At 14:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slumped 888 points or 2.25% at 38,579.92. The Nifty 50 index tumbled 255.95 points or 2.2% at 11,391.90.
The broader market witnessed heavy selling. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 3.67% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 4.36%.
There were more sellers than buyers. On the BSE, 476 shares rose and 2,337 shares fell. A total of 132 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 6 stocks advanced while 44 stocks declined.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,004.11 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 543.56 crore in the Indian equity market on 28 August, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 25,143,423 with 845,414 deaths. India reported 7,81,975 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 64,469 deaths while 27,74,801 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Economy:
India's core sector contracted 9.6% in July, an improvement over the the 12.9% contraction in June, according to data released on Friday. This is the fifth month of contraction on run for the eight core industries.
Meanwhile, the National Statistical Office (NSO) is scheduled to release its estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of this fiscal on today.
The government will also announce its fiscal deficit level for the period of April-July 2020 today. India's fiscal deficit stood at record Rs 6.62 trillion in April-June 2020-21 which is equivalent to 83.2% of the Government's budget estimate for this financial year.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Pharma index slumped 4.16% to 11,139.55, snapping its two days winning run.
Aurobindo Pharma (down 5.88%), Sun Pharmaceutical Inds (down 5.85%), Divi's Laboratories (down 4.46%), Alkem Laboratories (down 4.33%), Cadila Healthcare (down 4.08%) and Cipla (down 3.92%) were top losers in Nifty Pharmaceutical index.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Wockhardt was locked in a lower circuit of 5% at Rs 312.55 on BSE. The pharma company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 760.06 crore in Q1 June 2020, compared with net loss of Rs 44.98 crore in Q1 June 2019. Net sales declined 17.5% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 598.27 crore during the quarter. The company reported pre-tax profit of Rs 649.09 crore in Q1 FY21 as against a pre-tax loss of Rs 91.81 crore in Q1 FY20. It wrote back current taxes worth Rs 66.12 crore during the first quarter. The company reported exceptional gain of Rs 1327.84 crore during the quarter in connection with the transfer of the business comprising 62 products and line extensions along with related assets and liabilities, contracts, permits, intellectual properties, employees, marketing, sales and distribution of the same in the domestic branded division in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives, and the manufacturing facility at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, where some of the products which are being transferred were manufactured to Dr. Reddy's Laboratories.
Indiabulls Housing slumped 7%. The board of Indiabulls Ventures approved preferential issue of 3.36 crore equity shares at Rs 175 per share worth Rs 588 crore. The list of investors include San Francisco-based Ribbit, and US-based NWI Emerging Market Fixed Income Master Fund and Inteligo Bank. The board also approved the appointment of Sameer Gehlaut, as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. The board also approved the re-designation of Divyesh B. Shah, as chief operating officer (COO) of the company.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell 6.079% compared with previous closing of 6.097% in the previous trading session.
In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee edged lower to 73.60 compared with its previous closing 73.3975.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2020 settlement rose 67 cents to $46.48 a barrel. The contract rose 0.46% to end at $45.81 in the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2020 settlement rose 0.19% to Rs 51,545.
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