As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 592.97 points or 1.59% at 37,981.63. The Nifty 50 index surged 186.7 points or 1.71% at 11,236.25.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rallied 2.68% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index jumped 2.61%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1928 shares rose and 756 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 32,994,213 with 996,682 deaths. India reported 9,62,640 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 95,542 deaths while 50,16,520 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

RBI MPC:

The Reserve Bank of India announced that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled during September 29, 30 and October 1 2020 has been rescheduled. The dates of the MPC's meeting will be announced shortly.

In last meeting, the six-member MPC kept repo rate untouched at 4%; and reverse repo rate at 3.35% while maintaining the accommodative stance.

Economy:

President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave assent to three farm bills recently passed by the parliament. The bills are Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) bill, 2020. The act is aimed at transforming agriculture in the country and raising farmers' income.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 permits the electronic trading of farmers' produce and allows setting up of transaction platforms for facilitating direct online buying and selling of farm products.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 provides for a farming agreement prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce. A guaranteed price to be paid for the purchase of farming produce will be mentioned in such agreements.

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 allows the central government to regulate the supply of certain food items only under extraordinary circumstances such as war and famine.

Meanwhile, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has sanctioned the first installment funds of Rs 19,444 crore to Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Telangana for Kharif paddy procurement under minimum support price operations. Chhattisgarh gets the highest amount to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore. Telangana has been sanctioned Rs 5,500 crore and Haryana Rs 5,444 crore.

The Agriculture Ministry said this proactive step by NCDC during the COVID pandemic will give the much needed financial support to farmers of these three states who account for nearly 75% of production of paddy in the country.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.65% after the company said its retail business subsidiary, Reliance Retail Ventures, received the subscription amount of Rs 7,500 crore from Silver Lake for acquisition of 1.75% stake.

Escorts surged 7.53%. The company has been informed by Escorts Kubota India (EKI) that they have started the commercial production of Kubota Tractors from 25 September 2020. Escorts Kubota India (EKI) is a 60:40 Joint Venture between Kubota Corporation, Japan and Escorts.

Tata Steel rose 2.67%. The steel major, on September 25, 2020, has acquired 34.92 lakh shares of Tata Metaliks pursuant to conversion of Warrants issued at a price of Rs 642 per warrant aggregating to Rs 224.21 crore.

Lupin gained 1.2%. The drug major on Monday (28 September) announced the launch of Atorvastatin Calcium tablets having received an approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) earlier. Atorvastatin Calcium tablets USP, 10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg, and 80 mg, is the generic equivalent of Lipitor tablets, 10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg and 80 mg, of Pfizer Inc., and indicated to lower cholesterol in blood for adults and children over 10 years of age.

Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporation spurted 2.15% after the company said that its securities issue committee will meet on or after 30 September 2020 to consider allotting FCCBs worth to $15 million to IFC. Last year, the company's securities issue committee approved the terms and conditions for issue of FCCBs aggregating to $30 million in two equal tranches to IFC and also disclosing the allotment of 30 (thirty) FCCBs having a par value of $500,000 each, being the first tranche, to IFC, for an aggregate amount of $15 million.

Gulf Oil Lubricants India (GOLIL) jumped 4.36% to Rs 664.25 after the company announced a strategic lubricants partnership with S-Oil Corporation of South Korea. S-Oil Corporation is one of the leading oil refining and lubricant manufacturing companies in Asia. Under the partnership, GOLIL will exclusively manufacture and market S-Oil's entire range of lubricants under the brand 'S-Oil Seven' for the Indian market.

Premier Explosives hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 119.50 after the company said it received arms licence for making all types of warheads and fuses in Telangana. The licence, which is valid for life time, enables the company to enter into new business area in defence explosives like warheads (blasts, fragmentation, shaped charge) and all types of fuses (electronic, mechanical).

Global Markets:

US Dow Jones futures 30 were up 364 points, indicating a strong opening in the US stock market today.

European shares were trading higher while most Asian indices advanced on Monday.

China's industrial profits rose 19.1% in August, the country's National Bureau of Statistics announced over the weekend. Chinese economic data has been watched by investors for signs of the country's continued recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

In Europe, Bank of England policymaker Silvana Tenreyro has reportedly said that the central bank's investigation into whether negative interest rates could help the British economic recovery has yielded “encouraging” results.

Investors will focus on the first debate between U.S. President Donald Trump and rival Joe Biden on Tuesday ahead of the November election.

In US, stock indexes closed higher after a choppy session Friday, as tech shares clawed back some of their big September declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 358.52 points higher, or 1.3%, at 27,173.96. The S&P 500 climbed 1.6% to 3,298.46. The Nasdaq Composite popped 2.26% to 10,913.56.

Shares of Amazon rose 2.5% and Facebook gained 2.1%. Apple advanced 3.8% and Microsoft climbed 2.3%. Netflix closed 2.1% higher. Novavax shares jumped nearly 11% after the company said Thursday it has started a final-stage study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the U.K.

Cruise operators also contributed to Friday's gains. Carnival Corp, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean were up 9.7%, 13.7% and 7.7%, respectively.

Meanwhile, House Democrats are reportedly preparing a $2.4 trillion relief package that they could vote on as soon as next week. The bill would include enhanced unemployment benefits and aid to airlines, but the overall price tag remains well above what Republican leaders have said they are willing to spend.

The domestic equity benchmarks surged to end near the day's high on Friday. The Nifty managed to regain the 11,050 mark. IT and bank stocks led the charge.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 835.06 points or 2.28% at 37,388.66. The Nifty 50 index surged 244.70 points or 2.26% at 11,050.25.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 2.90% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 2.31%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1978 shares rose and 670 shares fell. A total of 170 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 3,22,34,685 with 9,83,042 deaths. India reported 9,70,116 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 92,290 deaths while 47,56,164 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Economy:

The Central Government has suspended the operation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) by another three months. In exercise of the powers conferred by section 10A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, the Government has extended the suspension of sections 7, 9 and 10 of the IBC for a further period of three months, the Finance Ministry stated. Extension of suspension of sections 7,9,10 of the IBC reinforces the Government's commitment to protecting businesses. It also gives companies breathing time to recover from financial stress, according to the Finance Ministry.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index rose 3.53% to 19,654.50. The index had lost 4.5% in the past two sessions.

Coforge (up 9.65%), Happiest Minds Technologies (up 7.90%), HCL Tech (up 5.24%), Infosys (up 3.83%), Wipro (up 2.87%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.77%), Info Edge India (up 2.19%) and MindTree (up 1.62%) edged higher.

TCS added 4.09% to Rs 2426.85 after the IT major said that it will build the technology infrastructure for US and Canada-based women's fashion retail chain, maurices. The IT company will help maurices strategize, create and operationalize the new scalable, secure and future-proof architecture for the underlying IT infrastructure, security layer, and a new application stack, as well as remediate its technical debt. In addition, TCS will help maurices build a brand-new data analytics platform with extensive reporting features. The project will also involve a refreshed, upgraded ecommerce platform that will facilitate quicker business decisions and faster go-to-market responses to industry or fashion trends.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Cipla surged 5.10% to Rs 770.20. The drug major announced that it has received final approval for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Dimethyl Fumarate DR capsules 120mg, 240mg and 120mg/240 mg starter pak from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). The drug is indicated for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), to include clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease, and active secondary progressive disease, in adults.

Tata Consumer Products jumped 4.30% to Rs 509.75. The company is reportedly considering a non-binding bid for the vending machine business of Coffee Day Enterprises. Its board has has approved a proposal to explore an acquisition of the operations and Coffee Day is seeking a valuation of about Rs 2000 crore for the vending machine business, reports added.

Tata Coffee advanced 3.13% to Rs 102. The company is reportedly in the initial stages of negotiations to acquire 12,000 hectares of coffee plantations that belonged to V G Siddhartha, the founder of Café Coffee Day Enterprises, for a valuation of Rs 1,200-1,500 crore. The plantations are reportedly the second largest in Asia and export 20,000 tonnes of coffee annually, reports said.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) added 3.68% to Rs 594.85. M&M after market hours on Thursday announced that it converted 480 compulsorily convertible preference shares of Sampo Rosenlew Oy, Finland, into 1,440 equity shares and exercised a call option to acquire 633 equity shares from the owners of Sampo. Accordingly, the voting rights of the company in Sampo would increased from 49.14% to upto 74.97%, and Sampo would become a subsidiary of M&M.

GMR Infrastructure surged 10.61% to Rs 23.45. The company announced signing of definitive agreements for the sale of equity owned by its wholly owned subsidiary GMR SEZ and Port Holding (GSPHL) of its entire 51% stake in Kakinada SEZ (KSEZ) to Aurobindo Realty and Infrastructure (ARIPL). As part of the proposed transfer of stake of KSEZ, the 100% equity stake of Kakinada Gateway Port (KGPL) held by KSEZ would also be transferred to Aurobindo Realty. Total consideration for the sale of equity stake as well as the sub-debt in KSEZ is Rs 2610 crore.

Cadila Healthcare rose 2.62% to Rs 385.90. Zydus Cadila has received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Dimethyl Fumarate delayed-release capsules, (US RLD: Tecfidera) in the strengths of 120 mg and 240 mg. The USFDA granted approval following entry of judgment in favor of Zydus Cadila and other ANDA applicants by the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, holding that the only unexpired patent covering Tecfidera is invalid. Dimethyl Fumarate delayed-release capsules are indicated for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis and will be manufactured at the group's manufacturing facility at the SEZ, Matoda.

HUDCO gained 3.76% to Rs 31.75 after the company said it has achieved loan sanctions of Rs 2607.12 crore and loan releases of Rs 3277.04 crore, as on 31 August 2020, for the financial year 2020-21.

Granules India jumped 4.30% to Rs 376.10 after the company said it received US drug regulator's approval of Naproxen Sodium and Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride tablets, 220 mg/25 mg (OTC). The drug is generic equivalent of Aleve PM tablets of Bayer HealthCare LLC. It is used for relief of occasional sleeplessness associated with minor aches and pains and to help you fall asleep and stay asleep.

According to media reports, global private equity firms Blackstone, KKR and Bain Capital have expressed interest in acquiring a controlling stake in Granules India. Offering a clarification on the same, Granules said: “we do not confirm or deny the information contained in the news article.”

Vakrangee hit an upper circuit of 10% at Rs 27.10 after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted the company in-principle authorisation to set-up and operate Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU). The company said it can now directly handle payment and aggregation of payment services relating to bills under the scope of the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones Future were currently trading with a cut of 77 points, indicating a negative start on the Wall Street today.

European stocks traded lower while Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday. Rising coronavirus cases continue to weigh on investor sentiment as the number of reports surge in Europe. The number of daily reported coronavirus cases in the U.K. has jumped by a quarter in the past day.

U.K. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday announced a new emergency package of measures to contain unemployment, replacing the country's furlough scheme which is due to expire next month.

U.S. stocks ended positive in choppy trade on Thursday, led by a dogged comeback in the technology sector, having initially sold off on higher-than-expected unemployment claims.

Investors remained uncertain about Washington's ability to pass a stimulus package after Fed officials indicated they expected more fiscal support. Consequently, the fears of a delayed global economic recovery from the novel coronavirus pandemic resurfaced.

Jobless claims in the US rose 4,000 to 870,000 (from 866,000 last week), the Labor Department said Thursday, reflecting that slightly more Americans applied for state unemployment benefits in the week ended Sept. 19 than in the prior week.

Sales in US of new single-family homes in August exceeded an annual rate of 1 million for the first time since 2006. New home sales occurred at a seasonally adjusted, annual rate of 1.011 million (vs 0.965 million in July and up 43% YoY)

As per reports, US lawmakers, which include Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are looking to iron out differences on a fresh round of stimulus to boost the economy. The Democrats could announce a $2.4 trillion stimulus package as early as next week.

Domestic shares witnessed heavy sell off on Thursday amid weak global cues. The Nifty ended a tad above the 10,800 mark. The trading was volatile due to the expiry of September futures & options contracts today.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was tumbled 1114.82 points or 2.96% to 36,553.60. The Nifty 50 index slumped 326.30 points or 2.93% to 10,805.55.

Meanwhile, the NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 12.32% to 23.5775.

Sentiment in the global market took a hit after US Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida told the media on Wednesday that the U.S. economy remains in a deep hole of joblessness and weak demand, and called for more fiscal stimulus. Clarida added that the central bank will not raise interest rates until it sees 2% inflation for at least a few months and full employment is reached.

Concurrently, rising COVID-19 infections in Europe and uncertainties over U.S. presidential elections also worried investors.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 2.14% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 2.28%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 625 shares rose and 2023 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 31,870,904 with 976,311 deaths. India reported 966,382 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 91,149 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index tumbled 4.15% to 18,983.25. The index has lost 4.44% in two sessions.

Mphasis (down 8.88%), TCS (down 5.73%), Tech Mahindra (down 5.27%), Coforge (down 4.54%), Infosys (down 4.67%), MindTree (down 4.30%), Happiest Minds Technologies (down 4.22%), Wipro (down 3.27%) and HCL Tech (down 3.27%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Zydus Wellness surged 6.77% to Rs 1835 after it launched its qualified institutional placement (QIP) on Wednesday and set the floor price at Rs 1,775.85 per equity share for the issue. The pharmaceutical company's finance and administration committee is scheduled to meet on Monday, 28 September 2020, to consider and approve the issue price of the equity shares to be allotted to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to the QIP issue.

ONGC lost 1.70% to Rs 66.50 after a massive fire broke out at the company's plant in Surat (Gujarat) in the early hours on Thursday. A fire was observed in the Hazira Gas processing plant in the morning today. Fire has been brought under control. There is no casualty or injury to any person, ONGC said in a tweet. Fire at Hazira Plant has been completely extinguished. Efforts are being made to resume normal operations at the earliest, it added.

IIFL Securities slipped 3.75% to Rs 38.50. The company said it has agreed to acquire an additional 6.25% stake in Trendlyne from one of the existing investor. Post-acquisition, IIFL Securities shall hold 20.55% of the share capital of Trendlyne on fully diluted basis, it added. Pursuant to this Giskard Datatech (Trendlyne) shall become an associate of the company.

Ircon International fell 2.43% to Rs 78.40. The company said that it has secured works of total 9 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) valuing more than Rs 400 crore from Ministry of Railways, Government of India. The scope of work is to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services for construction of ROBs in lieu of existing Level Crossings. The period of completion is 24 months from the date of signing of MoU with Zonal Railways, the company said. The work has been awarded by the Ministry of Railways through a competitive bidding among PSUs, it added

Datamatics Global Services hit a lower circuit of 5% at Rs 74.10. The company announced expansion of distribution agreement with Ingram Micro for META region (Middle East, Turkey and Africa) for its Intelligent Automation (IA) products.

Havells India fell 1.95% at Rs 661.05. The company said it launched 25 new models of direct cool, frost free and side by side refrigerators. It plans to launch additional 25 models of refrigerators and a new range of dishwashers by Diwali 2020.

