The benchmark indices sharply pared gains in afternoon trade. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 59.92 points or 0.12% at 50,455. The Nifty 50 index gained 4.20 points or 0.03% at 14,933.70.
Larsen & Toubro (down 1.40%), HDFC Bank (down 0.93%) and ICICI Bank (down 0.74%) were major drags. TCS (up 1.89%), Infosys (up 1.09%) and Asian Paints (up 3.68%) supported the indices.
The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.18%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.25%.
Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1,465 shares rose and 1,387 shares fell. A total of 175 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,101.35 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 749.71 crore in the Indian equity market on 15 March 2021, provisional data showed.
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COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 12,02,46,451 with 26,60,721 deaths. India reported 2,23,432 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,58,856 deaths while 1,10,27,543 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Economy:
India's overall exports in February 2021 were $27.93 billion, as compared to $27.74 billion in February 2020, exhibiting a positive growth of 0.67%. In Rupee terms, exports were Rs 2,03,201.56 crore in February 2021, registering a positive growth of 2.46%.
Imports in February 2021 were $40.54 billion (Rs 2,94,985.04 crore), which is an increase of 6.96% in dollar terms and 8.86% in rupee terms over imports in February 2020.
The trade deficit for February 2021 was estimated at $12.62 billion as against the deficit of $10.16 billion in February 2020, which is an increase of 24.14%.
Taking merchandise and services together, overall trade deficit for April-February 2020-21 is estimated at $7.80 billion as compared to the deficit of $75.90 billion in April-February 2019-20.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Finance has released the final weekly installment of Rs 4,104 crore to the States to meet the GST compensation shortfall.
Gainers & Losers:
HCL Technologies (up 1.92%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 1.55%) and Bharti Airtel (up 1.52%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.
Tata Steel (down 1.89%), Cipla (down 1.81%), State Bank of India (SBI) (down 1.64%), Divi's Laboratories (down 1.38%) and BPCL (down 1.31%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.
Stocks in Spotlight:
HFCL gained 1.61% after the company said it plans to acquire upto 50% stake in Nimpaa Telecommunications by subscribing its equity shares in one or more tranches. HFCL will pay a cash consideration of Rs 1 crore for acquiring 50% of the diluted paid-up equity share capital of Nimpaa Telecommunications (Nimpaa). The acquisition will be completed by April 2021.
NIIT declined 2.04%. The company said that its US-based subsidiary has signed a managed services agreement with an existing client in the US to provide a range of learning services. NIIT (USA) Inc., USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of NIIT, has signed a managed services agreement with a US based financial services organization (an existing client) to provide a range of learning services.
Global Markets:
Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Tuesday as investors focus on the global economic recovery and the latest meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
In US, the Dow and S&P 500 both hit new records on Monday as investors grew optimistic about the economic reopening from the pandemic.
As a part of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package that became law last week, the IRS started processing $1,400 direct payments for millions of Americans, which is expected to add juice to the already recovering economy.
Investors will be gearing up for the Federal Open Market Committee two-day meeting on March 16 and 17. It is reportedly expected that the U.S. central bank may revise up its GDP forecast, following a $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package that will send direct payments of up to $1,400 to most Americans. The Fed will also deliver its decision on interest rates.
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