Key equity barometers continued to trade with minor cuts in early afternoon trade. At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 63.85 points or 0.17% at 38,343.16. The Nifty 50 index lost 22.45 points or 0.20% at 11,300.05.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.54% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.03%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1277 shares rose and 1189 shares fell. A total of 140 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
India's industrial output fell for the fourth straight month, led by weakness across most segments except consumer non-durable goods. The Index of Industrial Production contracted by 16.6% in June over last year, compared to a revised contraction of 34% in May and a record 57.6 per cent slide in April. In the April-June 2020 quarter, the index contracted by 35.9%.
India CPI numbers for July are due to be announced today. The domestic consumer prices in India increased 6.09% year-on-year (YoY) in June of 2020, compared with 6.27% in May 2020.
The retail inflation in June had surpassed the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) upper limit of 6%. The government has mandated the Indian central bank to keep inflation within the range of 4% with a margin of 2% on either side.
The rise in the domestic retail inflation was mainly due to a rise in prices of pulses and products (up 16.68% YoY), followed by meat and fish (up 16.22% YoY), oils and fats (12.27% YoY) and spices (up 11.74% YoY).
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 20,292,486 with 741,380 deaths. India reported 6,43,948 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 46,091 deaths while 16,39,599 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 0.95% to 21.155. The Nifty August 2020 futures were trading at 11,308, at a premium of 7.95 points compared with the spot at 11,300.05.
The Nifty weekly option chain for 13 August 2020 expiry showed maximum Call OI 40.89 lakh contracts at the 11,400 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 41.21 lakh contracts was seen at 11,200 strike price.
The Nifty option chain for 27 August 2020 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 21.07 lakh contracts at the 11,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 30.29 lakh contracts was seen at 11,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index :
The Nifty Auto index rose 1.21% to 7,722.50. The index has added 6.7% in seven sessions while the benchmark Nifty 50 index rose 3.8% during the same period.
Among the index constituents, Eicher Motors (up 2.22%), Ashok Leyland (up 1.53%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.43%), Bharat Forge (up 1.32%) and Hero MotoCorp (up 1.22%) were the top gainers.
However, Bajaj Auto (up 0.02%), TVS Motor Company (up 0.07%), Tata Motors (up 0.12%) and Maruti Suzuki (up 0.90%) lagged behind.
Earnings Impact:
Prataap Snacks declined 3.86% to Rs 570.90 after the company posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 5.96 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against a net profit of Rs 9.65 crore reported in Q1 June 2019.
Net sales for Q1 June 2020 stood at Rs 194.45 crore, falling nearly 41% from Rs 329 crore in the same period last year. The company's revenue was impacted due to operating constraints on account of nationwide lockdown.
Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF) tumbled 4.74% to Rs 50.20. RCF's consolidated net profit surged 140.6% to Rs 19.20 crore on 32.7% decline in net sales to Rs 1621.05 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019.
For the quarter ended 30 June 2020, operations of the company were impacted due to the nationwide lockdown, which caused disruptions in the supply chain/movement of fertilizers and consequently impacted the firms sales and results for the quarter ended 30 June 2020.
Meanwhile, RCF's board approved the issue of secured, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) aggregating upto to Rs 1,000 crore in the period of next 12 months through private placement basis.
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