Panacea Biotec hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 196.80 after the company announced successful completion of its Phase I/II study to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of its vaccine, DengiAll, a single-dose live-attenuated tetravalent vaccine.

Shalby rose 1.56% to Rs 74.80 after the company said its board will meet on 28 September 2020 to discuss various options to reduce promoters shareholding in the company to 75% from the current 79.45%. As per Sebi regulation, promoters of the listed companies are required to bring their shareholding down to 75%.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones future were currently trading with a cut of 45 points, indicating a mildly negative start to the US markets today.

European markets tumbled while most Asian indices declined on Thursday as investors' hopes for economic recovery falter amid a second wave of coronavirus cases.

The U.K. reported 6,178 cases, up by 1,252 since Tuesday, as the country grapples with a Covid-19 surge

South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.59% after tensions on the Korean Peninsula resurfaced. A South Korean official has been shot dead and burned by North Korean troops, said the South's defence ministry which condemned the brutal act.

The US stock market finished volatile session steep lower on Wednesday, 23 September 2020, as risk-off selling triggered after data showing a cooling of U.S. business activity and Federal Reserve officials highlighted the need for Congress to agree on a new round of stimulus to support the economic recovery.

Investors were disappointed that Washington lawmakers haven't reached an agreement on more stimulus and uneasy over speculation that the US presidential election could drag on due to slow vote counts or legal challenges.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the central bank was not planning any major changes to its Main Street Lending Program, while saying that both the Fed and Congress need to stay with it in working to bolster the economic recovery.

US composite business activity index slipped to 54.4 in September from 54.6 in the previous month, IHS Markit said Wednesday. The flash services purchasing managers index inched down to 54.6 from 55 in August. The flash manufacturing index rose to 53.5 in September from 53.1 in the prior month. This is a 20-month high. Any reading above the 50 neutral mark indicates improving conditions.

Domestic equity benchmarks ended with small losses after a volatile session on Wednesday. The Nifty regained 11,100 mark after falling below that level in intraday. The indices were volatile ahead of the monthly F&O expiry tomorrow.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 53.50 points or 0.14% at 37,680.58. The Nifty 50 index lost 19.65 points or 0.18% at 11,134.

After opening in the green, the key indices pared gains in afternoon trade. The barometers tumbled to the day's low in mid-afternoon trade. However, value buying in the last hour helped the benchmarks end the day with minor cuts.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.33% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.07%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1226 shares rose and 1406 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 31,605,656 with 970,934 deaths. India reported 968,377 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 90,020 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India-China Conflict:

The Indian and Chinese Senior Commanders held the 6th round of military commander-level meeting on Monday. The two sides had agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen communication on the ground, avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments, stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation. The two sides also agreed to hold the 7th round of military commander-level meeting as soon as possible, take practical measures to properly solve problems on the ground, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border area.

Monsoon Session:

Rajya Sabha was today adjourned sine die eight days ahead of the scheduled time of the Monsoon Session in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Monsoon Session which had begun on 14th of this month was scheduled to end on 1st of next month. The Lok Sabha will assemble at 6 pm and it is expected that the Lower House will also adjourn sine die today itself.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index fell 1.84% to 11,658.40. The index advanced 0.66% yesterday.

Divi's Labs (down 2.85%), Lupin (down 2.67%), Torrent Pharma (down 2.44%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 2.33%), Cadila Healthcare (down 2.28%), Alkem Laboratories (down 2.16%), Cipla (down 1.64%) and Dr. Reddy's Labs (down 1.58%) declined while Biocon adanced 0.68%.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries slipped 1.48% to Rs 502.90. The company said that its wholly-owned Japanese subsidiary has launched ILUMYA Subcutaneous Injection 100 mg syringe in Japan for the treatment of plaque psoriasis in adult patients who have an inadequate response to conventional therapies.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.63% to Rs 2225 after the company announced on Wednesday that global investment firm KKR will invest Rs 5,550 crore into Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL), a subsidiary of the company. This investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. KKR's investment will translate into a 1.28% equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis. This marks the second investment by KKR in a subsidiary of RIL, following a Rs 11,367 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.

Sequent Scientific jumped 4.58% to Rs 150.55 after the company said it entered into definitive agreement with Dr. Huseyin Aydin for the acquisition of 40% stake in Provet for $17.10 million. Sequent will acquire the stake through its Ireland-based wholly-owned subsidiary, Alivira Animal Health. The transaction is expected to be completed on or before 31 October 2020.

Hexaware Technologies rose 1.61% at Rs 468.05 after the company in a newspaper advertisement announced that the promoter HT Global Holdings has accepted the discovered price of Rs 475 per share, as the final price for the delisting offer.

Central Bank of India fell 3.20% to Rs 16.65. The state-run bank launched its qualified institutional placement (QIP) of shares on Tuesday (22 September 2020). The floor price has been set at 16.18 per equity share for the QIP, which is a 5.93% discount to Tuesday's closing price. The bank's capital-raising committee will meet on 25 September to consider and determine the issue price for the equity shares to be allotted to qualified institutional buyers.

Indian Oil Corporation shed 0.39% to Rs 75.95. The board of Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) approved implementation of petrochemical and lube integration project at the company's Gujarat refinery at an estimated cost of Rs 17,825 crore.

Majesco hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 803.55. On Tuesday, 22 September 2020, Unifi Wealth Management bought 2.06 lakh equity shares (0.71% equity) of Majesco at Rs 779.05 per share via bulk deal on the NSE.

Repco Home Finance jumped 4.80% to Rs 164.80. On Tuesday, 22 September 2020, Fidelity Funds - Asian Smaller Companies Pool bought 4.20 lakh equity shares (0.67% equity) of Repco Home Finance at Rs 150.33 per share via bulk deals on the NSE. As of 30 June 2020, Fidelity Funds - Asian Smaller Companies Pool held 1.52% stake in Repco Home Finance.

Shares of two Shapoorji Pallonji Group were in demand after the group on Tuesday said it is willing to exit its decades-old position in Tata Sons.

The Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, the largest minority shareholder with 18.37% stake in Tata Sons, on Tuesday said it is “time to separate from Tata” to end a relationship that has spanned over 70 years. Tata Sons is the holding company of Tata Group. According to reports, the market value of SP Group's stake in the listed entities of Tata Group is estimated to be around Rs 1,48,000 crore going by the market capitalization of all listed Tata Group firms.

Consequently, Sterling & Wilson Solar (up 20%) and Forbes & Company (up of 5%) rallied.

Global Markets:

European markets rose while Asian markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday as investors react to recent comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

The Dow Jones Futures 30 were trading 232 points higher, indicating a positive start in US markets today.

In a prepared testimony, the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reportedly said the central bank remains committed to supporting the economy through its tools for as long as it takes. He also noted that many economic indicators show marked improvement, though the path forward continues to be highly uncertain.

In Europe, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new restrictions that are likely to last six months and told people to work from home, if possible. The announcement comes after a surge in coronavirus cases in the country, with a further 4,368 daily cases reported on Monday.

The US stock market finished higher on Tuesday, 22 September 2020, with two of the three major averages snapping four days of losing streak, as the recent market pullbacks triggered a bargain buying opportunity for growth companies in the US. However, market gains capped as a likely delay in new fiscal stimulus by the United States Congress and concerns about faster economic recovery after an increase in the number of coronavirus cases.

Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes closed higher, led by information technology and consumer discretionary. Shares of megacap technology stocks — which have suffered brunt of declines in September — all closed in positive territory on Tuesday. Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc, and Facebook Inc all rose more than 1.6%. They had carried the brunt of recent declines.

US existing home sales jumped 2.4% to an annual rate of 6.000 million in August after skyrocketing by 24.7% to a rate of 5.860 million in July, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday. With the sharp increase, existing home sales reached their highest level since December of 2006.

Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans, in remarks at a forum, reportedly warned that it's important for Congress to pass more spending or risk a downward economic spiral.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 300.06 points or 0.79% at 37,734.08. The Nifty 50 index lost 96.90 points or 0.86% at 11,153.65.

After hitting the day's low of 11,084.65, the Nifty recouped some losses and ended above the 11,150 mark.

The broader market witnessed steep sell-off. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.70% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.61%.

Sellers outweighed buyers. On the BSE, 765 shares rose and 1861 shares fell. A total of 165 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 31,322,314 with 964,765 deaths. India reported 975,861 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 88,935 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index slipped 0.98% to 21,157.25. The index has declined 6.27% in four sessions.

Bandhan Bank (down 3.55%), IndusInd Bank (down 3.06%), Axis Bank (down 2.54%), IDFC First Bank (down 2.38%), RBL Bank (down 1.74%), Federal Bank (down 1.71%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.42%), HDFC Bank (down 1.4%) and Bank Of Baroda (down 1.28%) declined. ICICI Bank, however, rose 1.21%.

SBI rose 0.22%. The state-run lender on Monday said it has raised Rs 7,000 crore by issuing Basel III compliant bonds.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) skid 1.96%. The financial regulator of Kazakhstan has revoked the license of Tengri Bank on account of failure to observe prudential standards and other mandatory norms and limits. PNB holds 41.64% stake in the lender.

Banks stocks came under heavy selling pressure amid media reports that almost all Indian banks were involved in a number of suspicious transactions between 2010 and 2017. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) obtained a top-secret Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) prepared by Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which mentions these transactions.

Reports suggested that between 2010 and 2017, a number of Indian banks (public, private and foreign) helped facilitate transactions red-flagged by the US Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for suspected money laundering, terrorism, drug dealing and financial fraud. Indian banks reportedly received $482,181,226 from outside the country and transferred from India $406,278,962. These transactions were red flagged to the US authorities.

Separately, the media reported that Indian public sector banks (PSBs) reported frauds worth over Rs 19,964 crore in total 2,867 cases during the April-June quarter of the ongoing fiscal year.

Stocks in Spotlight:

GMM Pfaudler hit a lower circuit of 10% at Rs 4717 after the company kicked off an offer for sale (OFS) by the promoters at a floor price of Rs 3,500 per share. The OFS floor price is at steep discount of 33.22% compared to GMM's Monday closing price of Rs 5241.10 per share.

Through the OFS, the company's promoters proposes to sell over 25.71 lakh equity shares and additional 15.21 lakh equity shares in the case of oversubscription. The promoters held 1.09 crore shares or 75% stake in the company as on 30 June 2020.

As on 15:30 IST, the OFS received subscription for 27,58,133 shares or 119.18% against the base non-retail offer size of 23.14 lakh shares.

Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC) rose 2.34% to Rs 172.85 after the company said it licensed commercialization rights of Elepsiatm XR to US-based Tripoint Therapeutics. The drug is indicated as adjunctive therapy for the treatment of partial onset seizures in patients 12 years of age and older.

Under terms of the license agreement, SPARC will be eligible to receive tiered royalties ranging from 15% to 50% on net sales. Tripoint will be responsible for all US regulatory submissions and payment of annual PDUFA fees for Elepsia XR 1000 mg and Elepsia XR 1500 mg. The initial term of the agreement shall be 5 years and may be further extended as per mutual agreement between the parties.

Aarti Drugs rose 2.18% to Rs 2905 after the company said its board has fixed 1 October 2020 as the record date to determine the eligible shareholders entitled to receive bonus shares. The company will issue three bonus equity shares for each share held (3:1).

HSIL jumped 8.47% to Rs 77.45 after the company's board approved a proposal to buyback shares worth up to Rs 70 crore at a maximum buyback price of Rs 105 per equity share.

Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) fell 2.77% to Rs 170.45, following reports that Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas filed Suspicious Activity Reports on fund transfers by the company for two consecutive years. The media reports were based on leaked suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed by banks and other financial firms with the US Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen). According to reports, SARs showed that JSPL received $2.48 million in 2015 and $16.8 million in 2016. During the period, the company sent money to firms based in Mauritius, Germany, and the UK and received funds from firms in Dubai and Switzerland.

TCS rose 2.45% to Rs 2525 after the IT major announced the expansion of its partnership with Morrisons, a supermarket chain in the UK, through a five-year contract for application management services, data services and cybersecurity services.

Alkyl Amines Chemicals tumbled 3.95% to Rs 3071 after the company's chief financial officer (CFO) Rahul Mehta tendered his resignation on 21 September 2020. “He has been relieved from his duties with effect from the said date,” the company said.

Deepak Nitrite added 4.62% to Rs 850.65. On Monday (21 September), Vanguard Group Inc A/C Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund A Series of V I E I F bought 12,02,981 equity shares (0.88% stake) of Deepak Nitrite at Rs 839.18 each via bulk deal on the NSE. Earlier on 18 September 2020, the Vanguard fund bought 10,81,688 shares (0.79%) in the chemicals maker at Rs 861.54 each via bulk deal on the NSE.

Global Markets:

European markets advanced while most Asian shares declined on Tuesday as concerns over coronavirus induced lockdowns resurfaced.

Shares of HSBC and Standard Chartered continued to see drops on Tuesday, following sharp declines on Monday on the back of reports that they allegedly moved large sums of suspicious funds.

European countries are likely to impose more restrictions on public life in the coming days. France reported 10,569 new cases Sunday while the U.K., reported almost 4,000 new cases. Italy saw close to 1,000 new infections and Germany reported 1,345 new cases Sunday, and a further 922 cases Monday.

The US stocks declined for fourth straight session on Monday, 21 September 2020, with the major averages finished deeply into negative territory, amid concerns over potential worsening of the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, uncertainty on further U.S. fiscal stimulus and tensions between the U.S. and China nudged investors away from risk assets.

In addition to coronavirus news, the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also appeared to be weighing on the markets as it is feared a fight over the nomination of her replacement could lead to further delays in the passage of another coronavirus relief bill. Republicans and Democrats have been in a stalemate since July after provisions from the previous stimulus bill expired.

Shares of banks and financials declined after a report found that a number of global banks moved allegedly illicit funds.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 811.68 points or 2.09% at 38,034.14. The Nifty 50 index lost 282.75 points or 2.46% at 11,222.20.

The broader market saw heavy selling. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 3.43% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 3.61%.

Sellers outpaced buyers. On the BSE, 593 shares rose and 2165 shares fell. A total of 180 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 31,028,757 with 960,698 deaths. India reported 10,03,299 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 87,882 deaths while 43,96,399 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India-China standoff:

In Ladakh Region, India and China are engaging in Commander level Talks for the 6th time at Moldo, in Chinese side of Line of Actual Control. The Core Commanders are sitting across the table after a gap of one and half month to discuss the border situation. This is a significant development as far as the talks between India and China to arrive into certain implementable decisions to restore the peace and tranquility in the region.

Parliament passes two Farm Bills:

Parliament passed two bills aimed at transforming agriculture in the country and raising farmers' incomes. The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 which were passed by Lok Sabha on 17 September 2020, were passed by the Rajya Sabha on 20 September.

The new legislation will create an ecosystem where the farmers and traders will enjoy freedom of choice of sale and purchase of agri-produce. It will also promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce outside the physical premises of markets notified under State Agricultural Produce Marketing legislations. The farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their produce and will not have to bear transport costs.

