Equity indices pared gains and traded near the flat line in mid-morning trade. The Nifty hovered around its crucial 11,200 mark. At 11:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 14.82 points or 0.04% at 37,892.16. The Nifty 50 index rose 19.4 points or 0.17% at 11,197.9.
The Nifty was above its 20-day simple moving average placed at 11,179.84, which could act as a crucial support in near term.
The broader market traded with decent gains. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.23% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.65%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1432 shares rose and 1018 shares fell. A total of 139 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 46.39 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 797.08 crore in the Indian equity market on 14 August, provisional data showed.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index gained 1.03% to 2,430.65. The index has gained 3.2% in three trading days.
Jindal Steel & Power (up 2.95%), NMDC (up 1.88%), Vedanta (up 1.59%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.43%) and Tata Steel (up 1.04%) Hindustan Zinc (up 0.71%) and Coal India (up 0.61%) were top gainers in metal segment.
Stocks in Spotlight:
ICICI Bank fell 0.4%. The bank on Saturday (15 August 2020) announced that it raised approximately Rs 15,000 crore through qualified institutions placement (QIP) of 41.89 crore equity shares at Rs 358 each. The issue opened on 10 August 2020 and closed on 14 August 2020.
"The proceeds of the issue will be used towards strengthening the capital adequacy ratio of the Bank, improving the Bank's competitive positioning and/ or general corporate requirements or any other purposes as may be permissible under the applicable law and approved by the Board of Directors of the Bank or its duly constituted committee, the private lender said in a statement.
PNB Housing Finance was up 1.47%. The board of directors of PNB Housing Finance is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 19 August 2020 to consider fund raising by the company, by issue of equity shares and/or other securities through any permissible modes, subject to such approvals as may be required.
Lupin fell 1.51%. The drug major's U.S. based wholly owned subsidiary announced results from its Phase 3 clinical trial to assess efficacy and safety of single-dose Solosec in female patients with trichomoniasis. The trial results showed a clinically and statistically significant response rate, or microbiological cure, in patients treated with Solosec as compared to placebo. The efficacy results of the Phase 3 study are quite encouraging and could support the utility of Solosec in clinical practice as a treatment option for trichomoniasis once the new indication is approved, said Christina Muzny, M.D., MSPH, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Global Markets:
Asian markets were trading mildly higher on Monday. Tensions between the US and China continue to weigh on investor sentiment. The market in South Korea is closed for a holiday.
China's central bank on Monday rolled over maturing medium-term loans while keeping borrowing costs unchanged for the fourth straight month. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement it was keeping the rate on 700 billion yuan ($100.74 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to financial institutions steady at 2.95% from previous operations.
Japan was hit by its biggest economic contraction on record in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic crushed business and consumer spending. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank an annualised 27.8% in April-June, government data showed on Monday.
In US, stocks ended on a mixed note on Friday as data on the U.S. economy added to uncertainty over the recovery.
Meanwhile, a planned U.S.-China trade deal review initially set for Saturday was reportedly delayed with no new date agreed upon. The delay was due to scheduling conflicts as well as to give time for more Chinese purchases of U.S. exports.
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