Domestic equity barometers continued trading with modest gains in afternoon trade. At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 180.23 points or 0.47% at 38,708.55. The Nifty 50 index gained 50.80 points or 0.45% at 11,436.15.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was gained 1% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.26%.
Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1773 shares rose and 882 shares fell. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.
Investors are awaiting minutes from the US Federal Reserve's recent meeting due on Wednesday which may provide some insight into how the central bank sees the recovery playing out. The Fed has cut rates to near zero to bolster business through the pandemic.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,134.57 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 379.38 crore in the Indian equity market on 18 August, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
Also Read
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 22,059,933 with 7,79,557 deaths. India reported 6,76,514 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 52,889 deaths while 20,37,870 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Gail (India) (up 3.61%), State Bank of India (up 2.05%), UPL (up 1.92%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 1.90%) and Tech Mahindra (up 1.70%) were the top gainers.
Nestle India (down 0.93%), Tata Steel (down 0.87%), HCL Technologies (down 0.66%), Cipla (down 0.65%) and Britannia Industries (down 0.63%) were the top losers.
Reliance Industries (RIL) was up 0.63% to Rs 2132.10. RIL announced that its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) has acquired a majority equity stake in Vitalic Health (Vitalic) and its subsidiaries (collectively known as 'Netmeds') for approximately Rs 620 crore. This investment represents 60% holding in the equity share capital of Vitalic and 100% direct equity ownership of its subsidiaries, viz: Tresara Health, Netmeds Market Place and Dadha Pharma Distribution. Speaking on this strategic investment, Isha Ambani, Director, RRVL, said, the addition of Netmeds enhances Reliance Retail's ability to provide good quality and affordable health care products and services, and also broadens its digital commerce proposition to include most daily essential needs of consumers.
ICICI Bank added 0.87% to Rs 372.60. The media reported that the People's Bank of China (PBOC) could have acquired a very small stake in ICICI Bank by investing Rs 15 crore through the recently closed Rs 15,000-crore qualified institutional placement (QIP) of shares of the private bank. The Chinese central bank was reportedly among the 357 institutional investors that subscribed to the issue. Based on the bank's current market capitalization of Rs 2.57 lakh crore, the investment by PBOC translates into a 0.0058% stake in ICICI Bank.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) jumped 6.24% to Rs 184.80. The company posted a 95% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 29.28 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against Rs 529.76 crore in Q1 June 2019. Consolidated operating revenue for Q1 June 2020 stood at Rs 1,312 crore, falling 34.7% from Rs 2,008 crore in Q1 June 2019.
ZEEL's advertising revenue tumbled 64.5% to Rs 421.06 crore in Q1 June 2020 from Rs 1,186.71 crore in same period previous year. Subscription revenue in quarter ending June 2020 stood at Rs 744.34 crore, registering a rise of 5% from Rs 708.77 crore in quarter ending June 2019.
Separately, the company informed that Subhash Chandra, vide his letter dated 18 August 2020 had tendered his resignation, as the non-executive director of the company. The board requested him to act as 'chairman emeritus' with effect from 19 August 2020 and the same was accepted by him. The company announced the appointment of R. Gopalan as the 'chairman of the board' with immediate effect.
Global Markets:
European shares advanced while most Asian stocks declined on Wednesday. Japan's exports in July declined 19.2% as compared to a year ago, according to provisional trade statistics from the country's Ministry of Finance released Wednesday.
In Europe, UK inflation jumped unexpectedly last month to its highest rate since March, as clothing stores refrained from their usual summer discounts as they reopened after the coronavirus lockdown, official data showed on Wednesday.
Annual consumer price inflation rose to 1.0% in July from 0.6% in June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Clothing and footwear prices were the biggest contributor to the rise in inflation, the ONS said.
In US, the S&P 500 closed at a record high on Tuesday, rebounding from huge losses triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Amazon, which rose 4.1%, was the largest gainer in the S&P 500. Strong sales growth was reported by major US retailers including Walmart, Kohl's and Home Depot. Meanwhile, Nasdaq clocked a record closing high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 66.84 points, or 0.24%, to 27,778.07, the S&P 500 gained 7.79 points, or 0.23%, to 3,389.78 and the Nasdaq Composite added 81.12 points, or 0.73%, to 11,210.84.
Data on Tuesday showed US homebuilding accelerated by the most in nearly four years in July in the latest sign the housing sector is emerging as one of the few areas of strength in an economy suffering a record slowdown. That further added to market optimism.
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