The Bill also proposes an electronic trading in transaction platform for ensuring a seamless trade electronically. In addition to mandis, farmers will get freedom to do trading at farmgate, cold storage, warehouse, processing units, etc. Farmers will be able to engage in direct marketing thereby eliminating intermediaries resulting in full realization of price. Farmers in Punjab, Haryana and several others states have been protesting against the new legislations ever since the bills cleared Lok Sabha earlier last week.

Economy:

India Inc's business sentiment has improved during July-September quarter as the government gradually unlocked the economy and business activity resumed, according to the CII's business outlook survey. The latest CII Business Confidence Index has surged to the level of 50.3 in July-September 2020, bouncing back from its lowest reading of 41 recorded in April-June 2020, the industry chamber said in a statement.

New Listing:

Route Mobile were trading at Rs 648.90 at 15:15 IST on the BSE, a premium of 85.40% over the initial public offer (IPO) price of Rs 350.

The stock was listed at Rs 708, a premium of 102.29% to IPO price of Rs 350 a share. So far the stock hit a high of Rs 735 and low of 625. On the BSE, 17.33 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far. The issue opened for bidding on 9 September 2020 and closed on 11 September 2020. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 345-350 per share.

The IPO of Route Mobile received bids for 89.23 crore shares as against 1.21 crore shares on offer, as per the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) website data. The issue was subscribed 73.30 times. The non-institutional investors category was subscribed 192.81 times. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) category was subscribed 89.76 times. The retail individual investors (RIIs) category was subscribed 12.67 times.

Buzzing Segments:

The Nifty Bank fell 3.36% to 21,290.10 after Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) leaks reportedly said almost all Indian banks could be part of the suspicious transactions.

IndusInd bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India and HDFC Bank fell by 0.82% to 8.67%.

The media reported that between 2010 and 2017, a number of Indian banks (public, private and foreign) helped facilitate transactions red-flagged by the US Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for suspected money laundering, terrorism, drug dealing and financial fraud. Indian banks reportedly received $482,181,226 from outside the country and transferred from India $406,278,962. These transactions were red flagged to the US authorities.

Bandhan Bank slumped 6.03% to Rs 281.35. The bank reportedly said that its collection efficiency ratio has touched 80% at the end of August, and expected collections to normalise by December. The ratio, which is improving on a daily basis, is likely to be over 90% in October, it reportedly added.

The Nifty Metal index tumbled 5.15% to 2,240.55, extending decline for third day. The index has lost 6.50% in three sessions.

Jindal Steel & Power (down 13.74%), SAIL (down 7%), Hindalco Industries (down 6.8%), Tata Steel (down 5.99%), JSW Steel (down 5.65%), National Aluminum Co. (down 5.16%), Welspun Corp (down 4.96%), Hindustan Copper (down 4.38%), NMDC (down 4.26%), Mishra Dhatu Nigam (down 3.63%), Hindustan Zinc (down 3.58%), Ratnamani Metals Tubes (down 2.67%), MOIL (down 2.22%), Coal India (down 1.5%) and APL Apollo Tubes (down 0.88%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Metaliks slipped 3.84% to Rs 532.30. The company on Saturday (19 September 2020) informed about the execution of a planned shutdown of one of its blast furnaces and its associated facilities at the company's Kharagpur plant for repair & maintenance including hearth profiling. The operations are expected to be back on stream in 2nd half of October 2020, it added.

Amber Enterprises India fell 2.75% to Rs 1988. The company said that it had acquired 9,000 equity share of face value of Rs 1000 each, comprising of 20% stake, of Sidwal Refrigeration Industries. Accordingly, Sidwal Refrigeration Industries has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amber Enterprises India with effect from 18 September 2020.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) lost 2.25% to Rs 28.20 after the company said its shareholders approved the proposal to raise upto Rs 5,000 crore through issue of unsecured non-convertible debentures (NCDs)/bonds.

GOCL Corporation soared 11.08% to Rs 207 after the company said its UK subsidiary will garner about Rs 257 crore by paring stake in Quaker Houghton.

Ramco Systems was locked in an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 396.95 after the company said it signed an agreement with CHI Aviation for delivering the full suite Ramco Aviation Software. The agreement comprises maintenance & engineering, supply chain, MRO sales, flight operations, manufacturing, and finance.

RITES fell 2.80% to Rs 248.10. The company said that it had secured a contract for railway electrification works on competition basis amounting to Rs 474.92 crore.

On Friday, 18 September 2020, RITES said its board of directors has approved buyback of 96,98,113 equity shares at Rs 265 per share, translating into the total buy back amount not exceeding Rs 257 crore. The board fixed 30 September 2020 as record date for the purpose of ascertaining the eligibility of shareholders for the buyback.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Future slumped 567 points on Monday, indicating a weak start to Wall Street today.

Shares in Europe and Asia tumbled on Monday. Meanwhile, Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC and Standard Chartered and slipped 2% to 5% today following reports that they allegedly moved large sums of suspicious funds. The moves came after the banks — among several global lenders — were identified in media reports as having allegedly moved suspicious funds over a period of nearly two decades, according to media reports.

The US stocks declined for third straight session on Friday, 18 September 2020, with the major averages finished firmly into negative territory, on rising tensions between the world's two largest economies after Trump administration announcement to ban Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat from US app stores starting late on Sunday.

Meanwhile, selloff also fuelled amid renewed concerns about the economic outlook following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. While the Fed indicated it plans to leave interest rates at near-zero levels for years to come, traders seem skeptical that will be enough to support the economy.

US consumer sentiment index climbed to 78.9 in September from 74.1 in August, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday. The index reached its highest level since March but is still well below the pre-pandemic reading of 101.0 seen in February.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex lost 134.02 points or 0.34% at 38,845.15. The Nifty 50 index rose 0.7 points or 0.01% at 11,516.75.

The broader ended on a mixed note. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.26% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.32%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1317 shares rose and 1423 shares fell. A total of 170 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 249.82 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,067.83 crore in the Indian equity market on 17 September, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 30,071,314 with 9,44,887 deaths. India reported 10,17,754 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 84,372 deaths while 41,12,551 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Economy:

The Reserve Bank has decided to conduct purchase of Government securities under Open Market Operations (OMOs) for an aggregate amount of Rs 10,000 crores on 24 September 2020. Accordingly, RBI will purchase Government securities through a multi-security auction using the multiple price method. These include 6.97% GS 2026, 6.45% GS 2029 and 6.68% GS 2031 for Rs 10000 crores. The Reserve Bank reserves the right to decide on the quantum of purchase of individual securities.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index slumped 1.61% to 21,960.35. The index has lost 2.72% in two trading days.

Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 2.57%), Bandhan Bank (down 2.47%), HDFC Bank (down 2.33%), IDFC First Bank (down 2.19%), RBL Bank (down 2.15%), Punjab National Bank (down 2.11%), SBI (down 2.02%) and Federal Bank (down 1.99%) were top losers in banking index.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories soared 10.02%. The drug major announced settlement of U.S. Revlimid (lenalidomide) capsules patent litigation with Celgene. In settlement of all outstanding claims in the litigation, Celgene has agreed to provide Dr. Reddy's with a license to sell volume-limited amounts of generic lenalidomide capsules in the U.S. beginning on a confidential date after March 2022 subject to regulatory approval. The agreed-upon percentages are confidential. Dr. Reddy's is also licensed to sell generic lenalidomide capsules in the U.S. without volume limitation beginning on 31 January 2026. Revlimid is a trademark of Celgene, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb.

TVS Motor Company gained 0.27% after the two-wheeler maker on Thursday announced its new distribution partnership with Autotecnica Colombiana SAS (Auteco SAS), a leading motorcycle assembler in Colombia. Auteco SAS will operate 50 dealerships exclusive to TVS Motor Company and create dedicated space for the brand in over 600 retail outlets. Auteco SAS will support TVS Motor with dedicated sales, service, spares and customer relationship management (CRM). It will also provide the brand with an assembly set-up in Cartagena along with a dedicated training centre.

Lupin rallied 4.74% while Cipla jumped 7.42%. Perrigo Company, the Dublin-based maker of over-the-counter and generic health products, already halted production and distribution of the aerosols. These actions are being taken out of an abundance of caution as a result of complaints that some units may not dispense due to clogging. Perrigo's generic albuterol sulfate inhalation aerosol was developed in partnership with and manufactured by Catalent Pharma Solutions.

Hindalco Industries rose 3.24% while Hindustan Copper (HCL) was up 0.2%. Hindalco Industries on Thursday signed an agreement to procure copper concentrate from state-owned Hindustan Copper. HCL is the only producer of copper concentrate in India. Under this MoU, Hindalco will use about 60% of copper concentrate produced by Hindustan Copper. This partnership is a major step towards import substitution and reducing the nation's dependence on imported copper concentrate.

Hindustan Zinc fell 0.95% after the company proposed to raise Rs 4000 crore by offering debentures in one or more tranche. The company proposes to offer Rated, Unsecured, Redeemable, Non-Cumulative, Non-Convertible Debentures aggregating upto Rs 4,000 crore in one or more tranches.

Sterling and Wilson Solar (SWSL) fell 1.85%. The company announced that it has signed an order of 106.71 MW worth about Rs 462 crore in Chile. The order has been received from a global independent power producer (IPP), work for which is expected to begin in Q4 FY 2021. SWSL has a strong presence in the region with one project of 93.3 MW in Argentina and three projects of 588 MW under construction in Chile.

Global Markets:

European markets were trading mixed on Friday as investors monitored a rise in coronavirus cases across the continent.

The Bank of England (BoE) on Thursday kept its benchmark interest rate at 0.1% and it left unchanged the size of its bond-buying programme at 745 billion pounds ($966 billion). BoE hinted that it may consider cutting interest rates below zero for the first time in its history as the economy faces a surge in coronavirus infections and the risk of a no-deal Brexit.

The World Health Organization's (WHO) regional director for Europe on Thursday warned of a very serious situation unfolding in Europe. Weekly cases have now exceeded those reported when the pandemic first peaked in Europe in March, said WHO's Hans Klug.

Asian shares advanced on Friday following pledges by central bankers globally to do whatever it takes to support the economic recovery.

US stocks fell on Thursday as technology-related shares slid for a second day. Facebook and Amazon were down 3.3% and 2.3%, respectively. Netflix closed 2.8% lower. Alphabet dropped 1.7% while Apple and Microsoft were both down at least 1%. Snowflake, an IPO which captivated Wall Street on Wednesday as it doubled in its debut, was off by 10.4%.

US President Donald Trump said on late Wednesday that the U.S. could distribute a vaccine as early as October, contradicting the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who told lawmakers earlier in the day that vaccinations would be in limited quantities this year and not widely distributed for six to nine months.

Global shares were negative after the US Federal Reserve indicated its benchmark interest rate will stay close to zero at least through 2023 but announced no additional stimulus plans.

The broader corrected after rising for three sessions. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.24% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.51%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1154 shares rose and 1571 shares fell. A total of 171 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 264.66 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 212.21 crore in the Indian equity market on 16 September, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 29,763,811 with 9,39,456 deaths. India reported 10,09,976 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 83,198 deaths while 40,25,079 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

The government said that the country's recovery rate among the COVID-19 patients has reached to 78.64%. During the last 24 hours, more than 82 thousand COVID patients have been recovered.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Thursday expressed hope that COVID-19 vaccine would be available in the country by early next year. He informed that three vaccine candidates have reached the clinical trial stage of Phase one, two and three.

Economy:

India's commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said the government is working on setting up a single window system for clearances and approvals of industry. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Goyal said the cell is being planned as a one-stop digital platform to obtain all requisite central and state clearances and approvals to start business operations in the country. Goyal said the investment clearance cell will be a national portal that integrates the existing clearance systems of various ministries and departments of the government and of states without disrupting the existing IT portals of ministries.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Bill proposes amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. With this new Bill, the central government aims to bring cooperative banks under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

New Listing:

Shares of Happiest Minds Technologies were trading at Rs 387.70 at 13:14 IST on BSE, a premium of 133.55% over the initial public offer price of Rs 166.

The stock debuted at Rs 351, a premium of 111.45% to the initial public offer (IPO) price. So far the stock hit a high of Rs 395 and low of Rs 351. On BSE, so far 89.03 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far.

The IPO of Happiest Minds Technologies received bids for 351.18 crore shares as against 2.32 crore shares on offer. The issue was subscribed 150.98 times. The issue was open between 7th and 9th September 2020. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 165-166 per share.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index gained 0.41% to 19,852.35. The index has surged 8.7% in six days.

Mphasis (up 3.91%), Coforge (up 3.83%), HCL Tech (up 2.52%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (up 1.76%), Infosys (up 1.32%) and Mindtree (up 1.1%) were top gainers in IT segment.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Dr Reddy Laboratories was up 3.96% after the drug major announced the launch of over-the-counter Olopatadine Hydrochloride Ophthalmic Solution in the US market. The solution is indicated for the temporary relief of itchy eyes due to pollen, ragweed, grass, animal hair and dander. It is also indicated for the temporary relief of red eyes. The Pataday brand had US sales of approximately $31 million since the launch in March 2020 according to IRi.

Larsen & Toubro fell 1.75%. L&T on Thursday said its metallurgical and material handling arm secured a 'significant' order from Northern Coalfields, a subsidiary of Coal India (CIL). The order is for a coal processing and load out package to be installed at the Dudhichua Mines located in Uttar Pradesh. The scope of work involves EPC for a double stream coal sizing & transportation system covering semi mobile sizing system, high capacity specialty conveyors, and an automated loading system. According to L&T's classification, the valuation of the 'significant' lies between Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,500 crore.

Ashok Leyland slipped 0.7%. The company on Thursday said it received a large order from a logistics start-up company, Procure Box. The start-up has placed an order of 1400 intermediate commercial vehicles for its fuel distribution business across 750 districts, in the country. The order encompasses the Ashok Leyland product - the Ecomet - and will be executed in the next 5-6 months.

IRCON International rose 4.2% after the company said it secured orders worth about Rs 1900 crore for railway electrification works from the Ministry of Railways, Government of India. The tenure for execution of the projects varies from 15 to 20 months from the date of signing of agreement with the zonal railways.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones futures were down 253 points, indicating a weak opening in the US stocks later today.

Shares in Europe and Asia declined on Thursday as investors react to overnight developments from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

However, Singapore's STI Index rose 1.98% today. Growth in Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) reportedly picked up last month, with shipments increasing 7.7% year on year, mainly driven by non-electronic goods, according to data from Enterprise Singapore (ESG) released on 17 September 2020. Month on month and seasonally adjusted, Nodx in August rose 15.6%, higher than the 14.1% gain in July.

The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England will announce their respective policy decisions on Thursday.

