Key barometers slipped into negative terrain in mid-morning trade. Profit selling emerged after the Sensex and the Nifty rallied over 11% in previous six trading sessions. However, gradual lifting of lockdown measures and expectations of further government stimulus supported investor confidence.
At 11:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 106.16 points or 0.31% at 34,003.38. The Nifty 50 index lost 34.35 points or 0.34% at 10,027.20.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.02% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.18%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1150 shares rose and 985 shares fell. A total of 117 shares were unchanged. In the Nifty 50 index, 21 shares advanced while 29 stocks declined.
Unlock 1:
Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued guidelines for a phased-wise reopening of the economy from 1 June 2020. The new rules allow religious places, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants to open from 8 June. The government has decided to allow all activities prohibited earlier in areas outside containment zones in a phased manner.
The lockdown was first enforced in March to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Coronavirus Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 65,11,713 far with 3,86,073 deaths. India reported 1,06,737 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 6,075 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Pharma index rose 1.80% to 10,041.25. The index has added 6.1% in six sessions.
Wockhardt (up 4.04%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 3.14%), Strides Pharma Science (up 2.89%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 2.68%), Lupin (up 2.41%), Cipla (up 1.88%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.79%), Divi's Laboratories (up 1.75%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 1.67%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 1.32%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.98%), Cadila Healthcare (up 0.71%), IPCA Laboratories (up 0.18%) and Abbott India (up 0.1%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
V.S.T. Tillers Tractors jumped 5.15% to Rs 1160.30 after the company's total sales rose 22.96% to 2,383 units in May 2020 as against 4,815 units in May 2019. Sale of power tillers rose 24.02% to 1,750 units in May 2020 as compared to 1,411 units reported in May 2019. Sale of tractors rose 20.11% to 633 units in May 2020 as against 527 units in the same period last year.
Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) rose 2.47% to Rs 130.70 after the company's standalone steel sales jumped 28% to 640,000 tonnes in May 2020 from 500,000 tonnes recorded during the same period in the previous year. Out of total standalone sales, 4,01,000 tonnes are export sales.
JSPL's consolidated steel sales stood 7,97,000 tonnes in May 2020, up by 26% from 631,000 tonnes reported in May 2019. Consolidated steel production stood at 620,000 tonnes and pellets production was at 647,000 tonnes in May 2020. The figures are on provisional basis.
Global Markets:
Overseas, Asian stocks were trading higher amid optimism about a possible global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic as more economies reopen despite rising case numbers in the United States, Brazil and other countries.
The US equity market finished session higher on Wednesday, 3 June, as investors risk sentiments improved on slew of better than expected economic data and expectation that economic activity will improve with the ebbing of coronavirus infections and additional government stimulus.
The Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing another nosedive in factory orders in the month of April, after reporting a steep drop in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in the previous month. The Commerce Department said new orders plunged by 13% in April after plummeting by a revised 11% in March.
US service sector activity continued to contract in the month of May, a report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday showed. The ISM said its non-manufacturing index rebounded to 45.4 in May after plunging to an eleven-year low of 41.8 in April. A reading below 50 still indicates a contraction in service sector activity.
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