Key barometers were trading in a narrow range with small losses in afternoon trade. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 64.45 points or 0.13% at 49,838.19. The Nifty 50 index lost 45 points or 0.30% at 14,985.15.
HDFC Bank (down 0.57%), Axis Bank (down 0.90%) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (down 0.48%) dragged the market.
The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was almost flat while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.46%.
Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,700 shares rose and 1,242 shares fell. A total of 167 shares were unchanged.
Investors assessed the minutes from the US Federal Reserve's meeting in April that flagged the possibility of a debate on scaling back asset purchases.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 697.75 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 852.52 crore in the Indian equity market on 19 May 2021, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 16,49,14,739 with 34,17,982 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.
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%.
Gainers & Losers:
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (up 2.27%), Cipla (up 1.83%), BPCL (up 1.29%), Titan Company (up 1.09%) and IndusInd Bank (up 1.04%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.
Tata Steel (down 4.35%), Hindalco Industries (down 3.68%), Britannia Industries (down 2.70%), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) (down 1.87%) and Coal India (down 1.84%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.
Earning Impact:
Indiabulls Housing Finance soared 8.05% the company reported 101.5% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 276.23 crore in Q4 FY21 as against Rs 137.06 crore in Q4 FY20. Total income declined by 18% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 2,421.96 crore during the quarter. Net interest income declined by 7.7% to Rs 764 crore in Q4 FY21 from Rs 828 crore in Q4 FY20. Provisions and write offs in Q4 FY21 were at 316.49 crore, down by 40.9% from Rs 535.69 crore in Q4 FY20.
Indiabulls Housing's loan book as on 31 March 2021 was at Rs 66,047 crore, lower by 9.61% as compared with Rs 73,065 crore as on 31 March 2021. On the asset quality side, the gross NPA ratio stood at 2.66% as on 31 March 2021 compared to 2.44% on 31 December 2020. The net NPA ratio stood at 1.59% as on 31 March 2021 from 1.46% as on 31 December 2020.
"Had the company not chosen to de-grow its book in the past 1 year, the above Gross NPAs of 2.66% would have been at 2.31%," Indiabulls Housing Finance said in a statement.
Stock in Spotlight:
Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) slipped 0.09%. The company has secured annual maintenance dredging contract worth Rs 122.50 crore from Cochin Port Trust. The work awarded through a tender, includes maintaining the channel and basin at Cochin Port from May 2021 to May 2022, the company said in a statement. DCI has commenced dredging at the port by deploying Dredge XV and Dredge VIII.
Global Markets:
European shares were trading higher while Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday, 20 May 2021. Japan's exports grew the most since 2010 in April, supported by a favourable comparison with the sharp plunge seen during the pandemic last year. Data out on Thursday showed exports rose 38% in April from a year earlier, compared with a 16.1% rise in March.
China's benchmark lending rate was kept unchanged in May, with the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) sitting at 3.85%. The five-year LPR was also held steady at 4.65%.
Wall Street's main indexes closed lower on Wednesday after minutes from an April Federal Reserve meeting showed participants agreed the U.S. economy remained far from the central bank's goals, with some considering discussions on tapering its bond buying program.
The Fed's minutes said a strong pickup in economic activity would warrant discussions about tightening monetary policy in the coming months.
"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.
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