In US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended lower on Wednesday, reversing gains late in the day as losses in technology shares outweighed a Federal Reserve statement that stoked optimism it would keep U.S. interest rates near zero for a prolonged period. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a small gain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 36.78 points, or 0.13%, to 28,032.38, the S&P 500 lost 15.71 points, or 0.46%, to 3,385.49 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 139.86 points, or 1.25%, to 11,050.47.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday vowed to keep interest rates near zero until inflation is on track to overshoot the U.S. central bank's 2% target. The new economic projections showed policymakers now see the economy shrinking 3.7% this year, far less than the 6.5% decline they forecast in June. They see unemployment, which registered 8.4% in August, dropping to 7.6% by the end of the year. The recovery “is here, and it's well along,” Powell said.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex added 248.8 points or 0.64% at 39,293.15. The Nifty 50 index gained 77.95 points or 0.68% at 11,599.75.

The broader market advanced for third trading session after the Sebi on 11 September issued a circular mandating multi cap funds to allocate least 25% of their portfolios in large-, mid- and small-caps each by February 2021. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.19% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.45%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1422 shares rose and 1306 shares fell. A total of 209 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,170.89 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 895.63 crore in the Indian equity market on 15 September, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 29,479,686 with 9,33,542 deaths. India reported 9,95,933 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 82,066 deaths while 39,42,360 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Economy:

India's exports slipped 12.66% to $22.7 billion in August, on account of decline in the shipments of petroleum, leather, engineering goods and gems and jewellery items, according to the government data released on 15 September 2020. The country's imports too declined 26% to $29.47 billion in August, leaving a trade deficit of $6.77 billion, compared to a shortfall of $13.86 billion in the same month last year, as per the data.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories jumped 4.08% after the drug major announced that it has partnered with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to cooperate on clinical trials and distribution of Sputnik V vaccine in India. Upon regulatory approval in India, RDIF shall supply to Dr. Reddy's 100 million doses of the vaccine. The Sputnik V vaccine, which is based on well-studied human adenoviral vector platform with proven safety, is undergoing clinical trials for the coronavirus pandemic.

Aurobindo Pharma rose 1.93% after the drug maker announced a collaboration with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to develop vaccines against Covid-19. Apart from this collaboration, Aurobindo is already developing a vaccine for SARS COV-2 through its wholly-owned US subsidiary Auro Vaccines.

Sterlite Technologies jumped 3.81%. The company announced a partnership with Bharti Airtel to build a modern optical fibre network for Airtel across 10 telecom circles. This modern optical network will enable Airtel to deliver world-class customer experience through enhanced scalability, reduced latency, and improved bandwidth. The densely fiberized, future-ready network, will also form the foundation for many next-gen services such as 5G, FTTH, IoT, enterprise networks, and Industry 4.0.

Vedanta rose 2.7%. A three-judge Superme Court (SC) Panel headed by Justice S Abdul Nazeer, reportedly rejected the government's petition challenging the enforcement of a Malaysian arbitral award passed in favour of Vedanta in relation to the Ravva oil and gas fields. SC held that the enforcement of this award will not go against the public policy of India, media reports said.

National Fertilizer (NFL) spurted 4.66% after the company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 108.31 crore in Q1 June 2020 as compared to a consolidated net loss of Rs 64.07 crore in Q1 June 2019. Consolidated net sales for Q1 June 2020 stood at Rs 2831.85 crore, rising 11.2% from Rs 2,547.04 crore in Q1 June 2019. During the quarter ended 30 June 2020, NFL's production, dispatches, sales and market collections largely remained unaffected. The company has been able to operate all its five plants at normal levels except for restriction in load for few days due to limitation of supply of bags.

SpiceJet dropped 1.12%. The low-cost air carrier reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 600.52 crore in Q1 June 2020 compared with net profit of Rs 262.89 crore in Q1 June 2019. Net sales during the quarter slumped 83.2% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 489.60 crore, as flight operations remained suspended for most part of the quarter following the nationwide lockdown. On an EBITDA basis, loss was Rs 11 crore for the reported quarter as against profit of Rs 747.5 crore for the corresponding quarter last year. On an EBITDAR basis, the profit was Rs 13.5 crore for the reported quarter as against profit of Rs 812.1 crore for the same quarter last year.

Procter & Gamble Health fell 4.1%. The FMCG company reported 10.8% increase in net profit to Rs 48.86 crore on 13.9% fall in net sales to Rs 201.16 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2020 compared with the same period last year. Profit before tax in the June 2020 quarter stood at Rs 55.73 crore, down by 17.4% from Rs 67.50 crore in the June 2019 quarter. Current tax expense during the quarter declined 28.9% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 15.71 crore. Milind Thatte, managing director, Procter & Gamble Health, said, “Despite initial impact on account of disruption in business operations, the company continues to demonstrate a resilient performance ensuring minimal impact and arresting decline, delivering sales of Rs 200.3 crore in the last quarter and Rs 1,329.2 crore in the eighteen months period amidst very challenging circumstances.”

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones Futures 30 were trading 132 points higher, indicating a good start in US markets today. European shares were trading with small gains while Asian stocks closed mixed on Wednesday.

Investors await the outcome of a two-day meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The FOMC will also provide its quarterly update on its estimates for GDP, unemployment and inflation and could provide clearer guidance on what it will take to raise rates in the future. The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England will announce their respective policy decisions on Thursday.

Yoshihide Suga was elected as Japan's prime minister on Wednesday, becoming the country's first new leader in nearly eight years.

Meanwhile, provisional trade statistics from Japan's Ministry of Finance released Wednesday showed the country's exports in August falling 14.8% as compared to a year ago.

US stocks closed mostly higher on Tuesday, 15 September 2020, with broader Nasdaq and S&P 500 both closing firmly in positive territory, on the hope the Federal Reserve would stick with its accommodative policy as the central bank's two-day meeting got underway. The Dow gave back early gains to end the session nearly unchanged due to weakness in Apple (AAPL), Caterpillar (CAT), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Travelers (TRV).

Meanwhile, U.S. industrial production slowed by much more than expected in August. The Fed said industrial production climbed by 0.4% in August after soaring by an upwardly revised 3.5% in July.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed another notable increase in U.S. import prices in the month of August, with prices jumping by much more than expected.

Shares of Apple pulled back well off their early highs, edging up by just 0.2% after the company wrapped up an event to showcase new products. The tech giant debuted a new Apple Watch and a bundle for its services, such as Apple Music.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex added 287.72 points or 0.74% at 39,044.55. The Nifty 50 index gained 91.7 points or 0.8% at 11,531.75.

The broader market advanced for second trading session after the Sebi on 11 September issued a circular mandating multi cap funds to allocate least 25% of their portfolios in large-, mid- and small-caps each by February 2021. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.88% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.45%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1586 shares rose and 1162 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 298.22 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 120.35 crore in the Indian equity market on 14 September, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 29,190,588 with 9,27,245 deaths. India reported 9,90,061 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 80,776 deaths while 38,59,399 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Economy:

India's retail inflation which is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased to 6.69% in the month of August, the data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed. The CPI for the month of July was revised to 6.73% from 6.93%.

The Scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) credit growth was steady on sequential basis to 5.5% YoY to Rs 1,02,11,730 crore as on 28 August 2020, compared with 5.5% growth a fortnight ago. The credit growth has decelerated from 10.2% at end July 2019. Aggregate deposits growth of the scheduled banks increased 10.9% YoY at Rs 1,41,76,765 crore as on 28 August 2020, compared with 11.0% growth a fortnight ago and 9.7% rise a year ago.

RBI Mandates Automated Recognition of NPAs:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday mandated the automation of bad-loan recognition by banks by 30 June 2021. The processes of provisioning calculation and income recognition will also have to be automated and banks will be required to upgrade their systems accordingly. In its circular, the central bank said banks had earlier been advised to have appropriate information technology (IT) systems in place for identification of non-performing assets (NPA) and generation of related data/returns, both for regulatory reporting and banks' own management information system (MIS) requirements. The system-based asset classification shall be an ongoing exercise for both downgradation and upgradation of accounts.

Earnings Impact:

PVR fell 3.26% after the multiplex chain reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 225.62 crore in Q1 June 2020 compared with net profit of Rs 17.57 crore in Q1 June 2019. Net sales during the quarter slumped 98.6% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 12.70 crore. Pre-tax loss stood at Rs 341.92 crore in Q1 FY21 as against a pre-tax profit of Rs 27.96 crore in Q1 FY20. “Results for quarter ended 30th June, 2020 are not comparable with results for quarter ended 30th June, 2019 as the current quarter is impacted by temporary closures of cinemas and suspension of operations,” the company said in a statement.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise was up 3.28%. The healthcare company posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 226.24 crore in Q1 June 2020 compared with net profit of Rs 49.15 crore in Q1 June 2019. Consolidated net sales fell 15.6% to Rs 2,171.50 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. Pre-tax loss stood at Rs 267 crore in Q1 June 2020 compared with pre-tax profit of Rs 94.40 crore in Q1 June 2019. Current tax expense for the quarter slumped 86.4% year-on-year to Rs 8.28 crore. The Q1 earnings was announced post trading hours yesterday, 14 September 2020.

Steel Authority of India (SAIL) fell 0.63% after the state-run steel major posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 1226.47 crore in Q1 June 2020 compared with net profit of Rs 102.68 crore in Q1 June 2019. Consolidated net sales for Q1 June 2020 stood at Rs 9,067.52 crore, nearly 39% lower than net sales of Rs 14,820.89 crore in Q1 June 2019. SAIL posted a pre tax loss of Rs 1930.23 crore quarter ending June 2020 as against a pre-tax profit of Rs 150.46 crore in quarter ending June 2019. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 14 September 2020.

Future Retail gained 3.17%. The company registered a consolidated net loss of Rs 561.95 crore in Q1 June 2020 compared with net profit of Rs 159.24 crore in Q1 June 2019. Consolidated net sales slumped 73.9% to Rs 1,358.11 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown imposed throughout the country, has had a significant adverse impact on the business operations and the financial results of the company for the quarter ended 30 June 2020.

Raymond lost 0.13% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 242.15 crore in the June quarter as compared to a net loss of Rs 14.85 crore recorded in the same period last year. Net sales slumped 88.6% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 163.16 crore during the quarter. The company has undertaken cost rationalization & various cost control measures relating to sales & marketing, manpower, rentals and others. This has resulted in operating cost at Rs 275 crore, lower by 50% on a sequential basis from Rs 551 crore in Q4FY20 and lower by 44% on a YoY basis from Rs 494 crore in Q1FY20.

JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals soared 8% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 92.4% to Rs 119.51 crore on 17.1% increase in net sales to Rs 522.29 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. The business performance during the quarter improved due to a 18% growth in revenue coupled with an increase in other income (primarily from current investments) and a better product mix with savings in some heads of expenditure on account of the current situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Global Markets:

The US Jones 30 Futures were up 162.5 points, indicating a positive start to equities on Wall Street today.

Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Tuesday as investors focused on upcoming central bank meetings by the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and Bank of England.

Retail sales in China rose 0.5% in August from a year ago, the first positive report for the year so far, China's National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. Still, retail sales for the first eight months of the year were down 8.6% from a year ago, the bureau said.

China's industrial production grew 5.6% in August from a year ago while fixed-asset investment declined 0.3% for the first eight months of the year.

US stocks ended sharply higher on Monday as signs of progress in developing a COVID-19 vaccine and a spurt of multibillion-dollar deals lifted investor optimism. Tech sentiment was lifted by news of Nvidia buying chipmaker Arm Holdings from SoftBank for $40 billion.

Meanwhile, ByteDance rejected Microsoft's bid to buy TikTok's U.S. operations. Instead, ByteDance has chosen Oracle to be TikTok's U.S. technology partner, and Oracle will take a significant stake in the business.

Sentiment was also boosted by signs of progress toward a coronavirus vaccine. AstraZeneca resumed phase three trials for its coronavirus vaccine in the U.K. following a halt due to safety concerns. However, its trials in the U.S. remains on hold as American regulators investigate the side effects flagged in the U.K. study, reports showed.

HDFC (down 1.75%), HDFC Bank (down 1.91%) and Reliance Industries (down 0.71%) dragged the indices lower.

Investors were concerned as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)'s new upfront margin collection norm in the cash market kicks in from 15 September 2020. SEBI had changed the margin collection norm from 1 September 2020. However, the process was marred by technical glitches. Later, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) extended the deadline for the imposition of penalty on brokers for not collecting adequate margins by fifteen days till 15 September 2020.

SEBI's new regulations stipulate that all investors need to bring in upfront margins for selling their stocks or for making any purchases. Any client failing to do so will attract a penalty. The stocks lying in the investors' demat account, which were equivalent to margin available till now, will now be replaced with the pledging of these shares to the broker.

Meanwhile, the broader market surged after SEBI on 11 September issued a circular mandating multi cap funds to allocate least 25% of their portfolios in large-, mid- and small-caps each by February 2021. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.45% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index jumped 4%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1823 shares rose and 931 shares fell. A total of 182 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry announced Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for August 2020. The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly wholesale price-based inflation (WPI), increased 0.16% from a year earlier in August 2020, after a 0.58% decline in July 2020. The index rose 1.17% during the corresponding month of the previous year. The government will announce Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation later today.

S&P Global Ratings has forecast India's economy to shrink by 9% in FY21. It said that rising COVID-19 cases in India will keep private spending and investment lower for longer.

SEBI Ruling:

To achieve the desired objective of true to label and appropriate benchmarking, SEBI issued a circular dated 11 September 2020 on multi cap schemes of mutual funds, requiring them to invest a minimum of 25% each in large, mid and small cap stocks, with the balance 25% giving flexibility to the fund manager.

SEBI on 13 September 2020 clarified that mutual funds have many options to meet with the requirements, based on the preference of their unit holders. Apart from rebalancing their portfolio in the multi cap schemes, they could facilitate switch to other schemes by unit holders, merge their multi cap scheme with their large cap scheme or convert their multi cap scheme to another scheme category, for instance Large cum mid cap scheme.

SEBI is conscious of market stability and therefore has given time to the mutual funds till 31 January 2021 to achieve compliance, through its preferred route of which rebalancing of the portfolio is only one such route.

Monsoon Session of Parliament:

The Monsoon session of the Parliament kicked off today (14 September). In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the session will be held in two shifts - 9 AM to 1 PM and 3 PM to 7 PM. Except for the first day, the Rajya Sabha will sit in the morning shift and the Lok Sabha will sit in the evening. The Session will take up 47 items during its 18 sittings till 1st October. It will take up eleven Bills to replace the ordinances. These includes the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the Salary and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 28,902,170 with 9,22,735 deaths. India reported 9,86,598 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 79,722 deaths while 37,80,107 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. India's recovery rate has improved to 77.88%. The COVID-19 case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.65%.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Motors rose 3.36%. Tata Motors' wholly owned subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover (UK) said retail sales totaled 36,421 in July and 28,887 vehicles in the seasonally lower month of August. Notably UK retail sales in July and August were up significantly year-on-year, 29.1% and 14.3% respectively.

Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) rose 0.58%. M&M said that share purchase agreement entered into for sale of 93,15,000 equity shares of Neo Solren (NSPL) held by Mahindra Renewables (MRPL), a step-down wholly owned subsidiary of M&M, to CLP India stands terminated on 10th September 2020.

