Barometers hit day's low; city gas distributors rally

Key equity indices were trading near the day's low in mid morning trade. Banks and IT shares declined while realty and pharma shares advanced. At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 143.51 points or 0.32% at 44,116.96. The Nifty 50 index was down 25.20 points or 0.19% at 12,961.50.

The broader market outperformed benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.79% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.38%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1629 shares rose and 844 shares fell. A total of 170 shares were unchanged.

The National Statistics Office will release the July-September quarter gross domestic product data today, 27 November 2020.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,027.31 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 3,400.10 crore in the Indian equity market on 26 November, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 6,03,33,049 with 14,20,462 deaths.

India reported 4,55,555 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 135,715 deaths while 87,18,517 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Economy:

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog has stated that India is uniquely positioned in the global landscape and has the potential to become the leading force in the new world order. India can create up to $1 trillion of the economic value by digital economy by 2025 with half of the opportunities originating in new digital ecosystems that can spring up in diverse sectors of the economy, he noted addressing the virtual session on Collaboration between Industry and Science during the Global R&D Summit 2020, organized jointly by the Department of Science and Technology, GoI and FICCI.

India could potentially see a five-fold increase in economic value from digital transformation by 2025. This will represent an attractive opportunity for global and local businesses, start-ups, and innovators to invest in emerging technologies like AI, Blockchain or drones in ways that are customized to Indian needs. Kant further said that the government is focusing on high-quality public and private R&D and digital is the future both in the private and public sector.

Buzzing Segment:

Shares of gas distributing companies rallied after Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) notified regulations for unified gas transmission tariff structure on Thursday. The tariffs will be applicable based on two zone structure related to distance from source of gas.

Indraprastha Gas (up 13.3%), Mahanagar Gas (up 12.14%), Adani Gas (up 5.96%) and Gujarat Gas (up 5.62%) advanced.

The PNGRB's move will reportedly lead to higher usage of gas in areas away from LNG terminal. The media reported that unified tariff structure will lead to a 20-30% rise in transportation charges paid by users near the source but a reduction for consumers in the hinterland.

Stocks in Spotlight:

AU Small Finance Bank rose 0.08%. The bank announced yesterday, 26 November 2020, that it has made a strategic investment of Rs 7.70 crore in NPCI, wherein 61,320 equity shares at book value of Rs 1,256 per equity share are allocated to the bank. NPCI is an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.

Adani Transmission spurted 5.31% to Rs 383.95 after the company said it completed acquisition of Alipurduar Transmission from Kalpataru Power Transmission for an enterprise value of around Rs 1300 crore. The acquisition is in sync with ATL's strategy to enhance the value for its stakeholders, through organic as well as inorganic opportunities.

Global Markets:

Select Asian markets were trading mildly high on Friday as investors reacted to Chinese data.

Profits at Chinese industrial firms rose 28.2% year-on-year in October to 642.91 billion yuan ($97.79 billion), official data showed on Friday, pointing to a steady recovery in the manufacturing sector after it was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Profits rose for a sixth straight month in October, after increasing by 10.1% year-on-year in September, the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

Gains were capped as investors were concerned over the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate, with results and methods used in their phase three vaccine trials under criticism from experts in the US. As the race for a coronavirus vaccine continues, questions are being raised over AstraZeneca's vaccine candidate, for which the firm said combined results revealed it to be 70% effective.

In US, financial markets were closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday while U.S. bonds and stocks will trade on a partial schedule on Friday.

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