The benchmark indices traded in a narrow range in mid-morning trade. Metal shares advanced for the fifth day in a row. At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 255.41 points or 0.55% to 46,518.58. The Nifty 50 index added 69.65 points or 0.51% at 13,637.50.
A possible approval of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine this week and progress in US stimulus talks lifted sentiment. The US Federal Reserve will issue an updated policy statement along with new economic projections on Wednesday. Traders will be watching closely for any changes to Fed view on when its benchmark policy rate might rise off zero.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.80% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.89%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1808 shares rose and 881 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,484.09 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,666.79 crore in the Indian equity market on 15 December, provisional data showed.
Farmers' Protest:
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Farmers' protest against new farm laws continues at various borders of Delhi. Security has been enhanced at the border areas including at Singhu border and Jaisinghpur-Khera at Rajasthan-Haryana border with multi-layered barricades. Rapid Action Force & additional forces have also been deployed at Singhu between Delhi-Haryana.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that the central government is committed to the welfare of farmers and it will keep assuring the farmers and addressing their concerns.
Meanwhile, agriculture minster Narendra Singh Tomar said that the government is willing to continue dialogue with genuine farmers unions and find a solution with an open mind. He asserted that MSP is an administrative decision and will continue as it is.
Coronavirus Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 73,434,930 with 1,634,339 deaths. India reported 332,002 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 144,096 deaths while 9,456,449 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index rose 1.10% to 3,249.65. The index has added 4.63% in the past five sessions.
Hindustan Copper (up 11.70%), NMDC (up 3.74%), Ratnamani Metals Tubes (up 3.37%), SAIL (up 3.34%), National Aluminum Company (up 2.68%), Mishra Dhatu Nigam (up 1.71%), MOIL (up 1.39%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.39%), Coal India (up 1.19%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.10%) and Tata Steel (up 0.87%) edged higher while Hindustan Zinc (down 1.34%) edged lower.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Cipla gained 0.46% at Rs 785.30. The drug major announced its partnership with the Premier Medical Corporation for commercialisation of the rapid antigen test kits for Covid-19 in India from this week. In this collaboration, The test is a rapid point-of-care nasopharyngeal swab test that directly detects the presence or absence of coronavirus antigen in the patient's body, generating results within 15-20 minutes.
Cipla will be responsible for the marketing and distribution of the rapid antigen detection test for the qualitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigen that will be manufactured by Premier Medical Corporation.
IDBI Bank rose 0.83% to Rs 42.75 after the bank launched a qualified institutional placement (QIP) of Rs 2000 crore (base size of Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 1,000 crore under green shoe option) to raise funds from institutional investors. The floor price for QIP is set at Rs 40.63 which is 4.17% discount to yesterday's closing price of Rs 42.40. The bank further said that a meeting of the committee is scheduled to be held on 18 December 2020 to consider and approve the issue price for the shares allotted in the QIP issue.
Earlier in October 2020, the bank's board at its meeting had proposed to raise Rs 6,000 crore by issuing shares through QIP. This issue has now been downsized to Rs 2000 crore.
Global Markets:
Asian markets rose across the board on Wednesday following an overnight bounce on Wall Street as optimism grew over the prospect of more stimulus.
The Bank of Japan has decided to tap $6 billion in cash from a government account in a rare arrangement to ensure it has enough ammunition to combat any market disruptions caused by a recent resurgence in coronavirus infections. Under the arrangement announced on Wednesday, the central bank will buy dollar cash from the Ministry of Finance any time through to the end of March next year at the prevailing market exchange rate at the time.
Japan's exports declined 4.2% in November as compared with a year ago, according to Ministry of Finance data released Wednesday.
Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine appears set for regulatory authorisation in the United States this week, while rollouts of the country's newly approved vaccine were expanded. Across the Atlantic, Europeans are set to start getting coronavirus vaccines before the new year after the regional drug regulator accelerated its approval process.
US stocks rose sharply on Tuesday as traders grew more optimistic about Congress passing another economic relief package. The Nasdaq closed at a record high.
Optimism over a $1.4 trillion U.S. spending package increased after House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly invited other top congressional leaders to meet late on Tuesday to hammer out a deal to be enacted this week.
Markets will now look to the U.S. Federal Reserve for new projections on whether the economy will suffer a double-dip recession or is on the cusp of a vaccine-inspired boom. The central bank is to release a statement on Wednesday.
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