Yes Bank added 0.89%. Credit rating agency ICRA upgraded its ratings assigned to various debt instruments of Yes Bank on improved liquidity. ICRA said the rating upgrade factors in the sizeable capital raise of Rs 15,000 crore in July 2020, which has resulted in an improvement in the capital ratios of Yes Bank.

JBM Auto jumped 3.91% after the company said it bagged an order from Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) for supplying 116 BS6 AC low floor CNG buses. JBM Auto will be supplying 116 Citylife BS6 buses to operator which will be running under the DIMTS Cluster in New Delhi. Deliveries of the first batch of these buses shall start this month end onwards, the company said during trading hours today, 14 September.

Adani Enterprises slipped 0.69% Adani Land Defence Systems and Technologies, a step down subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, has acquired 51% equity of PLR Systems from Fouraces Systems India on 10 September 2020. PLR Systems was incorporated in 2013 and is engaged in the manufacture and supply of indigenously manufactured defence equipment to the Armed Forces countries. PLR Systems has an authorised share capital of Rs 13 crore and paid up share capital of Rs 12.04 crore.

HCL Technologies jumped 10.6% after the company said it expects the revenue and the operating margin for the September 2020 quarter to be meaningfully better than the top end of the guidance provided in July 2020. It added that the revenue growth for the current quarter is expected to exceed 3.5% quarter on quarter in constant currency, enabled by broad based momentum across all service lines, verticals and geographies. The company expects EBIT margin for the current quarter to be between 20.5% and 21%.

Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) fell 2%. On a consolidated basis, BHEL reported a net loss of Rs 893.14 crore in Q1 June 2020, higher than net loss of Rs 218.93 crore in Q1 June 2019. Consolidated net sales tanked 57% to Rs 1,896.57 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019.

Global Markets:

US Dow Jones futures were up 236 points, indicating a strong opening in US stock market today.

European shares were mixed on Monday. The media reported that Phase III trials of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine have resumed in the U.K. after trials were halted last week over safety concerns. AstraZeneca received confirmation from the United Kingdom's Medicines Health Regulatory Authority that it was safe to resume clinical trials.

Asian shares closed higher, with investors watching shares of Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group following an announcement of its sale of U.K. chip designer Arm to U.S. chip firm Nvidia. Chipmaker Nvidia has agreed to buy Arm Holdings, a designer of chips for mobile phones, from Softbank in a deal worth $40 billion, the companies announced Sunday. The deal will be for a mix of $21.5 billion in Nvidia stock and $12 billion in cash, including $2 billion payable at signing.

Developments in Japanese politics were also watched as the search for the successor for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continues. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is set to hold an election to choose its new leader on Monday.

In US, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 66.05 points, or 0.6%, finishing at 10,853.55 in another volatile session on Friday on continuing sell-off in tech stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 131.06 points, or 0.5%, ending at 27,665.64; while the S&P 500 rose 1.78 points, or 0.1%, to close at 3,340.97. Apple dropped 1.3% and Amazon fell by 1.9%. Facebook, Alphabet and Microsoft were all down. ByteDance rejected Microsoft's bid to buy TikTok's U.S. operations.

The Labor Department said Friday its U.S. consumer price index rose by 0.4% in August. The Treasury Department said the federal budget deficit officially surpassed $3 trillion in August, and is on pace to hit $3.3 trillion when the fiscal year ends this month.

The equity market benchmarks ended with minor gains after a volatile trade on Friday. The Nifty managed to end above the 11,450 mark.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex added 14.23 points or 0.04% at 38,854.55. The Nifty 50 index advanced 15.20 points or 0.13% at 11,464.45.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.58% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.52%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1403 shares rose and 1283 shares fell. A total of 186 shares were unchanged.

The foreign ministries of China and India agreed in a joint statement on Friday that their troops must quickly disengage from a months-long standoff along their disputed Himalayan border. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers' meeting in Moscow to try and end the dispute.

Separately, China's foreign ministry said it would maintain communications with India through diplomatic and military channels and commit to restoring peace and tranquillity in the disputed border area.

Economy:

In a statement released yesterday, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said that it has constituted a three-member advisory committee headed by former CAG Rajiv Mehrishi on the relief sought by petitioners in the Supreme Court for the waiver of interest, penal interest and other related issues. Apart from Mehrishi, the committee includes former IIM Professor Ravindra Dholakia and former SBI MD B Sriram.

The expert committee has to measure the impact on the national economy and financial stability of waiving of interest and waiving of interest on interest on the COVID-19 related moratorium. It has to make suggestions to mitigate financial constraints of various sections of society in this respect and measures to be adopted in this regard.

The committee will submit its report within one week. State Bank of India will provide secretarial support to the committee. The Committee may consult banks or other stakeholders, as deemed necessary, for the purpose, MoF said in a release.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 2,81,74,590 with 9,09,672 deaths. India reported 9,43,480 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 76,271 deaths while 35,42,663 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 0.08% to 7,951.50 after the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), an industry body, indicated a recovering trend for the auto industry.

TVS Motor Company (up 1.51%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.40%), Ashok Leyland (up 0.52%), Tata Motors (up 0.35%), Bharat Forge (up 0.21%) and Bajaj Auto (up 0.01%) advanced.

Eicher Motors (down 0.85%), Maruti Suzuki (down 0.7%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.4%) declined.

A total of 21,62,367 units, including passenger vehicles, three-wheelers, two-wheelers & quadricycle were produced in August 2020, as against 22,31,355 in August 2019, witnessing a decline of 3.09%.

Passenger vehicle sales in India increased by 14.16% in August to 2,15,916 units as against 1,89,129 units in the same month last year, auto industry body SIAM said on Friday.

Two-wheeler sales also rose 3% at 15,59,665 units, as compared to 15,14,196 units in the same month last year. Motorcycle sales were at 10,32,476 units as against 9,37,486 units in August 2019, up 10.13%. Scooter sales were, however, down 12.3% at 4,56,848 units as against 5,20,898 units in the same month last year.

Three-wheelers saw a dip in sales by 75.29% in August 2020 over August 2019. Sales of utility vehicles increased by 15.54% in August 2020 over August 2019.

Total exports of passenger vehicles, three-wheelers and two-wheelers witnessed a decrease of 45.17%, 13.61% and 14.23% respectively in August 2020 over August 2019.

Kenichi Ayukawa, PresIdent, SIAM said, We are beginning to observe growth which is instilling confidence back into the industry, especially in the two-wheeler and the passenger vehicle segments. Even though the industry witnessed year-on-year growth in August 2020, it is to be recognized that the base figures in August 2019 itself was very low, as industry had shown a de-growth of about (-)32% for passenger vehicles and (-)22% for 2 wheelers in 2019, over 2018, then. Still, 14% growth of passenger vehicles and 3% growth in two wheelers in August 2020 indicates trends of recovery for the industry, though it is on the backdrop of pent-up demand and beginning of a festive season this month.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Yes Bank hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 14.61. The bank's chairman, Sunil Mehta, at the AGM held on Thursday informed that the bank has fully repaid Rs 50,000 crore towards the Special Liquidity Facility (SLF) extended by RBI, well before the due date. Addressing investor queries on whether the bank was going to be merged with State Bank of India (SBI) eventually, Mehta said that no such plans were afoot. He added that neither the bank nor any authority had discussed such a proposal as far as he knew.

Adani Green Energy hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 608.55 after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 21.75 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against a net loss of Rs 97.44 crore in Q1 June 2019. Total income jumped 30% to Rs 878.14 crore in Q1 June 2020 from Rs 675.23 crore in Q1 June 2019.

Granules India tumbled 4.74% to Rs 344. The pharmaceutical company announced that its US subsidiary has received marketing approval from the USFDA for Dexmethylphenidate HCI extended-release capsules. The drug is used for the treatment of of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from the US Health Regulator (FDA). Granules' capsule product is bioequivalent to the reference listed drug (RLD), Focalin XR. Dexmethylphenidate HCI ER Capsules had US sales of approximately $556 million for the most recent twelve months ending in July 2020 (As per IQVIA MAT July 2020).

National Fertilizers (NFL) added 3.84% to Rs 36.55 after the company's total fertilizer sales rose 16% to 23.81 lakh MT in April-August 2020 over 20.57 lakh MT in April-August 2019. The company produced 16.11 lakh MT urea in the first five months of 2020-21, recording 13% jump against 14.26 lakh MT produced during the same period in 2019-20.

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) skid 1.36% to Rs 853. HAL's consolidated net profit dropped 74% to Rs 148.65 crore in Q1 June 2020 compared with Rs 564.69 crore in Q1 June 2019. net sales for Q1 June 2020 stood at Rs 1736.74 crore, a 47% decline compared with Rs 3289.47 crore in Q1 June 2019.

The company said it operations for the current quarter were impacted by the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19. The Group's manufacturing facilities were shut down during April 2020. The activities resumed from 28th April 2020 with precautions, reduced availability of manpower and disrupted supply chain, resulting in lower turnover and consequent lower profit.

Goa Carbon fell 1.71% to Rs 213.15 after the company recorded a net loss of Rs 5.07 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against net loss of Rs 5.02 crore in Q1 June 2019. Net sales slumped 59.9% to Rs 55.62 crore in Q1 FY21 over Q1 FY20. Due to the absence of viable export and domestic orders, the company's Goa plant was shut for 36 days, Bilaspur plant for 35 days and Paradeep plant for 23 days during the quarter ended 30 June 2020.

There was no production at the company's Bilaspur plant in August 2020. The Bilaspur unit in Chhattisgarh was temporarily shut down for maintenance work from 24 July 2020. Meanwhile, the operations at the company's Goa unit located at St Jose de Areal, Salcete-Goa was temporarily shut down for maintenance work from 4 September 2020.

Hindustan Copper surged 5.94% to Rs 37.45 after the company's consolidated net profit rose 40% to Rs 29.69 crore on 42% increase in net sales to Rs 431.43 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. The company said revenue during the quarter mainly include sales valuing Rs 324.54 crore on account of unsold year end closing stock.

Amber Enterprises India dropped 7.54% to Rs 1757. The board of Amber Enterprises India approved allotment of 22,47,191 equity shares to eligible qualified institutional buyers at an issue price of Rs 1,780 per equity share, aggregating to approximately Rs 400 crore. The qualified institutions placement (QIP) of equity shares opened on 7 September 2020 and closed on 10 September 2020.

Global Markets:

US Dow Jones futures were up 175 points, indicating a strong opening for the US stock today.

Asian shares advanced on Friday. European shares were mixed as investors monitored tense negotiations between the UK and the European Union.

The EU on Thursday urged the UK to abandon its plan to renege on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and threatened legal action, but U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has vowed to press ahead with its Internal Market Bill, despite acknowledgment that the move violates international law.

Meanwhile, the U.K. economy grew 6.6% in July 2020 on a monthly basis, according to initial estimates published on Friday. However, this represents a decline of 11.7% compared to the same period last year, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.

US stock market finished session deeply in the red on Thursday, 10 September 2020, as risk sentiments dented after the U.S. Senate Republicans failed to advance a new coronavirus stimulus bill and simmering tensions between Washington and Beijing. Most of sectors declined, with tech stocks being notable losers amid increasing worry on Wall Street about a tech bubble, with those stocks fuelling the Nasdaq to record highs despite the coronavirus pandemic's hit to the economy.

US first-time claims for unemployment benefits came in at 884,000 in the week ended September 5th, the Labor Department revealed in a report on Thursday. The report said initial jobless claims came in unchanged from the previous week's revised level.

In the broader market today, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.92% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.27%. Both these indices lagged the Sensex.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1815 shares rose and 898 shares fell. A total of 163 shares were unchanged.

Coronavirus Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 27,766,325 with 902,468 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. India reported 919,018 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 75,062 deaths while 3,471,783 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Primary Market Segment:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Happiest Minds Technologies received bids for 351.18 crore shares as against 2.32 shares on offer, as per the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) website data. The issue was subscribed 150.98 times.

The non-institutional investors category was subscribed 351.46 times. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) category was subscribed 77.43 times. The retail individual investors (RIIs) category was subscribed 70.94 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Monday, 7 September 2020 and closed yesterday, on 9 September 2020. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 165-166 per share.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index added 2.60% to 1,432.85. The index tumbled 12.81% in the past eight sessions.

Bank of India (up 8.50%), Jammu and Kashmir Bank (up 2.93%), Canara Bank (up 2.82%), Indian Bank (up 2.76%), Bank of Baroda (up 2.71%), Punjab National Bank (up 2.28%), Union Bank of India (up 2.12%), UCO Bank (up 1.95%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 1.62%), CBI (up 1.53%) and Indian Overseas Bank (up 0.98%) advanced.

State Bank of India (SBI) added 1.95% to Rs 198.70 after the state-run lender said it sold Rs 4,000 crore of the Basel-compliant Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds at a coupon of 7.74%.

As the aggregate bids were in excess of Rs 6,000 crore, the bank exercised the full green shoe option of Rs 3,000 crore over and above the base issue size of Rs 1,000 crore, SBI said in a statement after trading hours on Wednesday (9 September).

Stocks in Spotlight:

Index major Reliance Industries (RIL) jumped 7% to Rs 2312.60, leading the benchmark indices higher. The scrip gained 8.45% to hit a fresh record high of Rs 2343.90 in intraday trade today. The stock extended gains for second day after the company yesterday informed about the sale of 1.75% stake in Reliance Retail to Silver Lake for a consideration of Rs 7,500 crore.

Control Print spurted 4.58% to Rs 234. Yesterday, India Max Investment Fund bought 1.62 lakh equity shares (0.99% stake) of Control Print at Rs 217.96 per share via bulk deal on the NSE. Concurrently, Grovsnor Investment Fund sold 0.99% stake of the company at Rs 217.96 per share via bulk deal on the NSE.

Natco Pharma rose 2.43% to Rs 780.15. The drug maker will purchase equity shares in Time Cap Overseas, Mauritius, a subsidiary of the company, from the other shareholder Venkatachari Madhusudhan who holds 6.10% shares of the company. This amounts to 72,710 equity shares of $10 face value amounting to $7,27,100.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) added 0.11% to Rs 2134.30. The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has reportedly issued a show cause notice to HUL over advertisement of Lifebuoy Immunity Boosting Hand Sanitizer, that claims to boost immunity, thereby protecting people from covid contagion. The advertising campaign and packaging of the HUL-owned hygiene product, claiming an immunity boosting effect, are misleading and false as a topical application product, the notice reportedly said.

Dilip Buildcon surged 7.09% to Rs 374 after the road construction major received Letter of Acceptance (LOA) for a new Hybrid Annuity Mode project in Bihar. The bid project cost for the project is Rs 1905 crore and is to be constructed within 24 months with a operation period of 15 years. The total length on construction is 49 kilometers.

Indiabulls Housing Finance fell 2.73% to Rs 195.65. The company informed that its board approved opening the qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue on Wednesday (9 September 2020) and added that the floor for the said issue would be Rs 206.70 per share.

