Key benchmark indices are trading weak in early trade on selling pressure in index pivotals as trading resumed after a local holiday. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 301.61 points or 0.63% at 47,404.19. The Nifty 50 index was down 89.85 points or 0.63% at 14,206.55. Steep surge in COVID-19 infections in the country weighed on sentiment. Asian stocks are trading higher.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.36%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.09%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is negative. On the BSE, 884 shares rose and 974 shares fell. A total of 97 shares were unchanged.
On the coronavirus front, amidst the country reeling under the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, Maharashtra government on April 21 announced stringent restrictions in the state for coming days. The restrictions will come into effect from 8 PM on April 22 and will be in place till AM on May 1.
Stocks in news:
Hero MotoCorp dropped 2.15%. Hero MotoCorp and Gogoro Inc. announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the shift to sustainable electric mobility in India. The companies will establish a battery swapping joint venture to bring Gogoro's industry leading battery swapping platform to India and will collaborate on electric vehicle development to bring Herobranded, powered by Gogoro Network vehicles to market.
Hero MotoCorp has decided to halt operations temporarily at all of its manufacturing facilities across the country, including its Global Parts Center (GPC), in view of the ongoing escalation in the spread of COVID-19 across the country.
State Bank of India (SBI) rose 0.09%. SBI said that IRDAI has imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on its unlisted subsidiary SBI General Insurance Company for violation of regulations relating to motor third party insurance obligations.
Nestle India fell 1.21%. On a standalone basis, Nestle India net profit rose 14.62% to Rs 602.25 crore on 8.58% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 3,610.82 crore in Q1 FY21 over Q1 FY20. The board has declared an interim dividend for FY2021 of Rs 25 per equity share, which shall be paid on and from 19 May 2021.
ICICI Securities jumped 4.17%. The company's consolidated profit after tax (PAT) jumped 111% to Rs 329 crore on 53% increase in revenue to Rs 739 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.
KEC International declined 0.67%. The company has secured new orders of Rs 1,245 crore across its various businesses.
Tata Steel Long Products advanced 3.69%. On a consolidated basis, Tata Steel Long Products reported a net profit of Rs 339.86 crore in Q4 March 2021 compared with net loss of Rs 133.23 crore in Q4 March 2020. Consolidated revenue from operations surged 53.40% to Rs 1,546.74 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020.
Global Markets:
Overseas, Asian stocks are trading higher on Thursday following an overnight bounce on Wall Street.
In US, Wall Street rebounded on Wednesday after a two-day decline in a broad rally as a tilt toward stocks poised to benefit from a recovering economy offset Netflix Inc's sell-off after its disappointing results a day earlier. Both the S&P 500 and Dow hit all-time highs.
Back home, stock markets were shut on Wednesday on account of Ram Navami. The domestic equity barometers ended with modest losses after a volatile trade on Tuesday. A record surge in Covid-19 cases and FII outflows from the capital market dented investors sentiment. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 243.62 points or 0.51% to 47,705.80. The Nifty 50 index lost 63.05 points or 0.44% to 14,296.40.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,082.33 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,323.01 crore in the Indian equity market on 20 April, provisional data showed.
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