At 11:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 269.32 points or 0.55% at 49,667.82. The Nifty 50 index was up 88.8 points or 0.61% at 14,609.75.
In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.94% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.81%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1605 shares rose and 1058 shares fell. A total of 163 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 96,142,794 with 2,056,241 deaths. India reported 1,97,201 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,52,718 deaths while 1,02,45,741 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Primary Market:
The initial public offer (IPO) of Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) received bids for 178.01 crore shares as against 124.75 crore shares on offer, according to the stock exchange data at 11:15 IST. The issue was subscribed 1.43 times.
The issue opened for subscription on 18 January and it will close on today (20 January). The price band for the IPO is set at Rs 25-26 per share. An investor can bid for minimum of 575 equity shares and in multiples thereof. The stock will list on 2 February 2021 on bourses.
The IPO consists of fresh issue of up to 118.80 crore equity shares and an offer of sale of up to 59.40 crore equity shares by the Government of India. Post issue, the government shareholding in the company will fall to 86.4%. The company proposes to utilize the net proceeds from the offer for augmenting equity capital base to meet future capital requirements arising out of growth in business.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Pharma index surged 0.68% to 12,953.45. The index added 2.37% in two days.
Divi's Laboratories (up 1.41%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.16%), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (up 1.01%), Cipla (up 0.77%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.73%) and Cadila Healthcare (up 0.42%) were top gainers in pharma space.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Metropolis Healthcare fell 0.44%. The company said it has achieved about 23% year-on-year growth in revenue in Q3 December 2020. The number of patient visits grew by nearly 13% to 2.73 million in Q3 December 2020 from 2.42 million in Q3 December 2019. The number of tests in Q3 December 2020 stood at 5.12 million from 4.78 million in Q3 December 2019.
Sobha rose 0.12%. The realtor said that its wholly owned subsidiary Sobha Highrise Ventures has acquired 100% equity shares of Annalakshmi Land Developers at Rs 175.16 per share. With the acquisition of shares, Annalakshmi Land Developers has become wholly owned subsidiary of Sobha Highrise Ventures.
Shilpa Medicare rose 2.58%. The board of Shilpa Medicare has accepted chief financial officer (CFO) Sushil Bajaj's resignation letter and he will be relieved with effect from 20 January 2021.
Global Markets:
Most Asian stocks were trading higher on Wednesday as investors reacted to the release of China's latest benchmark lending rate. The moves in Chinese stocks came as the one-year prime rate (LPR) and five-year LPR in China were both left unchanged at 3.85% and 4.65%, respectively.
US stocks climbed on Tuesday as investors digested results from the new earnings season as well as signals for another big stimulus and faster pace of vaccine distribution ahead.
Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden's designated nominee for Treasury Secretary and a former chair of the Federal Reserve, appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. Yellen called for the federal government to enact a large stimulus to help the economy.
Biden, set to be inaugurated on Wednesday, unveiled his $1.9 trillion plan for economic relief last week as the country tries to get a handle on the Covid-19 pandemic.
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