Separately, Indiabulls Housing said that the company is in the process of exploring various options in connection with the partial divestment of its equity shareholding in OakNorth Bank, in one or more tranches. The divestment shall result in boosting CRAR and shall free up capital to grow the loan book of the company.

IRCTC gained 1.53% to Rs 1369.95. With respect to media reports suggesting stake sale by the Government in the company, IRCTC said that the Company has not received any information in this regard from Government of India. It added that the quantum in case of OFS is decided by the Government of India and the Company has no role in this regard.

Global Markets:

US Dow Jones futures were down 74 points, indicating a weak opening in US stock market today.

Most European shares declined while Asian indices ended mixed on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Jakarta Composite in Indonesia plunged 4.88% following a temporary trading halt triggered earlier as the index dropped 5%. That came after the country's capital reportedly announced plans to reinstate a partial coronavirus lockdown.

Investors trod carefully ahead of a crucial European Central Bank meeting and US Labor Department's weekly jobless claims report due later in the day.

US stocks rebounded on Wednesday, 9 September 2020, with S&P500, Nasdaq, and Dow Index snapping three days of losing streak, as dip buyers poured into beaten-down technology-related stocks. The rebound on Wall Street came as some traders looked to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following the recent sell-off.

Technology stocks showed a substantial rebound on the day after leading the markets lower over the past few sessions. Among tech stocks, with Tesla Inc shares jumped 7.7%, while Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, and Amazon.com Inc each rose by at least 4%. Facebook Inc and Google-parent Alphabet Inc also climbed.

Yesterday, democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden rolled out his Made in America tax policy, while campaigning in Michigan, which includes a proposed new offshoring penalty and a minimum 21% corporate tax on all foreign earnings, but a 10% tax credit for any companies making investments to create U.S. jobs, such as by revitalizing existing facilities that have been closed.

Economic data showed that U.S. employers posted more job openings in July but hired fewer workers than in June, the Labor Department reported, as early-summer optimism about reopening businesses faded. There were 6.6 million job openings posted, not far off the pre-pandemic average.

The broader market was trading lower. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.28% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was declined 0.94%.

Sellers outpaced buyers. On the BSE, 884 shares rose and 1796 shares fell. A total of 154 shares were unchanged.

Investors turned cautious after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was quoted by the media as saying that the current India-China border situation was very serious. In a fresh sign of escalation, India and China reportedly accused each other of firing into the air on the border of western Himalayas.

The overnight selloff on Wall Street exacerbated the selling in domestic shares. Growing Sino-US tensions have contributed, to some extent, to the recent fall witnessed in the US markets. As per reports, US President Donald Trump launched a fresh broadside against China, promising a decoupling of the US economy from the Chinese one if he is re-elected in November.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 2,75,79,437 with 8,97,614 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. India reported 8,97,394 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 73,890 deaths while 33,98,844 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 0.31% to 7,912.60. The index had slipped 2% in the past three sessions.

Hero MotoCorp (up 1.46%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.91%), TVS Motor Company (up 0.88%), Eicher Motors (up 0.51%) and Bajaj Auto (up 0.39%) advanced.

Bharat Forge (down 1.17%), Tata Motors (down 1.09%), Ashok Leyland (down 0.44%) and Maruti Suzuki (down 0.09%) declined.

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), the industry apex body for auto dealers, released automobile retail sales data for August 2020 during market hours today, 8 September 2020. Total vehicle registration fell 26.81% to 11.88 lakh units in August 2020 as against 16.23 lakh units in August 2019. Total vehicle registration rose 3.97% to 11.88 lakh units in August 2020 as compared to 11.42 lakh units in July 2019.

Commercial vehicle (CV) space tanked 57.39% on Y-o-Y basis. CV registrations for August 2020 stood at 26,536 units on comparison to 62,270 units in January 2019. Passenger vehicle registration declined 7.12% to 1.78 lakh units on year-on-year (YoY) basis. Two-wheeler sales stood at 8.98 lakh units in August 2020 as against 12.60 lakh units in August 2019, registering a decline of 28.71%. Three-wheeler segment witnessed a 69.51% drop to 16,857 units in August 2020 as against 55,293 units in August 2019.

However, Tractor sales jumped 27.80% to 67,406 units in August 2020 over 52,744 units in August 2019.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) gained 2.61% to Rs 2161.95 after the company said Silver Lake will invest Rs 7,500 crore in Reliance Retail Ventures at an equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. Silver Lake's investment will translate into a 1.75% equity stake in Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) on a fully diluted basis, RIL said.

This marks the second billion dollar investment by Silver Lake in a Reliance Industries subsidiary after the $1.35 billion investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year. RRVL operates a retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its approximately 12,000 stores nationwide.

HDFC Asset Management Company fell 2.23% to Rs 2370.05 while Nippon Life India Asset Management slipped 1.22% to Rs 276.10.

According to data from Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI), August marked the fifth straight month of fall in inflows in the equity mutual funds. Net outflows from equity mutual funds stood at Rs 3,999.62 crore, compared to outflows of Rs 2,480.35 crore in July. Almost all the equity fund mutual fund categories saw redemptions. Equity mutual funds saw a total inflow of Rs 14,558.20 crore and outflow of Rs 18,557.82 crore. While the debt mutual fund schemes witnessed net outflow of Rs 3,907.53 crore, hybrid funds saw net ouflows of Rs 4,819.45 crore in August 2020.

JSW Steel rose 1.89% to Rs 286.45 after the company said that its crude steel production rose 5% to 13.17 lakh tonnes in August 2020 from 12.53 lakh tonnes in August 2019. Sequentially, the crude steel production increased 6% in August from 12.46 lakh tonnes in July 2020.

While the company's production of flat rolled products jumped 15% to 9.80 lakh tonnes, the production of long rolled products declined by 20% to 2.32 lakh tonnes in August 2020 over August 2019. The average capacity utilisation during the month of August 2020 was 88%,” the steel maker said.

Spencers Retail rose 2.10% to Rs 80.30. On a consolidated basis, the company reported a net loss stood at Rs 54.63 crore in Q1 June 2020 as compared with net loss of Rs 2.46 crore in Q1 June 2019. Net sales slipped 8.9% to Rs 547.07 crore in Q1 FY21 over Rs 600.76 crore in Q1 FY20. The gross margin for the quarter stood at Rs 112 crore. The EBITDA loss was at Rs 4 crore.

Natures Basket reported standalone turnover of Rs 108 crore and gross margin of 26.2% for the quarter ended 30 June 2020. Shashwat Goenka, the sector head of Spencer's Retail, has said: I am delighted to share that Natures Basket has reported positive EBITDA within 1 year of acquisition due to successful integration efforts and has witnessed significant growth despite the challenging conditions by winning the trust of customers.

AstraZeneca Pharma India declined 2.96% to Rs 4090 after the UK-based parent AstraZeneca PLC voluntarily paused a randomized clinical trial of its coronavirus vaccine after a volunteer developed an unexplained illness. AstraZeneca PLC, which is developing the drug alongside the University of Oxford, is a frontrunner in the global race for a COVID-19 vaccine. As of 30 June 2020, UK-based AstraZeneca Pharma holds 75% stake in AstraZeneca Pharma India.

IRCTC fell 1.92% to Rs 1351.55. As per media reports, the government is planning to sell 15-20% of its stake in the company via offer for sale (OFS). The Department of Disinvestment has invited bids for the appointment of merchant bankers and selling brokers, as per a news report.

Info Edge (India) fell 1.34% to Rs 3269.50. A global brokerage firm has downgraded the stock to 'outperform' from 'buy' with a target price of Rs 3,580. The foreign brokerage reportedly highlighted that the 44% year-on-year (YoY) drop in billing in Q1 was higher than its estimates of a 38% decline. Cost control is likely to stay, though the ad spend could increase, it reportedly said.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones Futures 30 were trading 185 points higher, indicating a strong start in US market today.

European stocks advanced while Asian stocks ended lower on Wednesday. Chinese inflation data for August released Wednesday showed the producer price index declined 2% in August from a year earlier, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics. The consumer price index in August rose 2.4% as compared with a year ago.

US stocks closed lower for a third straight session on Tuesday as heavyweight technology names extended their sell-off. Among U.S. technology names, electric-car maker Tesla plunged 21.1% to suffer its biggest daily percentage drop after it was excluded from a group of companies being added to the S&P 500.

Apple dropped 6.7% to lead tech lower. Facebook and Amazon were both down more than 4%. Microsoft fell 6.7%. Netflix closed 1.8% lower and Alphabet lost 3.6%. Zoom Video fell by 5.1%.

Positive Asian cues boosted investors sentiment, but rising COVID-19 cases and tensions at Indo-China border restricted gains. After opening lower, the key indices gained momentum and hit the day's high in early afternoon trade. However, profit taking emerged at higher levels, which dragged the benchmarks lower.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.49% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.93%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 969 shares rose and 1723 shares fell. A total of 174 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 6.93 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 815.82 crore in the Indian equity market on 7 September, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 27,342,332 with 892,714 deaths. India reported 8,83,697 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 72,775 deaths while 33,23,950 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India-China Standoff:

India today denied firing of shots at the Line of Actual Control where the Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in stand-off for over three months, the Defence Ministry said in a statement, hours after the People's Liberation Army accused the Indian troops of illegally crossing the border at the shore of the God Pao Mountain area and firing warning shots. In the statement, India accused China of trying to close in on Indian positions and firing in the air.

Economy:

A foreign brokerage firm has reportedly estimated that India's GDP will contract by 14.8% in FY21 and by 11.1% in CY20. It forecast a GDP contraction of 13.7% in Q2 FY21 and 9.8% in Q3 FY21.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted KV Kamath committee has selected 26 sectors which will require restructuring based on its analyses of financial parameters hit due to the economic crash caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

In its report the five member committee reportedly said power, construction, iron and steel, roads, real estate, wholesale trading, textiles, consumer durables, aviation, logistics, hotels, restaurants and tourism, mining are among the sectors that will need restructuring.

The committee selected five financial parameters related to leverage, liquidity & debt serviceability viz. total outside liability to adjusted tangible net worth, debt to EBIDTA, current ratio, debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) and average debt service coverage ratio (ADSCR).

Time is of essence at the present juncture. Considering the large volume and the fact that only standard assets are eligible under the proposed scheme, a segmented approach of bucketing these accounts under mild, moderate and severe stress, may ensure quick turnaround. To complete this task simplified restructuring for mild and moderate stress may be prescribed. Severe stress cases would require comprehensive restructuring, the committee reportedly added.

The RBI had formed a five member committee under the chairmanship of former ICICI Bank CEO KV Kamath to make recommendations on the financial parameters to be considered in the restructuring of loans impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index added 1.03% to 18,364.40. The index has added 1.6% in two sessions.

Larsen & Toubro Infotech (up 2.83%), HCL Tech (up 1.66%), Infosys (up 1.34%), Wipro (up 1%), TCS (up 0.83%), Coforge (up 0.68%) and Tech Mahindra (up 0.66%) advanced while MindTree (down 1.83%) and Mphasis (down 1.74%) declined.

Earning Impact:

General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) tumbled 4.31% to Rs 138.65 after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 497.03 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against a net profit of Rs 192.07 crore in Q1 June 2019.

Total income fell 18% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 15,013.47 crore during the quarter. Consolidated gross premium income of the company was Rs 15,982.75 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2020 as compared to Rs 21,110.36 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2019. Incurred claims ratio increased to 94.9% in Q1 FY21 from 87.6% in Q1 FY20.

Global scenario for Insurance Industry for the FY 2020-21 has shown weak trends due to COVID19 situation. GIC Re although has maintained its prominent position in Indian Insurance Sector, there has been reduction in business for the Q1 2020-21 partially due to strategic reduction of risk acceptance and partially due to reduction of overall Direct Premium in India. GIC Re however expects to see rebound in business during the rest of the year,” the general insurer said in a statement.

Info Edge (India) gained 0.55% to Rs 3310. On a standalone basis, the company's net profit rose 15.8% to Rs 83.22 crore on a 10.4% fall in net sales to Rs 280.14 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. It recorded billing of Rs188.6 crore for the quarter ended 30 June 2020, lower by 43.9% as compared to Rs 336.3 crore recorded in quarter ended 30 June 2019. The deferred sales revenue (amount collected in advance) in Q1 FY21 is Rs 371.7 crore, down by 25% over the quarter ended 30 June 2019. Operating EBITDA has increased by 3.5% to Rs 104.6 crore in Q1 FY21 from Rs 101.0 crore in Q1 FY20.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Ashoka Buildcon jumped 4.47% to Rs 71.25 after the company emerged as the lowest bidder (L-1) for two road construction projects from NHAI. Both projects come under Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-1.

Motherson Sumi Systems fell 2.02% to Rs 111.65. The automotive component maker on Tuesday said its board has approved raising up to Rs 1500 crore through issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on private placement basis.

Bharat Dynamics slumped 13.84% to Rs 331.30. The Government of India has offered to sell 1,83,28,125 equity shares, constituting 10% paid-up share capital of the company through offer for sale (OFS). It has an option to sell an additional 91,64,063 equity shares or 5% stake (oversubscription option). The OFS opened on Tuesday (8 September) for non-retail investors, while both retail as well as non-retail investors will be able to subscribe on Wednesday (9 September). The floor price for the OFS was set at Rs 330 each, a 14.17% discount to Bharat Dynamics' closing price of Rs 384.50 on Monday, 7 September 2020.

As on 15:15 IST, the OFS received subscription for 2.03 crore shares or 130.51% against the base non-retail offer size of 1.55 crore shares.

Global Markets:

European markets declined while Asia shares rose across the board on Tuesday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.8%. The island nation revised GDP figures for the April-June quarter showed the country's economy shrinking an annualized 28.1%, according to second preliminary estimates released by the Cabinet Office. It was worse than preliminary estimates released in mid-August, which had shown the country's economy shrinking 27.8% on an annualized basis in April-June.

Elsewhere, the pound extended its drop to the longest since June as the prospects of a trade accord with the European Union looked increasingly remote. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday he's willing to walk away from talks rather than compromise on what he sees as the core principles of Brexit, and set an Oct. 15 deadline to reach an agreement.

In US, financial markets were shut on Monday for the U.S. Labor Day holiday.

Key domestic indices ended with minor gains after volatile session on Monday. As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 60.05 points or 0.16% at 38,417.23. The Nifty 50 index added 39.95 points or 0.35% at 11,373.80.

After hitting a low of 11,251.70 in early trade, the Nifty regained 11,300 mark in morning trade. However, gains were capped amid weak Asian cues triggered by rising tech tensions between Washington and Beijing.

In the broader market back home, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.78% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.20%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1230 shares rose and 1485 shares fell. A total of 198 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update :

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 27,105,151 with 883,342 deaths. India reported 8,82,542 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 71,642 deaths while 32,50,429 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 rose 0.63% to 18,187.75, outperforming other sectoral indices on the NSE. The index fell 1.50% on Friday.

