Barometers slip into the red; PSU banks correct

The benchmark indices came off day's high and slipped into the negative terrain in early afternoon trade. The Nifty PSU Bank index snapped 3-day rising streak.

At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, shed 76.17 points or 0.14% at 55,506.41. The Nifty 50 index gained 20.40 points or 0.12% at 16,583.45.

The Sensex hit a record high of 55,688.50 while Nifty hit a record high of 16,591.40 in early trade.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.15% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.14%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 2012 shares rose and 1025 shares fell. A total of 126 shares were unchanged.

Coronavirus Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 20,78,60,239 with 43,71,559 deaths. India reported 3,69,846 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,32,079 deaths while 3,14,48,754 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

More than 88.13 lakh vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours. 55.47 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under nationwide vaccination drive. India reports 25,166 new cases in last 24 hours, lowest in 154 days. Active cases constitute 1.15% of total cases, lowest since March 2020. India's Active caseload currently 3,69,846, lowest in 146 days. Recovery rate currently at 97.51%, highest since March 2020.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.68% to 13.55. The Nifty 26 August 2021 futures were trading at 16,557.20, at a discount of 26.25 points as compared with the spot at 16,583.45.

The Nifty option chain for 26 August 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 29.3 lakh contracts at the 16,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 39.6 lakh contracts was seen at 16,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index fell 1.14% to 2,337.40. The index added 1.96% in the past three sessions.

Bank of Maharashtra (down 2.53%), Canara Bank (down 2.48%), J&K Bank (down 1.78%), Bank of Baroda (down 1.64%) and Indian Bank (down 1.59%) were the major losers in the PSU Bank segment.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Lupin rose 0.75%. The pharmaceutical company announced that it has received tentative approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) Brivaracetam tablets, 10 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg, 75 mg, and 100 mg, to market a generic equivalent of Briviact tablets, 10 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg, 75 mg, and 100 mg, of UCB Inc.

Infosys gained 1.13% after the IT major said it will invest an additional sum of $0.45 million in TidalScale Inc, a software-defined-server technology startup. Till date, the IT major has invested $3 million, taking the cumulative investment to $3.45 million as of date (subject to necessary closing conditions).

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