The key equity indices ended almost flat with some positive bias after a volatile trade on Tuesday. Pharma stocks were in demand. The Nifty closed just shy of the 14,700 mark. Gains were capped amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in the country.
As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 99.76 points or 0.20% to 49,259.08. The Nifty 50 index added 61.75 points or 0.42% to 14,699.55.
In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.84%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1680 shares rose and 1203 shares fell. A total of 188 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 13,18,28,728 with 28,61,100 deaths. India reported 7,88,223 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,65,547 deaths while 1,17,32,279 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
India, on Monday, reported 96,982 fresh coronavirus cases and 446 related deaths. Of these, 47,288 cases were reported in Maharashtra. While cases in Chhattisgarh scaled a new high of 7,302, and the count in Karnataka crossed the 5,000-mark. The country's active case tally now stands at 7,88,223. While 164 people died in Maharashtra, 72 deceased in Punjab. Over 43 lakh people were also inoculated on Monday, pushing the vaccination count up to 8,31,10,926.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has imposed a night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am till April 30 in the wake of rising cases. This comes a day after Maharashtra imposed full lockdown on weekends and fresh restrictions to last through April.
Economy:
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das-led rate-setting panel Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) started its three-day deliberation on the next monetary policy on Monday. The Reserve Bank will announce the resolution of the MPC on Wednesday, 7 April 2021.
Buzzing Segment:
The Nifty Pharma index rose 1.79% to 12,552.60. The index declined 0.37% yesterday.
Cadila Healthcare (up 3.85%), Divi's Labs (up 2.27%), Sun Pharma (up 1.97%), Cipla (up 1.96%), Biocon (up 1.92%), Lupin (up 1.54%), Torrent Pharma (up 1.52%), Dr. Reddy's Labs (up 1.43%) and Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.18%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Bajaj Finance added 0.51% to Rs 4989.05 after the company's customer franchise as of 31 March 2021 stood at 48.6 million, up by 14.08% from 42.6 million as of 31 March 2020. New loans booked during Q4 FY21 were 5.5 million as against 6 million in Q4 FY20.
Assets under management (AUM) stood at approximately 1.53 lakh crore as of 31 March 2021 compared with Rs 1.47 lakh crore as of 31 March 2020, registering a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 4.08%. The company's deposit book increased by 20.41% as it stood at approximately Rs 25,800 crore as of 31 March 2021 as compared to Rs 21,427 crore as of 31 March 2020.
Panacea Biotec hit an upper circuit of 20% at Rs 220.85 after the company announced cooperation with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to produce 100 million doses per year of Sputnik-V vaccine. Production of Sputnik-V at Panacea Biotec sites will help facilitate global supply of Sputnik V to international partners of RDIF.
IRCON International rose 1.96% to Rs 90.95. The company said that its board of directors approved and recommended the issuance of one bonus share for each share held as on the date of record date.
Avenue Supermarts shed 0.06% to Rs 2846.80. The supermarket-chain operator said its standalone revenue from operations in Q4 March 2021 stood at Rs 7,303.13 crore compared with Rs 6,193.53 crore in the same period last year, recording a growth of 17.91% Y-o-Y. As of 31 March 2021, the total number of stores stood at 234.
The company added that its two years and older stores growth for the months of January-February 2021 was 6% as compared to same period last year. These stores saw a negative growth of 9.4% for the first 15 days of March 2021 as compared to first 15 days of March 2020. This is primarily due to full or partial lockdowns implemented from the start of March 2021 across cities due to increase in COVID-19 cases.
Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) added 1.82% to Rs 389.55. The steel maker reported a 34.4% jump in production to 2.07 million tonnes in Q4 March 2021 from 1.54 million tonne reported in Q4 March 2020.
Sales for Q4 March 2021 grew by 37.4% to 1.91 million tonnes from 1.39 million tonnes in Q4 March 2020. Exports accounted for 27% of sales in Q4 March 2021 compared with 15% in Q4 March 2020.
Mahindra Logistics slipped 0.42% to Rs 544.25. The company announced that it has partnered with Flipkart as one of its key logistics partners to help fast track deployment of electric vehicles across its logistics fleet in the country.
RBL Bank advanced 2.88% to Rs 212.30. The bank's total deposits jumped 26% to Rs 73,123 crore as on 31 March 2021 as against Rs 57,812 crore as on 31 March 2020. Gross advances rose 2% to Rs 60,012 crore as on 31 March 2020 as against Rs 58,966 crore as on 31 March 2020. Current Account-Savings Account (CASA) soared 36% to Rs 23,264 crore in 31 March 2021 from Rs 17,116 crore in 31 March 2020. CASA ratio stood at 31.8% as on 31 March 2021 as against 29.6% as on 31 March 2020.
Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) surged 13.63% to Rs 843.30. The company handled cargo volume of 73 MMT (million metric tonnes) in Q4 FY21, registering a growth of 27% on Y-o-Y (year-on-year) basis. APSEZ handled cargo volume of 247 MMT in FY21, registering a growth of 11% on Y-o-Y basis.
Sobha spurted 13.78% to Rs 489.20. The company's total new sales jumped 47.69% to 13,37,707 square feet in Q4 FY21 over 9,05,710 sq ft. in Q4 FY20. Total sales value grew 54.35% to Rs 1,072 crore in Q4 FY21 as against Rs 694.50 crore in Q4 FY20.
Mukand added 0.54% to Rs 84.55. In the past one month, the stock has zoomed 43.34% while the benchmark Sensex has lost 2.48%.
With reference to recent price movement, Mukand on Monday (5 April) clarified that in the recent past, there have been several internal or external positive developments concerning the company. The company has reduced its debt and other interest-bearing liabilities by more than Rs 975 crore via a promoter backed line of credit; it has completed the first tranche of the sale of 30% stake in Mukand Sumi Special Steel, joint venture company, for Rs 713.61 crore; and it has also transferred approximately 55 acres of the company's surplus leasehold land at Thane for a consideration of Rs 801.51 crore.
Global Markets:
European shares advanced on Tuesday as trading resumed after the Easter holiday. Most Asian indices rose on Tuesday, 6 April 2021. Markets in Hong Kong were closed today for a holiday.
China's services sector activity grew in March, according to a private sector survey released Tuesday. The Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers' Index for March came in at 54.3, as compared to February's reading of 51.5.
U.S. stocks rallied on Monday with the Dow and S&P 500 closing at record levels, as a round of strong economic data buoyed investor optimism for the economic reopening.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 373.98 points to 33,527.19, a record closing high. The S&P 500 gained 1.4% to 4,077.91, also hitting a new record close. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also climbed 1.7% to 13,705.59.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday pushed for a global minimum corporate tax in an effort to keep companies from relocating to find lower rates.
Meanwhile, a measure of U.S. services industry activity soared to a record high in March. The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing activity index jumped to a reading of 63.7 last month. That was the highest in the survey's history and followed 55.3 in February.
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