cuts after a volatile session on Monday. Losses in private banks offset gains in IT and FMCG shares. After briefly slipping below the 14,600 mark in afternoon trade, the Nifty 50 index recovered over 137 points from the day's low and ended near the flat line. Mixed global cues and rising COVID-19 cases in India spoiled sentiment.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 86.95 points or 0.17% to 49,771.29. The Nifty 50 index declined 7.60 points or 0.05% to 14,736.40.
IndusInd bank (down 4.33%), ICICI Bank (down 2.23%), HDFC Bank (down 1.55%), Axis Bank (down 1.38%) and Reliance Industries (down 0.96%) were major drags.
Tech Mahindra (up 2.38%), TCS (up 2.17%), Infosys (up 1.87%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.68%) and ITC (up 1.30%) supported the indices.
The broader market ended higher. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.99% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.73%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,599 shares rose and 1,444 shares fell. A total of 221 shares were unchanged.
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On Saturday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reportedly said that the economic situation in the US is much improved since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but the recovery is "far from complete". The US central banker reiterated that the Fed will continue to provide aid to the US economy 'for as long as it takes.'
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 12,32,15,294 with 27,15,456 deaths.
India reported 46,951 new COVID-19 cases, 21,180 recoveries and 212 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to health ministry's updated data on Monday.
India reported 3,34,646 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,59,967 deaths while 1,11,51,468 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Economy:
Moody's Analytics stated that India's economy will grow by 12% in 2021 following a 7.1% contraction last year, as near-term prospects have turned more favourable. A stronger than expected December quarter GDP growth of 0.4% following a 7.5% contraction in the previous three months has turned India's near-term prospects more favourable, it said.
Meanwhile, gold imports, fell 3.3% to $26.11 billion during April-February 2020-21 from $27 billion in April-February 2019-20, according as per the commerce ministry data. India is the largest importer of gold.
India's consumption of petroleum products over the year-earlier fell at the worst pace since August 2020. The aggregate demand for petroleum and related products, including auto and industrial fuels, dropped 4.9% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in February 2021, according to provisional data released by the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell. The consumption in absolute terms stood at 17.21 million metric tonnes (MMT) in February 2021 as compared with an average of 18.17 MMT over the last three months.
Numbers to Watch:
The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.180% as compared with 6.193% at close in the previous trading session.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 72.37, compared with its close of 72.52 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2021 settlement fell 0.63% to Rs 44,737.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.04% to 91.88.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2021 settlement rose 13 cents at $64.66 a barrel. The contract rose $1.25, or 1.98% to settle at $64.53 a barrel in the previous trading session.
Foreign Markets:
Shares in Europe and Asia were mixed on Monday. Investors monitored the developments in Turkey closely following President Erdogan's surprise decision this weekend to replace the central bank's chief.
The Turkish lira weakened to as much as 8.1745 against the greenback. President Tayyip Erdogan stunned investors over the weekend by replacing the hawkish central bank governor with a critic of high interest rates, following a sharper-than-expected hike in interest rates.
Investor concerns about the possibility of higher interest rates are dominating equity and bond markets. Inflation expectations have climbed on an improving outlook for growth, which some suspect may force the Fed to tighten monetary policy sooner than its current guidance suggests.
China's one-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) and five-year LPR were left unchanged at 3.85% and 4.65%, respectively, on Monday.
U.S. stocks closed mostly lower Friday and booked losses for the week, with bank shares under pressure after the Federal Reserve said it would not extend temporary relief from capital-requirement rules for banks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 234.33 points, or 0.71%, to 32,627.97, the S&P 500 lost 2.36 points, or 0.06%, to 3,913.10 and the Nasdaq Composite added 99.07 points, or 0.76%, to 13,215.24.
Buzzing Segment:
The Nifty Realty index jumped 2.70% to 337.95 on value buying. The index fell 6.59% in the past six sessions.
Godrej Properties (up 7.63%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 4.17%), DLF (up 2.11%), Oberoi Realty (up 2.08%), Phoenix Mills (up 1.92%), Omaxe (up 1.23%) and Brigade Enterprises (up 0.58%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Maruti Suzuki India fell 0.12%. The car major on Monday announced that it will hike vehicle prices from April 2021 due to increase in various input costs.
Adani Green Energy (AGEL) hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 1251.05. The company on Monday announced that it has received Letter of Award (LOA) for 300 MW Wind Power Project from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
Majesco hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 66.55. Real estate developer Aurum Ventures acquired 42,31,679, or 14.78% in Majesco through a subsidiary, Aurum Platz IT, for total consideration of Rs 32,58,39,283. Aurum Platz IT will pay Rs 77 per share to buy the entire promoter shareholding in Majesco. As of 31 December 2020, the promoters held 14.78% stake in Majesco. As of 31 December 2020, public shareholding in Majesco stood at 85.22%.
Aurum Platz IT has also made a mandatory open offer to buy up to 74,43,720, or 26% stake in Majesco from the public at Rs 77 each, which is a premium of about 21.5% over its last traded price of Rs 63.45 on Friday.
NMDC rose 2.07%. The PSU miner hiked prices of iron ore with effect from 21 March 2021. The company increased lump ore prices by Rs 250, or 4.9%, to Rs 5,350 per tonne on 21 March 2021 from Rs 5,100 per tonne set on 7 February 2021. Prices of fines were hiked by Rs 100, or 2.38%, to Rs 4,310 per tonne on 21 March 2021 from Rs 4,210 per tonne set on 7 February 2021.
Sandhar Technologies rose 4.47%. The company said it entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Unicast Autotech for acquiring aluminium die casting business.
RailTel Corporation of India jumped 7.01%. The PSU company received a work order amounting to Rs 153.15 crore from Central Coalfields. The order entails establishment of MPLS-VPN network of higher bandwidth on rental basis for 5 years.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals added 0.61%. The company's subsidiary, Glenmark Specialty S.A. located in Switzerland and an affiliate of Bausch Health Companies Inc. have entered into an exclusive licensing agreement for the commercialization of Glenmark's innovative nasal spray Ryaltris, under review by Health Canada. Under the terms of the agreement, Glenmark will be responsible for regulatory approvals and supply of Ryaltris for the Canadian market. Bausch Health, Canada will be responsible for the commercialization of Ryaltris in the Canadian market, following regulatory approval.
Thermax fell 0.66%. Thermax Babcock & Wilcox Energy Solutions (TBWES) signed a know how transfer and license agreement with Steinmtiller Babcock Environment (SBE), Germany for waste to energy technology. As a part of the agreement, TBWES will design, engineer, manufacture and sell municipal solid waste fired waste to energy solutions incorporating SBE's well established grate and boiler technology.
JSW Energy rose 2.07%. The company said its subsidiary JSW Future Energy received letters of award for 450 MW of wind capacity from Solar Energy Corporation of India.
Power Grid Corporation of India declined 2.95%. The company signed a share purchase agreement with Jaiprakash Power Ventures (JPVL) for acquiring its 74% stake in Jaypee Power Grid (JPL) at an aggregate consideration of Rs 351.64 crore. On completion of the transaction, Jaypee Power Grid (JPL) will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Power Grid Corporation of India.
Great Eastern Shipping Company (G E Shipping) added 1.31%. The company signed a contract to buy a secondhand midsize gas carrier of about 35,188 cubic metre (cbm). The 2006 Korean built vessel is expected to join the company's fleet in Q1 FY 2021-22.
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