Domestic equity barometers were trading with modest gains in early trade on Friday. Auto and metal shares advanced, while IT and PSU banks declined. At 09:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 176.74 points or 0.40% to 44,809.39. The Nifty 50 index added 53.40 points or 0.41% to 13,187.30.
In the broader markets, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.80% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.76%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1360 shares rose and 408 shares fell. A total of 86 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 3,637.42 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,439.74 crore in the Indian equity market on 3 December 2020, provisional data showed.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will announce the policy decision of the Monetary Policy Committee on Friday at 10:00 IST, followed by a press conference at 12:00 IST.
Economy:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday reportedly said that the Indian economy, severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, is gradually recovering. The economy recovered faster than expected in the September quarter as a pick-up in manufacturing helped GDP clock a lower contraction of 7.5% and held out hopes for further improvement on better consumer demand.
Coronavirus Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 65,132,317 with 1,504,443 deaths. India reported 416,082 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 139,188 deaths while 9,016,289 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty IT index slipped 0.15% to 22,169.90. The index has lost 0.67% in two sessions.
Mphasis (down 1.22%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (down 1.04%) and Tech Mahindra (down 0.76%) declined while Info Edge India (up 0.90%) and MindTree (up 0.38%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Ultratech Cement rose 2.96% to Rs 5037.15. The company's board approved an investment of Rs 5,477 crore towards increasing the company's capacity by 12.8 mtpa, with a mix of brown field and green field expansion. The additional capacity will be created in the fast-growing markets of the east, central and north regions of the country.
The cement maker said that the commercial production from the new capacities is expected to go on stream in a phased manner, by Q4FY23. This capacity addition will not impact the ongoing deleveraging program which is on track to make UltraTech debt free by the time the expansion program is completed.
Upon completion of the latest round of expansion, the company's capacity will grow to 136.25 mtpa, reinforcing its position as the third largest cement company in the world, outside of China.
Granules India added 1.37% to Rs 427.30. The US Food & Drug Administration (US FDA) has approved the abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) filed by Granules Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a wholly-owned foreign subsidiary of Granules India, for Penicillamine capsules USP, 250 mg.
The drug is indicated in the treatment of Wilson's disease, cystinuria, and in patients with severe, active rheumatoid arthritis who have failed to respond to an adequate trial of conventional therapy.
Marico advanced 1.90% to Rs 396.5. The FMCG major has announced its foray into the plant protein category with the launch of Saffola Mealmaker Soya Chunks.
Global markets:
Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed in Friday trade after a report said Pfizer expects to ship half the Covid-19 vaccine doses it originally planned for this year due to supply chain issues.
Hong Kong shares of Chinese chipmaker SMIC and oil producer CNOOC declined after the Pentagon announced that the two firms were added to a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies.
In the US, the Nasdaq Composite Index closed at a record high on Thursday, lifted by Tesla Inc, while the S&P 500 fell after a report that Pfizer Inc had slashed the target for the rollout of its COVID-19 vaccine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 86 points, supported by a jump in Boeing shares.
Investors awaited a key November jobs report to gauge the pace of labor market recovery in the face of a worsening pandemic. The latest weekly jobless claims hit a pandemic-era low, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time claims for unemployment benefits totaled 712,000 last week, compared with 787,000 a week earlier. Still, the claims remained well above the pre-pandemic record.
Investors closely monitored progress toward a stimulus deal as lawmakers make a strong push to break a stalemate over how to boost an economy that continues to be hurt by the pandemic.
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