Domestic equity benchmarks slumped to the day's low in mid-afternoon trade. Banks and financial shares witnessed steep selling. Auto and FMCG shares continued trading higher. Concerns about rising coronavirus infections across the globe eclipsed enthusiasm about Covid-19 vaccine developments.
At 14:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 489 points or 1.11% at 43,691.05. The Nifty 50 index declined 147.60 points or 1.14% at 12,790.65.
The broader market turned mixed. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.52% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.06%.
The market breadth turned negative. On the BSE, 1296 shares rose and 1400 shares fell. A total of 173 shares were unchanged.
Coronavirus Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 56,202,247 with 1,349,339 deaths.
India reported 443,303 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 131,578 deaths while 8,383,602 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Pfizer Inc on Wednesday said that final results from the late-stage trial of its Covid-19 vaccine showed it was 95% effective, adding it had the required two-months of safety data and would apply for emergency US authorization within days.
The drug maker further added that the efficacy of the vaccine, developed with German partner BioNTech SE, was consistent across age and ethnicity demographics, and that there were no major side effects, a sign that the immunization could be employed broadly around the world.
Stocks in Spotlight:
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that passengers carried by domestic airlines declined by 57.2% to 52.71 lakh in October 2020 from 123.16 lakh in October 2019. Sequentially, however, the figure has increased by 33.67% from 39.43 lakh in September 2020.
IndiGo carried 29.27 lakh passengers in October 2020, which is higher by 29.17% as compared to 22.66 lakh passenger in September 2020 but lower by 49.87% compared to 58.42 lakh passenger in October 2019.
The number of passengers carried by SpiceJet in October 2020 stood at 7.04 lakh, up by 32.83% from 5.30 lakh in September 2020. It is declined by 64.88% from 20.05 lakh passenger in October 2019.
IndiGo's PLF during October 2020 was at 68.2%, compared to 65.4% in September 2020 and 85.1% in October 2019.
SpiceJet's PLF during October 2020 was at 74%, compared to 73% in September 2020 and 90% in October 2019.
IndiGo held a market share of 55% while SpiceJet's market share was at 13.4% in October 2020.
Shares of InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) shed 0.31% to Rs 1697.75.
Shares of SpiceJet jumped 10.32% to Rs 73.20 after the US Federal Aviation Administration cleared Boeing's 737 Max for flight after a prolonged grounding.
Regulators around the world grounded the Boeing 737 Max in March 2019, after two crashes that killed a total of 346 people in 2018 and 2019. US regulators have cleared the Boeing 737 MAX after a comprehensive and methodical 20-month review process.
The media reported that the aircraft is yet to get go-ahead from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to resume operations in India. SpiceJet is reportedly the only Indian airline operating Boeing 737 Max planes in its fleet.
Titan Company added 3.26% to Rs 1321.40 after the company said it saw good traction across all its businesses in the festive season.
The company said its jewellery business witnessed a mid-teens growth (around 15%) for the 30 day festive season starting from Dussehra till Diwali over the corresponding period last year, with a decent recovery in studded jewellery sales.
The watches and wearables business also did quite well in the festive season with recovery close to last year levels. Eyewear segment has also witnessed good traction, it added.
Numbers to Track:
In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee edged lower to 74.31 compared with its previous closing 74.19.
The US dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against majors, advanced on Thursday as a bull run in stocks took a breather, with investors reassessing coronavirus vaccine optimism. The DXY traded 0.31% higher on the day near 92.60.
The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper was currently trading flat at 5.878%.
MCX Gold futures for 4 December 2020 settlement shed 0.87% to Rs 49,889.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for January 2021 settlement lost 4 cents to $44.30 a barrel. The contract gained 1.35% or 59 cents to settle at $44.34 in the previous trading sessions.
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