HCL Technologies (up 1.16%), Wipro (up 1.01%), MindTree (up 0.98%) and Infosys (up 0.86%) were the top index gainers while Larsen & Toubro Infotech (down 2.53%) and Tech Mahindra (down 0.26%) were the top index laggards.

Earnings Today:

CG Power (down 1.81%), Info Edge (down 1.03%), General Insurance Corporation (up 0.69%) and Parag Milk Foods (up 1.08%) are some of the companies that will announce their quarterly earnings today.

Earnings Impact:

Goodyear India slumped 7.18% to Rs 947.95. The tyre maker posted a net loss of Rs 4.49 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against a net profit of Rs 26.25 crore posted in Q1 June 2019. Net sales declined 53.7% to Rs 226.93 crore in Q1 FY21 over Q1 FY20.

Jubilant Life Sciences tumbled 6.13% to Rs 778.75 after the company's consolidated net profit declined 52.4% to Rs 88 crore on 14% slide in net sales to Rs 1845.24 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. EBITDA margin declined to 16.4% as on 30 June 2020 from 20.4% as on 30 June 2019.

NLC India rose 1.24% to Rs 52.90 after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 21% to Rs 343.41 crore on 29.6% increase in net sales to Rs 2,699 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. During the quarter, the group has recognised as an exceptional item, the one-time rebate of Rs 85.43 crore to DISCOMs on account of COVID-19 pandemic based on guidelines issued by Ministry of Power, Government of India.

Repco Home Finance hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 181.90 after the company's consolidated net profit rose 2.6% to Rs 64 crore on 4.1% increase in total income to Rs 341.92 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. The overall loan book rose 6% to Rs 11,979.50 crore at the end of June 2020 on comparison to Rs 11,342.10 crore at the end of June 2019. The capital adequacy ratio stood provisionally at 26.2% comprising entirely of Tier-1 capital. The minimum capital adequacy ratio prescribed by the National Housing Bank is 12.0%.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) fell 1.26% to Rs 931. The construction major said its power transmission & distribution business secured large contracts. As per the L&T's classification, the valuation of the 'large' order stands between Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 5,000 crore.

Vodafone Idea gained 3% to Rs 12.37. Rebranding itself, the company said that joint venture between Britain's Vodafone and India's Idea Idea Cellular will go by the brand name Vi.

Vi is built to be strong, ever-dependable, agile, intuitive, and a brand in tune with the needs of the customers, in these ever-changing times. It is designed to help customers move ahead in life, for a better today and a brighter tomorrow, the company said in a release.

Meanwhile, Ravinder Takkar, MD & CEO, Vodafone Idea, was quoted by the media as saying that telecom tariffs in India should go up and the telco is ready to take the first step. He added that the sector regulator also needs to look into tariff charts.

The telecom operator's board on Friday (4 September) approved plans to raise funds upto Rs 25,000 crore via combination of equity and debt issue.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose 1.61% to Rs 2326.65. TCS announced partnership with Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) in South Africa, part of Transnet SOC, a state-owned freight transport and handling company, to help the latter develop an integrated online marketplace platform by bringing together cargo owners, shipping lines, clearing and forwarding agents, and road/rail haulers.

IRCTC gained 3.84% to Rs 1418. IRCTC on Monday announced that Ministry of Railways has conveyed the decision to operate 40 pairs of Special Trains services to start from 12 September 2020 on specific routes. IRCTC further added that these services shall be in addition to the Shramik specials and the special trains, which are already under operation.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Futures were up 23.5 points, indicating a mildly positive start on Wall Street today.

European markets edged higher while most Asian stocks ended lower on Monday as markets recover from steep losses fueled by the tech sector last week.

Hong Kong-listed shares of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), China's largest chip manufacturer, plunged on Monday following reports Trump's administration is considering imposing export restrictions on SMIC.

US stocks closed lower on Friday though well above its session low as selling eased late in the day after investors dumped heavyweight technology stocks due to concerns about high valuations.

US employment growth slowed further in August and permanent job losses increased as money from the government started running out. Nearly a fifth of the job gains reported by the Labor Department on Friday were from the government's temporary hiring for the 2020 Census. While the unemployment rate fell below 10%, it was biased down by a continuing misclassification problem.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 633.76 points or 1.63% at 38,357.18. The Nifty 50 index slipped 170.2 points or 1.48% at 11,357.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index tumbled 1.74% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.07%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1015 shares rose and 1711 shares fell. A total of 187 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 2,63,09,711 with 8,68,805 deaths. India reported 8,31,124 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 68,472 deaths while 30,37,151 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Sebi's New Margin Requirement:

Introduction of new margin requirement in the cash segment from 1 September 2020 also put pressure on the bourses. As per the new rule, it is mandatory for brokers to collect margins from investors upfront for any purchase or sale of shares. Failing to do so will attract a penalty.

Sebi had initiated a change in margin collection norms from 1 September 2020, but the process did not see a smooth pick-up, as it was marred by tech glitches and chaos. This chaos has resulted in a significant fall in derivative positions.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) issued a circular on Thursday, extending the deadline for the imposition of penalty on brokers for not collecting adequate margins by fifteen days till 15 September 2020.

RBI Guidelines:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said it has revised priority sector lending (PSL) guidelines to include entrepreneurship and renewable resources, in line with emerging national priorities. Revised PSL guidelines will enable better credit penetration to credit deficient areas; increase the lending to small and marginal farmers and weaker sections; boost credit to renewable energy, and health infrastructure.

The central bank doubled loan limits for companies in renewable energy segment to Rs 30 crore from earlier Rs 15 crore.

Inox Wind was up 1.98% while Sterling Wilson & Solar surged 6.34% higher to Rs 273.35.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index tumbled 1.69% to 23,133.75, extending losses for second consecutive trading session. The index has slumped 3.1% in two days.

Axis Bank (down 4%), Federal Bank (down 3.23%), Bank of Baroda (down 2.96%), SBI (down 2.89%), RBL Bank (down 2.64%) and Punjab National Bank (down 2.32%) were top losers in Bank Nifty.

Banks were under pressure after the Supreme Court of India on Thursday passed an interim order saying that the accounts not declared as non-performing asset (NPA) as on 31 August shall not be declared as NPAs till further notice. When the Indian Bankers Association offered a two-month moratorium on declaring a non-serviced loan account as NPA, SC passed this interim order restraining banks from declaring loans as NPAs to protect borrowers, who are facing difficulties in arranging funds for loan repayment. The Supreme Court will continue the hearing of the case on 10 September.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) fell 1.73%. The company on Thursday said it will acquire additional 9.12% stake for about Rs 12 crore in associate firm Carnot Technologies. Carnot Technologies is an Indian company, which provides products and services related to internet connected devices for monitoring performance of vehicles and equipment. It had a turnover of Rs 17.3 crore for the financial year ended 31 March 2020.

Jubilant Industries tumbled 5% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 3.10 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against net profit of Rs 9.55 crore in Q1 June 2019. Net sales during the quarter slumped 37.9% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 94.32 crore. On the segmental front, revenue from agro products stood at Rs 54.32 crore (up 9.9% YoY) while the revenue from performance polymers stood at Rs 40.31 crore (down 60.9% YoY) in June 2020.

Larsen & Toubro fell 1.8%. L&T on Friday said its defence arm secured a significant contract from the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) for supplying four regiments of Pinaka Weapon Systems. The contract involves supply of Pinaka launchers, battery command posts and associated Engineering Support Package (ESP) for four regiments. The Pinaka launch system has been indigenously developed by L&T as part of Pinaka development program of Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO, ARDE) and functions as a high tech, all weather, long range, area fire artillery weapon system.

KEC International gained 1.2% after the company said it secured new orders worth Rs 1,401 crore across its various businesses.

CreditAccess Grameen rose 1.9% on BSE after the company's board of directors approved a proposal for fund raising by way of issue of equity shares of Rs 1,000 crore.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones 30 Futures were trading up 233 points, indicating a strong start in US markets today.

European shares were up across the board while Asian stocks ended lower on Friday.

In US, stocks fell sharply on Thursday as tech stocks reversed uptrend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 807.77 points, or 2.8%, to 28,292.73 for its biggest one-day decline since 11 June 2020. The S&P 500 slid 3.5% to 3,455.06 and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 5% to close at 11,458.10.

Apple shares fell 8% for their biggest one-day decline since 16 March 2020. Amazon and Netflix were both down more than 4% and Facebook slid 3.8%. Microsoft slipped 6.2%. Alphabet pulled back by 5.1%.

In economic data, the number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits totaled 881,000 for the week ending 29 August 2020, compared to 1.011 million in the prior week, the Labor Department said Thursday. US imports jumped nearly 11% in July 2020, driving the trade gap up to $63.6 billion in the month, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Gains were capped as rising COVID-19 cases spooked investors. Introduction of new margin requirement in the cash segment from 1st September and geo-political tensions between India-China also impacted sentiment.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.4% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index climbed 0.74%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1482 shares rose and 1203 shares fell. A total of 185 shares were unchanged.

The Sebi's new margin rules came into effect from 1 September 2020. As per the new rule, it is mandatory for brokers to collect margins from investors upfront for any purchase or sale of shares. Failing to do so will attract a penalty. Sebi has introduced these measures to safeguard the interest of all investors.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 990.57 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 657.48 crore in the Indian equity market on 2 September, provisional data showed.

Economy:

The IHS Markit India Services PMI rose sharply to 41.8 in August 2020 from 34.2 in July 2020. The index reached highest level since March, before the escalation of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the reading is below the 50 which is a neutral value, indicating a continued decline in business activity.

Commenting on the latest survey results, Shreeya Patel, Economist at IHS Markit, said: August highlights another month of challenging operating conditions in the Indian services sector. Sustained periods of closure and ongoing lockdown restrictions in both domestic and foreign markets have weighed heavily on the health of the industry. Output and new work continue to fall at solid rates, while restrictions meant that firms were often unable to complete projects. Backlogs of work accumulated to the greatest extent in almost 15 years of data collection. That said, the survey showed signs of a potential recovery. Business sentiment was neutral after being negative in the previous three months and employment fell at the softest pace since March. Additionally, there were efforts to protect profit margins, firms raised their selling prices to pass on higher expenses to customers and recover lost revenues after a period of closure.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 25,938,122 with 861,679 deaths. India reported 8,15,538 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 67,376 deaths while 29,70,492 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Meanwhile, India continued to report one of the lowest COVID Case Fatality Rates (CFR) when compared to several other countries. While the global CFR stands at 3.3% as on date, the comparative figure for India is 1.76%, an official update noted today. The deaths per million population in India is one of the lowest in the world. While the global average is 110 deaths /million population, India is reporting 48 deaths /million population. The comparative figure for Brazil and the UK is 12 and 13 times higher, respectively.

Buzzing Segment:

Liquor stocks were in spotlight as unlock 4.0 guidelines to relax more coronavirus-induced curbs kicks in across the country. The Karnataka government has allowed pubs, bars and clubs to restart their activities in the state from 1 September.

United Breweries (up 5.26%), Globus Spirits (up 5%), United Spirits (up 1.86%), Associated Alcohols (up 1.58%) and Radico Khaitan (up 0.86%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Lupin down 0.21%. The pharma company on Wednesday (2 September) announced the launch of Leflunomide tablets having received an approval from the United States Food & Drug Administration (US FDA) earlier. The drug maker said that the product would be manufactured at its Pithampur (Unit I) facility in Madhya Pradesh, India. Leflunomide is the generic equivalent of Arava tablets of Sanofi-Aventis U.S., and is indicated for the treatment of adults with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Dr Reddy's Laboratories rose 2.07% after the company announced the launch of Methylphenidate Hydrochloride extended-release tablets USP, in the US market. The drug is a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Concerta brand approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). The drug is used to treat attention deficit disorder (ADHD or ADD) in children and adults.

IndusInd Bank fell 1.54%. The bank has approved the allotment of 4.76 crore shares at Rs 524 per share on a preferential basis, for an aggregate consideration of Rs 2495.79 crore. Route One Offshore Master Fund was allotted 1.06 crore shares, Route One Fund I, L.P. was allotted 71.59 lakh shares, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company was allotted 1.62 crore shares, Tata Investment Corporation was allotted 57.25 lakh shares and AIA Company was allotted 78.30 lakh shares. Consequently, the issued, subscribed and paid-up equity share capital of the bank stands increased from the present level of Rs 693.56 crore to Rs 741.19 crore.

Coal India (CIL) fell 0.55%. The coal major's consolidated net profit tumbled 55.1% to Rs 2,079.60 crore on 26.8% decline in net sales to Rs 17,007.10 crore in Q1 FY21 over Q1 FY20. CIL's raw coal production declined 11.6% to 121.04 million tonne in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. Coal offtake tumbled 21.55% to 120.42 million tonne during the period under review. The average realization declined 6.6% to Rs 1,415.49 per ton in Q1 June 2020 from Rs 1,515.50 per ton in Q1 June 2019.

TCS rose 1.55% after the IT major said it bagged a deal from ABB Information Systems for transforming its tech hosting infrastructure and cloud service management. The Swiss technology company identified TCS as its service partner as part of the organisation's efforts to rationalise its IT operations.

Vedanta declined 1.87%. The company's parent Vedanta Resources on Wednesday (2 September) said the book value of the equity share of its Indian subsidiary as per the delisting regulations is Rs 89.38 per share. The book value has been extracted from from the audited consolidated financial statements of the Vedanta.

Tata Motors rose 2.13% to Rs 153.60 after the company's total sales increased 13.4% to 36,472 vehicles in August 2020 from 32,166 units sold during August 2019. Total domestic sales jumped 21.6% to 35,420 units in August 2020 from 29,140 units in August 2019. While the total commercial vehicles sales declined by 28% to 17,889 units, the total passenger vehicles sales surged 154% to 18,583 in August 2020 over August 2019.

Page Industries fell 2.22% after the company reported net loss of Rs 39.55 crore in Q1 June 2020 compared with net profit of Rs 110.66 crore in Q1 June 2019. Lower Q1 PAT was primarily on account of lower revenues resulting in lower absorption of wages and fixed cost. Revenue from operations slumped 65.89% to Rs 284.80 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. This quarter witnessed the full impact of COVID-19 lockdowns. As of now, more than 80% of the firm's multi-brand outlets, 96% of exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) and 90% of large format stores are fully functional.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones 30 Futures were trading 38 points lower, indicating a flat-to-negative start in US markets on Thursday.

European shares rose across the board on Thursday, ahead of the release of Euro Area Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) today.

Asian stocks ended mixed as investors reacted to regional economic data releases. China's Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managing Index (PMI) came in at 54.0, compared with 54.1 in July.

Meanwhile, the final Jibun Bank Japan Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) inched down to a seasonally adjusted 45.0 in August from 45.4 in the previous month, pressured by weakening new business and business expectations.

