The benchmark indices continued trading with minor losses in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 29.22 points or 0.06% at 49,873.42. The Nifty 50 index lost 32.55 points or 0.22% at 14,997.60.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.15% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.59%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,684 shares rose and 1,182 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.
Investors assessed the minutes from the US Federal Reserve's meeting in April 2021 that flagged the possibility of a debate on scaling back asset purchases.
"A number of participants suggested that if the economy continued to make rapid progress toward the Committee's goals, it might be appropriate at some point in upcoming meetings to begin discussing a plan for adjusting the pace of asset purchases," according to minutes from the April 27-28 Federal Open Market Committee meeting published Wednesday.
In a press conference following last month's meeting, Chair Jerome Powell had said that it was premature to start talking about tapering.
Economy:
The Global Trade Update by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on Wednesday said that in Q1 2021, the value of global trade in goods and services grew by about 4% quarter-over-quarter and by about 10% year-over-year.
UNCTAD said that India, China and South Africa fared 'relatively better' than other major economies during the first quarter of 2021 even as global trade recovery from COVID-19 impact reached a new high.
The data for India said that import of goods grew 45% in Q1 2021 relative to the 2020 average while services imports were up 14%. Export of goods for India grew 26% for the period under review while services exports grew 2%.
Coronavirus Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 16,49,13,259 with 34,17,961 deaths. India reported 31,29,878 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 2,87,122 deaths while 2,23,55,440 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
The country recorded 2,76,110 new COVID-19 cases and 3,874 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry. The total tally of the viral infection now stands at 2,57,72,440.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 1.20% to 19.55. The Nifty 27 May 2021 futures were trading at 15,019.50, at a premium of 21.90 points as compared with the spot at 14,997.60.
The Nifty option chain for 27 May 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 29.5 lakh contracts at the 15,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 44.6 lakh contracts was seen at 14,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Media index rose 1.52% to 1,680.30. The index added 5.29% in three sessions.
TV Today Network (up 13.59%), TV18 Broadcast (up 7.34%), Network 18 Media & Investments (up 3.74%), D B Corp (up 0.82%) and Sun TV Network (up 0.65%) climbed.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Cipla gained 1.63% after the pharmaceutical major on Thursday announced the commercialisation of a polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test kit 'ViraGen' for COVID-19 in India. The test kit is in partnership with Ubio Biotechnology Systems. ViraGen is Cipla's third offering in the COVID-19 testing segment. Cipla already has partnerships for antibody detection kit and antigen test kits.
Rajesh Exports rose 2.15% after Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) purchased 59.77 lakh equity shares or 2.025% stake of the company. Post transaction, LIC has increased its shareholding in Rajesh Exports to 9.070% stake from 7.045% held earlier. The deal was executed as a market purchase between 22 October 2019 and 18 May 2021.
Westlife Development gained 0.38%. On 18 May 2021, SBI Mutual Fund (MF) sold 3,34,951 equity shares or 0.2150% stake of Westlife Development on the BSE. Post transaction, SBI Mutual Fund (MF) decreased its shareholding in Westlife Development to 6.3851% stake from 6.60% held earlier. The deal was executed as a market sale on 18 May 2021.
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