Barometers trade with modest gains; Europe opens lower

The main stock indices traded with decent gains in the afternoon trade. PSU banks and realty shares were in demand. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, spurted 166.80 points or 0.37% at 45,593.77. The Nifty 50 index gained 35.95 points or 0.27% at 13,391.70.

The broader market witnessed profit selling. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.21%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.35%.

Sellers outpaced buyers. On the BSE, 1,266 shares rose and 1,543 shares fell. A total of 162 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 18 stocks advanced while 32 stocks declined.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 3,792.06 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,767.09 crore in the Indian equity market on 7 December 2020, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech filed an application seeking emergency use authorisation for Covaxin on Monday, becoming the third company to seek such regulatory approval in India after Pfizer and Serum Institute of India (SII). Covaxin is the first fully locally developed vaccine candidate against COVID-19 that will be considered for emergency use authorisation in the country.

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 6,75,92,458 with 15,44,543 deaths. India reported 3,83,866 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,40,958 deaths while 91,78,946 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Economy:

Fitch Ratings on Tuesday raised India's GDP forecast to -9.4% in the current fiscal year to March 2021 from a previously projected contraction of 10.5% after the economy staged a sharper rebound in the second quarter. The projections compare to a GDP growth of 4.2% in 2019-20 (April 2019 to March 2020) fiscal and 6.7% annual expansion between 2015 and 2019.

Gainers & Losers:

Ultratech Cement (up 2.40%), Reliance Industries (up 1.97%), TCS (up 1.38%), Wipro (up 0.81%) and Infosys (up 0.77%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.

IndusInd Bank (down 2.26%), Hindalco Industries (down 2.15%), Adani Ports & Special Economic Zones (down 2.12%), Coal India (down 2.12%) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.96%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Indoco Remedies fell 1.93%. The pharma company on Tuesday announced that it has won major tenders worth Rs 140 crore in Germany including the AOK for Allopurinol tablets. The expected revenue from Allopurinol tablets business is Rs 70 crore per annum. The supplies to Germany will begin from January 2021 and continue till end of 2022. API consumption will be approximately 100 metric tons per year for this supply. Indoco manufactures Allopurinol API at its new API manufacturing site at Patalganga. The new API site has a capacity to manufacture 25 tons of Allopurinol per month or 300 tons annually.

TVS Srichakra surged 6.71% after the tyre maker announced its planned capital expenditure of Rs 1,000 crore to ramp up manufacturing in its Madurai and Pantnagar plants. The company said that the investment is planned over a three-year period. The investment, when fully made, will result in an increase in 2-wheeler & 3-wheeler tyre capacity by 25-30% and doubling of off-highway tyre capacity from current levels. The investment is planned to be funded by a mix of debt and internal accruals.

Global Markets:

European shares opened lower amid Brexit deal uncertainty. The U.K. and the European Union are making last efforts to reach a post-Brexit trade deal this week. Both sides remain divided over three issues: fisheries, competition rules and governance of their potential deal. They have been stuck on these three areas since early summer. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to head to Brussels this week in a last-ditch attempt to secure a Brexit deal.

Most Asian stocks declined on Tuesday as investors remained cautious over rising coronavirus cases, U.S. stimulus negotiations as well as Brexit talks between the U.K. and the European Union.

In US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell on Monday as traders worried about rising coronavirus cases and searched for clues on additional fiscal aid. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, rose 0.5% to 12,519.95 and hit a fresh record high.

Meanwhile, Japan will compile a fresh economic stimulus package worth 73.6 trillion yen ($708 billion), Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday, signalling his resolve to pull the country out of its coronavirus crisis-induced slump. The new stimulus package will include fiscal spending worth around 40 trillion yen, Suga said.

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