US stock market rose sharply on Wednesday, continuing a strong start to September for the market as traders took profits out of high-flying names like Apple and Tesla and snapped up shares in more beaten-down parts of the market. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs, with the Nasdaq topping 12,000 for the first time.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 454.84 points, or 1.6%, to close at 29,100.50. It was the Dow's first close above 29,000 since February. The S&P 500 gained 1.5% to end the day at 3,580.84 while the Nasdaq Composite was higher by 1% at 12,056.44.

Key equity indices ended with decent gains on Wednesday backed by positive global sentiment. The Nifty ended below 11,550 level after briefly scaling that level in intraday.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 185.23 points or 0.48% at 39,086.29. The Nifty 50 index rose 75.5 points or 0.66% at 11,545.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 1.26% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index climbed 1.66%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1629 shares rose and 1053 shares fell. A total of 143 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 25,662,349 with 855,578 deaths. India reported 8,01,282 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 66,333 deaths while 29,01,908 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

GST Collections:

Goods and Services tax (GST) collection for the month of August stood at Rs 86,449 crore, slightly less than Rs 87,422 crore collected in July, the government said on September 1. The collection is 12% lower than Rs 98,202 crore collected in the month of August 2019.

Earnings Today:

Arvind Fashion (up 1.52%), Coal India (up 2.32%), Dish TV (up 2.47%), Infibeam venues (up 1.32%), Sadbhav Engineering (down 2.15%) and Zuari Agrochem (up 0.35%) are some of the companies that will announce their quarterly results today.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Jubilant Foodworks jumped 3.87%. The restaurant chain operator reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 73.9 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against net profit of Rs 71.6 crore in Q1 June 2019. Revenue from operations tumbled 59.1% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 388.4 crore during the quarter. EBITDA slumped 88.7% to Rs 24.6 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. EBITDA margin stood at 6.3% as on 30 June 2020, lower than 23% in Q1 June 2019. Domino's Pizza's same store growth (SSG) contracted 61.4% in Q1 FY21 as against a growth of 4.1% in Q1 FY20. However, online ordering (OLO) to delivery sales percentage was at 99% at end of the June 2020 quarter as against 81% in the corresponding period last year.

ONGC rose 0.57% to Rs 79.80. ONGC's consolidated net profit slumped 84.7% to Rs 1,090.03 crore on 42.9% drop in net sales to Rs 62,496.06 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. In dollars terms, standalone net realisation from crude oil price slumped 56.7% to $28.72 per barrel of oil (bbl) in Q1 FY21 from $66.32 bbl in Q1 FY20. Net realisation from crude oil price (joint venture) tanked 55.7% to $29.60 bbl in Q1 FY21 as against $66.78 bbl in Q1 FY20. Gas price on gross calorific value (GCV) basis dropped 35.2% to $2.39 per million metric British Thermal unit (MMBTU) in Q1 FY21 as against $3.69 per MMBTU in Q1 FY20. The revenue and PAT for Q1 have been impacted by lower crude price realization in the wake of COVID-19 fall out on global oil and gas industry as a direct consequence of adverse price movements in global crude prices. Lower gas prices also contributed to lower topline and bottom line.

NMDC gained 0.21% to Rs 96.85 after the state-owned miner said its iron ore production rose 15% to 1.62 million tonnes (MT) in August 2020 from 1.41 MT in August 2019. The company's iron ore sales climbed 20% to 1.79 MT in August 2020 as against 1.49 MT in August 2019. On a month-on-month basis, NMDC's production declined 26% and sales fell 30% in August 2020 over July 2020. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 1 September 2020.

Coal India rose 2.06% to Rs 136.25 after the coal major said its production grew 7.1% to 37.17 million tonnes in August 2020 as against 34.70 million tonnes in August 2019. Coal offtake jumped 9.3% to 44.34 million tonnes in August 2020 compared with 40.57 million tonnes in August 2019. On a month-on-month basis, coal production slipped 0.50% and coal offtake advanced 2.18% compared with last month.

TVS Motor Company fell 0.74%. The two wheeler maker registered a sales growth of 14% in August 2020 with 287,398 units as against 252,744 units in July 2020. However, total auto sales declined 1.1% in August 2020 compared with 290,455 units sold in the same month last year. TVS Motor's total two-wheelers rose 0.5% to 277,226 units while the total three-wheeler sales tumbled 30.3% to 10,172 units in August 2020 over August 2019. The company's total exports stood at 68,347 units in August 2020, down by 1.9% from 69,702 units exported in August 2019.

Bajaj Auto lost 1.9%. The company's total sales declined 9% to 356,199 units in August 2020 from 390,026 units in August 2019. Sequentially, the total sales rose 39% in August 2020 compared with 255,832 units sold in July 2020. Total domestic sales fell 11% to 185,879 units while total exports contracted 6% to 170,320 units in August 2020 over August 2019.

Hero MotoCorp fell 3.31% to Rs 2896. The company's total sales rose 7.55% to 584,456 units in August 2020 from 543,406 units sold in August 2019. On a sequential basis, the company sales grew by 13% from 514,509 units sold in the month of July 2020.

Vodafone Idea was up 6.97%. The telecom operator said that the meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 4 September 2020 to consider and evaluate any and all proposals for raising of funds in one or more tranches. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 1 September 2020.

Global Markets:

The US Dow index futures were up 180.5 points, indicating a positive opening in the US stocks today.

European shares advanced while Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday.

In US, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit new highs on Tuesday with technology leading the charge as Apple, Zoom Video soared, and on the macro front, better-than-expected data on US manufacturing sector data gave optimism about economic recovery. Investors also expected more policy support.

The US Trade Representative's office said on September 1 it has reportedly extended China tariff exclusions for a wide range of goods, including smart watches and certain medical masks, through the end of 2020, rather than renewing the previous one-year extension. In a Federal Register notice, USTR said the extensions were applied to products excluded from its 7.5% Section 301 tariffs imposed a year ago on some $300 billion worth of Chinese goods a year ago amid tense trade talks between the world's two largest economies. The products included a number of Bluetooth and wearable data-transmitting devices, such as those imported from China by Apple Inc, FitBit, Sonos and other technology companies.

In economic data, American manufacturers for August showed a fourth straight monthly rise. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index rose to 56% in August from 54.2% in July.

Benchmark indices ended with decent gains on Tuesday, rebounding from yesterday's selloff. Telecom stocks witnessed action after the Supreme Court pronounced its verdict on AGR case. Decent monthly auto sales data also supported sentiment.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 272.51 points or 0.71% at 38,9008.29. The Nifty 50 index rose 103.75 points or 0.91% at 11,491.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.4% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index climbed 0.72%.

Sellers outpaced buyers. On the BSE, 1209 shares rose and 1446 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,395.49 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 680.88 crore in the Indian equity market on 31 August 2020, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 2,54,88,239 with 8,50,596 deaths. India reported 7,85,996 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 65,288 deaths while 28,39,882 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Economy:

The headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index stood at 52 in August 2020 from 46.0 in July signalling an improvement in operating conditions across the manufacturing sector following four consecutive months of contraction.

Commenting on the latest survey results, Shreeya Patel, Economist at IHS Markit said, August data highlighted positive developments in the health of the Indian manufacturing sector, signalling moves towards a recovery from the second quarter downturn. The pick-up in demand from domestic markets gave rise to upturns in production and input buying. However, not all was positive in August, delivery times lengthened to another marked rate amid ongoing COVID-19 disruption. Meanwhile, employment continued to fall despite signs of capacity pressures, as firms struggled to find suitable workers. The rate of input price inflation was solid, following four monthly declines in cost burdens. Firms, however, continued in their efforts to drive sales amid greater competitive pressure and reduced their selling prices further.

Meanwhile, India's GDP contracted 23.9% in Q1 June 2020 compared to the same period last year, showed official data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Monday. This was mainly on account of limited economic activity in the country during the quarter amid lockdowns to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The economy expanded 3.1% year-on-year in the quarter ended March 2020.

India's fiscal deficit stood at Rs 8.21 lakh crore, or 103.1% of the budgeted target for the current fiscal year up to the end of July 2020 exceeding its target in first four months of FY21. The Government of India has received Rs 2,32,860 crore (10.4% of corresponding BE 2020-21 of Total Receipts) up to July, 2020 comprising Rs 2,02,788 crore Tax Revenue (Net to Centre), Rs 24,614 crore of Non-Tax Revenue and Rs 5,458 crore of Non-Debt Capital Receipts.

Buzzing Segment:

Shares of telecom companies turned volatile after the Supreme Court on Tuesday (1 September) allowed telecom operators 10 years to pay up dues related to adjusted gross revenue (AGR).

Vodafone Idea slumped 11% and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) shed 0.56% while Bharti Airtel jumped 6%. Reliance Industries, which controls Reliance Jio Infocomm, rose 0.39% to Rs 2086.75.

A three-judge apex court bench, headed by Justice Arun Mishra, directed telecom operators to make 10% upfront payment of their AGR dues, with the rest of the payments to begin from 1 April 2021.

In October 2019, the Supreme Court delivered the verdict on the AGR issue for calculating government dues of telecom companies as licence fee and spectrum usage charges.

Later in March 2020, the department of telecommunications (DoT) appealed to the apex court seeking 20 years for paying AGR dues. However, SC expressed reservations about granting 20-year time, voicing doubt about recovery of dues.

Results Today:

ONGC (down 3.23%), Shalimar Paints (down 1.37%), Nalco (up 3.63%) and NLC India (down 0.48%) are some of the companies that will announce their quarterly results today.

August Auto Sales:

Eicher Motors gained 1.84%. The company said that total motorcycles sales jumped 24.3% to 50,144 units in August 2020 from 40,334 units sold in July 2020. However, the total sales are down by 5% compared with 52,904 units sold in August 2019. Total motorcycle exports tumbled 38% to 2,573 units in August 2020 from 4,152 units in August 2019. Sequentially, the total exports have risen by 6.8% in August 2020 from 2,409 units in July 2020.

Ashok Leyland rose 1.85%. The commercial vehicles maker reported a 31% decline in total sales at 6,325 units in August 2020 as against 9,230 units in the same month last year. On a month-on-month (M-o-M) basis, total sales surged 32.46% in August 2020 from 4,775 units in July 2020 Sale of its medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) slumped 52% at 2,589 units in August 2020 as against 5,348 units in the year-ago period, the company said in a filing. Light commercial vehicles (LCV) sales slipped 4% at 3,736 units as against 3,882 units in August last year.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 0.2% after the company said its total tractor sales jumped 65% to 24,458 units in August 2020 over August 2019. Sequentially, the tractor sales declined 3.7% in August 2020 compared with 25,402 units in July 2020. Domestic sales in August 2020 were at 23,503 units, as against 13,871 units during August 2019, a spurt of 69%. Export for August 2020 stood at 955 units, marginally higher than 946 units exported in the same month last year. Meanwhile, M&M also announced its auto sales performance for the month of August 2020. The company's total automobile sales declined 16% to 30,426 units in August 2020 from 36,085 units in August 2019. M&M's total auto sales jumped 18.5% in August 2020 from 25,678 units sold in July 2020.

Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.99% after the company's total vehicles sales rose 17.1% to 124,624 units in August 2020 from 106,413 units in August 2019. While the total domestic sales jumped 20.2% to 116,704 units, total export sales declined by 15.3% to 7,920 units in August 2020 over August 2019. Sequentially, the total sales have increased 15.3% from 1,08,064 units sold in July 2020.

Escorts jumped 2.14% after the company said its total tractor sales surged 80% to 7,268 units in August 2020 over August 2019. Sequentially, the company's total tractor sales jumped 37% in August 2020 from 5,322 units sold in July 2020. Total domestic tractor sales stood at 6,750 units (up 79.4% YoY) and total exports were at 518 units (up 90.4% YoY) in August 2020.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Biocon jumped 7.48% announced the US launch of Semglee in vial and pre-filled pen presentations for patients living with diabetes. Semglee (insulin glargine injection), which received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), helps in controling high blood sugar in adult and pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes and adults with type 2 diabetes. It is not recommended for the treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis. Semglee has an identical amino acid sequence to Sanofi's Lantus and is approved for the same indications. Sanofi's total IQVIA sales for the 12 months ending 30 June 2020 were approximately $1.64 billion for Lantus 100 Units/mL Vial and approximately $4.36 billion for Lantus SoloSTAR Pen.

Spandana Sphoorty Financial fell 4.8% after the microfinance company reported a 36.9% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 59 crore in Q1 June 2020 from Rs 93.4 crore in Q1 June 2019. Provision and write-off related to Covid-19 and others was Rs 89.30 crore in Q1 June 2020. The company's total income grew by 7.2% to Rs 327 crore in quarter ended 30 June 2020 from Rs 304.90 crore posted in quarter ended 30 June 2019. Consolidated profit before tax came at Rs 78 crore in Q1 June 2020, lower than Rs 143 crore in Q1 June 2019. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 31 August 2020. The company's net interest income came at Rs 264 crore in Q1 June 2020 which is 37% higher than Rs 193 crore posted in Q1 June 2019. Net interest margin declined to 15.5% in Q1 June 2020 from 16.5% reported in the same period last year.

BEML gained 4%. The company bagged a order from Ministry of Defence for supply of 330 High Mobility Vehicles, for Pinaka project at a value of Rs 842 crore. Pinaka is a multi-barrel rocket launcher developed indigenously for the Indian Army and produced in India by involving Public Sector and Private Sector Defence Industries. The equipment will be manufactured by BEML at its Palakkad Plant in Kerala and would supply the vehicle platform to MoD in a span of 3 years. The multi-barrel launcher system is mounted on the highly rugged BEML truck, much acclaimed for its off-road mobility and would provide the Indian Army with vital manoeuvrability on the battlefield.

MOIL jumped 3.55% after the company increased prices of different grades of manganese ore and other products, effective 1 September 2020. MOIL said that the prices of all grades of ferro, SMGR grades (Mn30% & Mn25%), fines and chemical grades have been increased by about 10% from 1 September 2020 on the prices prevailing since 1 August 2020. The announcement was made post trading hours yesterday, 31 August 2020.

Global Markets:

Most shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Tuesday after the latest data from China showed manufacturing activity in the world's second-largest economy expanded at its fastest rate in nearly 10 years.

The Caixin/Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 53.1 for August, compared to 52.8 in July. PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below that signal contraction.

Japan's factory activity contracted at the slowest pace in six months in August. Tuesday's final au Jibun Bank Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 47.2 in August from 45.2 in July. It marked the slowest contraction since February, and also eclipsed a preliminary reading of 46.6.

South Korea's manufacturing activity shrank at the slowest pace in six months in August. The IHS Markit purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 48.5 in August from 46.9 in July.

In US, stocks were mixed on Monday. Declines in bank stocks pressured both the Dow and S&P 500. The Dow slid 223.82 points, or 0.8%, to 28,430.05 and the S&P 500 dipped 0.2% to close at 3,500.31. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo were all down more than 2%, following Treasury yields lower.

The Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a 0.7% gain and ended the day at 11,775.46. The Nasdaq got a lift after two big stock splits took effect Monday. Apple shares gained 3.4% as a 4-for-1 split took effect. Tesla shares added 12.6% following its 5-for-1 split.