The benchmark indices firmed up once again in afternoon trade. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 226.63 points or 0.46% at 49,997.92. The Nifty 50 index advanced 62.40 points or 0.42% at 14,798.80.
Reliance Industries (up 1.29%), HDFC Bank (up 1.11%) and ICICI Bank (up 1.03%) supported the indices.
The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.92%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.62%.
Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1,568 shares rose and 1,249 shares fell. A total of 198 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 786.98 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 542.70 crore in the Indian equity market on 22 March 2021, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 12,36,91,979 with 27,23,315 deaths. India reported 3,45,377 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,60,166 deaths while 1,11,81,253 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Yesterday, the country saw 46,951 fresh infections, the biggest single-day spike since early November. As per the Health Ministry data, Maharashtra (24,645), Punjab (2,299), Gujarat (1,640), Chhattisgarh (1,525) and Karnataka (1,445) are the five states with the highest surge in cases in the last 24 hours.
Supreme Court Judgement:
The Supreme Court on Tuesday stated that the government cannot be directed to ask banks to waive off interest on loans during the lockdown period amid Covid-19 pandemic. It also mentioned that the moratorium on EMIs (equated monthly instalments) towards repayment of loans could not be extended beyond 31 August 2020.
The top court further said that any amount collected during moratorium period by banks as interest on interest, penal interest or compound interest, should either be refunded or adjusted against the next EMIs payable by the borrowers.
SC was pronouncing its verdict on a batch of pleas by various trade associations seeking an extension of loan moratorium and other reliefs in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The RBI had on 27 March 2020 issued the circular which allowed lending institutions to grant a moratorium on payment of instalments of term loans falling due between 1 March and 31 May 2020, due to the pandemic. Later, the moratorium was extended till 31 August 2020.
Gainers & Losers:
Shree Cement (up 3.51%), Titan Company (up 2.94%), Tata Motors (up 2.31%), Adani Ports & Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) (up 2.29%) and Divi's Laboratories (up 2%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.
Hindalco Industries (down 2.25%), ONGC (down 1.64%), Power Grid Corporation of India (down 1.63%), ITC (down 1.42%) and NTPC (down 1.37%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Cipla rose 0.04%. Cipla Therapeutics and SIGA Technologies announced a strategic partnership to support innovation and provide access to novel antibacterial drugs against biothreats. Cipla Therapeutics, a division of Cipla USA, Inc., an affiliate of Cipla and SIGA Technologies, Inc. (SIGA), a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the health security market, announced entering into a strategic partnership to deliver sustained innovation and access to novel antibacterial drugs, particularly against biothreats.
Kolte-Patil Developers gained 1.48% after Unifi Capital bought 12.89 lakh equity shares (1.69% equity) of the company via bulk deals on Monday, 22 March 2021. As per the bulk deal data on the NSE on Monday, Unifi Capital - BCAD purchased 8,49,229 shares, or 1.12% equity, of the real estate developer. Separately, Unifi Capital - ISF purchased 4,40,000 shares, or 0.58% equity, of the company. Both the deals were struck at Rs 230 per share. Goldman Sachs India Fund sold 12,71,408 shares, or 1.67% equity, of Kolte-Patil Developers at Rs 230.01 per share on the NSE.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation fell 0.77%. The board of BPCL on Monday, 22 March 2021, approved the scheme of amalgamation of Bharat Gas Resources (BGRL) with itself and its respective shareholders. Bharat Gas Resources (BGRL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of BPCL for handling natural gas business. It was incorporated in June 2018. The merger will streamline the corporate structure and consolidate the assets and liabilities of BGRL within BPCL. Also, it will help in availing easier financial support for the business of BGRL and more efficient utilisation of capital for enhanced development and growth of the consolidated business in one entity, BPCL said.
Global Markets:
Shares in Europe and Asia were trading lower amid worries regarding rising inflation worldwide. Chinese search giant Baidu made its debut in Hong Kong on Tuesday, with shares rising more than 1% in morning trade from their issue price.
US stocks jumped on Monday led by technology shares as investors flocked back into growth names amid declining bond yields. The moves came as the 10-year Treasury yield declined 5 basis points to around 1.68% (1 basis point equals 0.01%), following a 14-month high touched last week.
US trial data released Monday showed the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford is 79% effective in preventing symptomatic illness and 100% effective against severe disease and hospitalization.
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