At 11:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 127.38 points or 0.26% at 49,156.39. The Nifty 50 index was up 27.5 points or 0.19% at 14,585.
In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.08% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.86%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 894 shares rose and 1750 shares fell. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 121,731,658 with 2,690,663 deaths. India reported 271,282 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 159,370 deaths while 110,83,679 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
New Listing:
Shares of Easy Trip Planners were currently trading at Rs 209 per share at 11:21 IST on the BSE, at a premium of 11.76% as against the issue of Rs 187 apiece.
The stock was listed at Rs 206, a premium of 10.06% to the initial public offer (IPO) price. So far, the stock hit a high of Rs 233.15 and low of 187. On the BSE, 32.91 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far.
The initial public offer (IPO) of Easy Trip Planners was subscribed 159.33 times. It opened for bidding on Monday, 8 March 2021, and closed on Wednesday, 10 March 2021. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 186-187 per share.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty FMCG jumped 1.31% to 33,657.35, outperforming other sectoral indices on the NSE.
Varun Beverages (up 3.34%), Procter Gamble Hygiene & Health (up 2.13%), HUL (up 1.77%), United Spirits (up 1.67%), ITC (up 1.65%), United Breweries (up 1.45%), Jubilant Foodworks (up 1.29%) and Marico (up 1.28%) were top gainers in FMCG space.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Strides Pharma lost 2.75%. The company's Biopharma Unit, Stelis Biopharma (Stelis), announced that it has successfully concluded its Series B and Series C fund raise for a cumulative amount of $195 million. Post money valuation for Stelis will be pegged at about $350 million, underpinning the significant growth potential of the business. With the current capital raise, Stelis is now well positioned to pursue its growth initiatives and scale its business model to deliver promising returns in the coming years. The capital raise will be utilized in the completion of last mile capex for the CDMO business including setting up of 6 KL mammalian block; ramp up of process development lab and other technical capabilities; accelerating the vaccine block infrastructure with ability to cater to multiple vaccine types including viral vector, protein subunit, RNA and DNA; and debt servicing & other general corporate purposes.
Zuari Agro Chemicals fell 3.72% to Rs 87.90 after the company said that its NPK-B plant has been shut down due to delay in the arrival of raw materials. NPK stands for "nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium," the three nutrients that compose complete fertilizers.
Global Markets:
Asian stocks were trading lower on Friday as a spike in global bond yields soured sentiment toward richly priced tech stocks.
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Thursday, with the Nasdaq tumbling over 3%, hit by rising Treasury yields and fresh worries about the coronavirus pandemic in Europe.
Benchmark US Treasury yields hit 14-month peaks on Thursday. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose as high as 1.754%, its highest level since January 2020, leading a worldwide move higher in bond yields. The jump in bond yields came after the Federal Reserve expressed its willingness to allow an overshoot in inflation.
Yields move in the opposite direction to prices. Rising bond yields typically signal confidence about economic recovery and fears about inflation, which can make high growth stocks appear less attractive to investors.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to 770,000. Thursday's report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims climbed from 725,000 the week before.
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