The domestic indices were trading near the day's high in afternoon trade led by strong global cues. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, soared 628.49 points or 1.30% at 49,068.61. The Nifty 50 index surged 198.20 points or 1.38% at 14,523.10.
HDFC (up 2.45%), HDFC Bank (up 1.55%) and ICICI Bank (up 1.98%) firmed up the market.
The broader market was trading higher. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.60%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.05%.
Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1,726 shares rose and 1,083 shares fell. A total of 170 shares were unchanged.
The stock markets will remain shut on Monday, 29 March 2021, on account of Holi.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,383.60 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,267.69 crore in the Indian equity market on 25 March 2021, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 12,54,92,163 with 27,55,210 deaths. India reported 4,21,066 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,60,949 deaths while 1,12,64,637 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
India recorded its highest single-day COVID-19 count in over five months on Thursday with 59,118 people testing positive for the virus.
Five States, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat have reported a surge in daily new cases. Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 35,952. It is followed by Punjab with 2,661 while Karnataka reported 2,523 new cases. Three States, Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab together account for over 73% of the total active cases in the country.
Economy:
The Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday reiterated that RBI is fully committed to use all policy tools to secure a robust recovery of the economy from the debilitating effects of the pandemic. He was speaking at the Economic conclave organised by a private media house. He said that the collective endeavour resulted in stabilisation of the financial sector and provided necessary liquidity support to maintain the flow of credit in the economy.
Das said India is on the way to becoming Asia's top financial technology hub with 87% FinTech adoption rate as against the global average of 64%. At present NEFT and RTGS systems are working 24x7 and India is among a few countries that provide the facility to transfer any amount at any point of time.
Tata Group SC Verdict:
A Supreme Court (SC) bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde and also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian ruled in favour of the Tatas in their battle with the Mistry group by setting aside the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order which had re-instated Mistry on Tata Sons' board and had termed current Chairman N Chandrasekaran's as ''illegal".
The country's apex court also rejected Mistry group's plea against the conversion of Tata Sons into a private company. The bench also refused to entertain Mistry group's plea for fair compensation for their 18.5% stake in Tata Sons saying the value of Mistry's stake will depend on valuation of Tata Sons assets and that it would not get into determining what should be a fair value.
SC's verdict in nearly five-year-old case puts an end to the corporate war between Tata Group and the Mistrys. A legal tussle erupted between the two sides after Cyrus Mistry was removed from Tata Sons' chairman post in October 2016.
Following the SC verdict, Tata Steel, Tata Communications, Indian Hotels Company, Tata Power, Tata Motors, Tinplate Company, Titan Company, Tata Investment Corporation, Tata Consumer Products, Voltas, Tata Coffee, Tata Chemicals, Tata Steel Long Products, Tata Metaliks, TCS and Rallis India rose by between 0.38% to 5.73%.
Meanwhile, shares of Pallonji Group's Sterling and Wilson Solar tumbled 7.54% to Rs 251.85.
Gainers & Losers:
Tata Steel (up 5.29%), Bajaj Finserv (up 4.40%), Tata Motors (up 4.10%), Asian Paints (up 3.94%) and Hindalco Industries (up 3.30%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.
Power Grid Corporation of India (down 1.16%) and ONGC (down 0.59%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Punjab & Sind Bank fell 1.52% after the state-run bank informed on Thursday that the NPA account Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) with outstanding dues of Rs 399.31 crore has been declared as fraud. The bank said it has reported it to the RBI on Thursday as per regulatory requirement. The account has been fully provided for as per existing RBI norms, the bank said.
Separately, Punjab & Sind Bank said it allotted 3,35,16,14,868 equity shares of Rs 10 each of the bank for cash at an issue price of Rs 16.41 per equity share to Government of India (President of India) aggregating to Rs 5,500 crore on preferential basis. With the allotment, the Government of India's shareholding has increased to 97.07% from 83.06%.
Bajaj Auto advanced 2.83% after the domestic auto major on Friday announced that it is strengthening its strategic cooperation with PIERER Mobility for the development of electric products in the two-wheeler sector to meet the growing demand for innovative e-mobility concepts. PIERER Mobility AG and Bajaj Auto originally joined forces to make a sizeable and relentless footprint in the international motorcycle industry. The two companies have now decided to jointly explore the zero tailpipe emissions, low maintenance, and long-lasting benefits of light electric vehicles in urban settings and dense metropolitan areas.
Ashok Leyland spurted 3.73% after the commercial vehicle maker launched India's first 4-axle 8x2 DTLA truck (14-wheeler) AVTR 4120 which has a capacity of 40.5 tonne gross vehicle weight. This new truck offers an additional 5 tonne payload compared to standard 8x2 trucks with better total cost of operation (TCO).
Global Markets:
Shares in Europe and Asia rallied across the board on Friday trade following an overnight rebound on Wall Street.
Crude oil prices rebounded overnight amid concerns that a massive container ship blocking the Suez Canal may take weeks to free up, squeezing global supply.
US stocks staged a late-day comeback on Thursday, boosted by economic comeback plays as the market rebounded from a two-day losing streak.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged Thursday that fiscal help from Congress and accelerated vaccine distribution has allowed the U.S. to recover faster than expected.
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