The equity benchmarks traded in a narrow range in early afternoon trade. IT stocks were in demand. At 12:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 265.78 points or 0.72% at 37,285.92. The Nifty 50 index added 68.65 points or 0.63% at 10,970.35.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.61% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.91%.
The market breadth is strong. On the BSE, 1426 shares rose and 990 shares fell. A total of 183 shares were unchanged.
Coronavirus Update:
India reported 3,90,459 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 27,497 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Total coronavirus cases worldwide stood at 14,507,491 with 606,173 deaths so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Derivatives:
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The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 1.77% to 24.5875. The Nifty July 2020 futures were trading at 10,966.50, at a discount of 3.85 points compared with the spot at 10,970.35.
On the weekly index options front, the Nifty option chain for 23 July 2020 expiry showed maximum Call Open Interest (OI) of 28.43 lakh contracts at the 11,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 26.71 lakh contracts was seen at 10,700 strike price.
On the monthly index options front, the Nifty option chain for 30 July 2020 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 27.46 lakh contracts at the 11,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 35.36 lakh contracts was seen at 10,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty IT index rose 1.07% to 17,001.55, led by the gains in Info Edge (India).
HCL Tech (up 2.54%), Infosys (up 1.28%) and Tech Mahindra (up 1.07%) were the top index gainers.
Meanwhile, L&T Infotech (down 0.62%) and TCS (up 0.07%) were the index laggards.
Info Edge (India) advanced 2.79% to Rs 3,197.20. The stock rose 3.85% to hit a record high at 3237.55 in intraday trade today. Media reports suggested that online insurance platform Policybazaar is planning to have an initial public offering (IPO) with valuation worth $3.5 billion.
Info Edge (India) is reportedly one of the investors in Policybazaar. The insurance aggregator reportedly aims to go public in 2021 at a valuation north of $3.5 billion. Further, Policybazaar reportedly plans to raise $150 million (about Rs 1,100 crore) as buffer capital during the third quarter of current fiscal as a buffer for unforeseen events.
Stocks in Spotlight:
ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company gained 1.09% to Rs 1302.85 after the company reported 28.5% increase in net profit to Rs 398.1 crore in Q1 June 2020 compared with Rs 309.81 crore in Q1 June 2019. Total income rose nearly 2% to Rs 2844.17 crore in Q1 FY21 compared with Rs 2791.08 crore in Q1 FY20.
Gross Direct Premium Income (GDPI) of the company stood at Rs 3302 crore in Q1 June 2021 compared to Rs 3487 crore in Q1 June 2019, a de-growth of 5.3%. Excluding crop segment, GDPI of the company decreased to Rs 3274 crore in Q1 June 2020 compared to Rs 3488 crore in Q1 June 2019, registering a de-growth of 6.2%. The degrowth across industry was mainly due to Covid-19 pandemic.
The insurance company's Return on Average Equity (ROAE) was 25.1% in Q1 FY21 compared to 23% in Q1 FY20. Solvency ratio was 2.50x at the end of 30 June 2020 as against 2.17x at 31 March 2020 and higher than the minimum regulatory requirement of 1.50x.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals fell 3.34% to Rs 415.60. The stock tumbled 5.11% to hit the day's low at 408 in intraday trade today. According to media reports, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the apex body to approve and regulate drugs in India, has sent a letter to Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, accusing the company of selling its newly-approved Covid-19 drug, favipiravir, at an unreasonable price through false claims.
Drug Controller General (India) VG Somani in a letter dated July 17 has reportedly asked for a clarification on the matter for taking necessary action.
Last month, the company had launched antiviral drug Favipiravir, under the brand name FabiFlu, for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. Priced at Rs 103 per tablet, the prescription-based drug will be available as a 200 mg tablet at an MRP of Rs 3,500 for a strip of 34 tablets.
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