Equity benchmark indices tumbled in afternoon trade as selling pressure intensified. The Nifty was hovering near 15,200 mark. Indices witnessed profit selling after recent steep gains. Pharma and IT shares were under selling pressure.
At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 312.36 points or 0.60% at 51,791.81. The Nifty 50 index lost 79.45 points or 0.52% at 15,234.
The broader market was positive. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.14%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.57%.
The market breadth was almost even. On the BSE, 1,403 shares rose and 1,409 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 18 stocks advanced while 32 stocks declined.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,144.09 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,559.53 crore in the Indian equity market on 16 February 2021, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
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Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 10,95,13,903 with 24,19,353 deaths. India reported 1,36,549 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,55,913 deaths while 1,06,44,858 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Economy:
Ratings agency S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday said that India is on track to recover from a pandemic-led economic contraction by next year. India could grow 10% in fiscal 2022, the ratings agency predicted in a report. India's fiscal year begins on 1 April 2021 and ends on March 2022 in the following year.
The Indian economy is on track to recover in fiscal 2022, the report said. Consistently good agriculture performance, a flattening of the COVID-19 infection curve, and a pickup in government spending are all supporting the economy. The speed with which the Indian economy recovers from the coronavirus crisis will have "important implications" for the country's sovereign credit rating, according to S&P. "This includes the sustainability of the government's strained fiscal position," the report added.
Gainers & Losers:
Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) (up 3.28%), Hero MotoCorp (up 2.87%), GAIL (India) (up 2.25%), State Bank of India (SBI) (up 1.98%) and HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 1.93%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.
Bajaj Finserv (down 2.74%), Nestle India (down 2.66%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 2.17%) and Asian Paints (down 2.07%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Rajesh Exports rose 0.84%. The company said it bagged a major export order worth Rs 1,352 crore for designer range of gold jewellery from Germany. The company will be executing the order from its own manufacturing facilities. The order is to be completed by 31 March 2021.
Lupin declined 2.50%. The drug major on Wednesday announced the launch of posaconazole delayed-release tablets after its alliance partner AET Pharma US Inc. received an approval for its ANDA from the US drug regulator. Posaconazole tablets are the generic equivalent of Noxafil delayed release tablets of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. The drug is indicated for prophylaxis of invasive Aspergillus and Candida infections in patients who are at high risk of developing these infections due to being severely immunocompromised, such as hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) or those with hematologic malignancies with prolonged neutropenia from chemotherapy.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories skid 2.17%. The drug major announced the launch of capecitabine tablets, a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Xeloda tablets, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Capecitabine is an anti-cancer ("antineoplastic" or "cytotoxic") chemotherapy drug. The Xeloda brand and generic had U.S. sales of approximately $90 million MAT for the most recent twelve months ending in October 2020 according to IQVIA Health.
Global Markets:
European stocks fell across the board while Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday, following an overnight dip for the S&P 500 stateside as investors grew concerned over rising bond yields. Markets in mainland China remain closed on Wednesday for the Lunar New Year holidays.
Japan's exports rose 6.4% in January compared with a year earlier, according to trade statistics released Wednesday by the country's Ministry of Finance.
On Wall Street, the Dow hit an all-time high on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq retreated slightly from record levels, as investors bet on more fiscal aid to lift the world's biggest economy from a coronavirus-driven slump.
U.S. President Joe Biden was traveling to Wisconsin on Tuesday to press his case for a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill in the political battleground state that helped secure his victory in last year's presidential election.
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