The main stock indices were trading in a narrow range with modest gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty held above the 12,800 mark. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 198.96 points or 0.46% at 43,836.94. The Nifty 50 index added 53.15 points or 0.42% at 12,833.40.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.68% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.50%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,350 shares rose and 1,251 shares fell. A total of 167 shares were unchanged.
The sentiment was upbeat as US biotech firm Moderna announced that its experimental vaccine against COVID-19 was almost 95% effective, marking a second major breakthrough in the quest to end the pandemic. Concurrently, a foreign brokerage house reportedly said that a 'global synchronous recovery' looms next year with the world likely to grow at 6.4% in 2021.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 5.97% to 20.2725. The Nifty November 2020 futures were trading at 12,823.95, at a premium of 3.70 points compared with the spot at 12,820.25.
The Nifty option chain for 26 November 2020 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 19.75 lakh contracts at the 13,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 33.27 lakh contracts was seen at 12,000 strike price.
Economy:
The annual rate of inflation based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at 1.48% (provisional) in October 2020 (over October 2019). The figure stood at 1.32% in September.
India's trade deficit narrowed to $8.71 billion in October 2020 from $11.75 billion a year ago as both exports and imports fell during the month. After recording positive growth in September, India's exports fell 5.12% from a year ago to $24.89 billion. Imports also fell 11.53% year-on-year to $33.6 billion in October 2020.
Coronavirus Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 5,50,21,938 with 13,27,228 deaths.
India reported 4,53,401 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,30,519 deaths while 82,90,370 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index advanced 2.36% to 2,757.80. The index added 4.58% in three sessions.
Tata Steel (up 6.70%), Welspun Corp (up 6.41%), Hindustan Copper (up 5.35%), Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (up 4.75%) and Jindal Steel & Power (up 3.97%) advanced.
NMDC rose 1.97% after the state-owned iron ore miner hiked prices of iron ore (lump ore and fines) with effect from Tuesday, 17 November 2020. NMDC increased lump ore prices by 11.11% to Rs 4,000 per tonne from Rs 3,600 per tonne set on 4 November 2020. Prices of fines were hiked by 9% to Rs 3,610 per tonne from Rs 3,310 per tonne set on 4 November 2020. The new rates come into effect from 17 November 2020. Earlier on 4 November, NMDC increased lump ore prices by 4.35% and fines by 4.75%.
Stocks in Spotlight:
HDFC Asset Management Company rose 1.62% after the company appointed Navneet Munot as the managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO). The board of directors of the company approved that Navneet Munot will be appointed as MD & CEO of the company and he will succeed the present MD, Milind Barve. Navneet Munot is currently the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at SBI Mutual Fund.
Rajesh Exports gained 1.22%. The company reported 45.2% drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 173.01 crore on a 52.9% jump in net sales to Rs 1,02,149.84 crore in Q2 FY21 over Q2 FY20. Total expenditure during the quarter increased by 53.4% year-on-year to Rs 1,01,943.77 crore. Profit before tax in Q2 FY21 stood at Rs 187.88 crore, down by 45.3% from Rs 343.22 crore in Q2 FY20. Current tax expense declined by 46.1% Y-o-Y to Rs 14.87 crore.
Repco Home Finance slipped 1.71% after consolidated net profit dropped 19.7% to Rs 80.80 crore on 4.4% increase in total income to Rs 350.22 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. On a consolidated basis, profit before tax (PBT) jumped 6.2% to Rs 108.31 crore in Q2 September 2020 as against Rs 101.96 crore in Q2 September 2019. Current tax expense for the quarter jumped 58.9% to Rs 23.79 crore as against Rs 14.97 crore in Q2 September 2019.
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