Benchmarks at day's high; broader market trades firm

The equity benchmarks reversed losses and traded with small gains in mid afternoon trade. The Nifty index scaled 15,700 mark.

At 14:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 134.28 points or 0.26% at 52,478.13. The Nifty 50 index gained 32.85 points or 0.21% at 15,716.35.

The broader indices outperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.64% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.69%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,941 shares rose and 1,291 shares fell. A total of 167 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,680.57 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 446.20 crore in the Indian equity market on 18 June 2021, provisional data showed.

Economy:

India's unemployment rate declined to 8.7% in the week ended 13 June 2021 from the monthly unemployment rate of 14.7% in May 2021 as COVID-19 cases continue to decline. Data from the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) indicate that the improvement in the unemployment rate over the past weeks is due to the easing of restrictions in various parts of the country.

According to CMIE, the monthly unemployment rate in May 2021 was 14.7%. The current urban employment rate has come down 8.18 percentage points from 17.88% in the last week of May 2021 to 9.7% in the week ended on 13 June 2021.

Rural India has also seen a decline in the unemployment rate. By the end of the second week of June 2021, this rate has come down to 8.4% as compared to 10.63% in May 2021.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank jumped 3.54% to 2,463.65. The index lost 4.36% in the past four days.

J&K Bank (up 20%), Central Bank of India (up 19.8%), Indian Overseas Bank (up 19.80%), Punjab Sind Bank (up 13.65%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 8.96%), Bank of India (up 7.38%) and Union Bank of India (up 5.95%) advanced.

Numbers to Watch:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee fell to 74.1225 compared with its previous closing of 73.86.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2021 settlement rose 0.6% to Rs 47,010.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.07% to 92.142.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.023% from its previous close of 6.006%.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2021 settlement rose 25 cents to $73.76 a barrel. The contract added 0.59% to settle at $73.51 in the previous trading session.

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