Benchmarks at day's low; Nifty below 14,750

The barometers traded near the day's low with steep losses in morning trade. The Nifty slipped below the 14,750 level. A surge in India's COVID-19 cases spooked investors as states move to impose partial restrictions, curb large public gatherings and order random testing at malls. Banks and financial shares tumbled while metal shares advanced.

At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 481.79 points or 0.96% at 49,654.55. The Nifty 50 index was down 113.75 points or 0.77% at 14,731.45.

In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.2% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.29%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1284 shares rose and 1083 shares fell. A total of 121 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 128,152,416 with 2,803,009 deaths.

India reported 552,566 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 162468 deaths while 114,34,301 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index gained 0.86% to 3,997.15. The index has rallied 7.52% in four days.

Hindustan Zinc (up 4.23%), NMDC (up 2%), Tata Steel (up 1.61%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.59%) and Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.59%), National Aluminium Company (up 1.48%), Steel Authority of India (up 1.14%) and JSW Steel (up 0.66%) rose.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Ultratech Cement rose 0.24%. The cement major said that it has prepaid its long-term loans amounting to Rs 5,000 crore, in line with the company's endeavour to maintain optimal capital structure. The company said that the loan repayments have been done through free cash flows that the company has generated over the last few quarters despite the challenging circumstances and severe business interruptions during the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

Kalpataru Power Transmission gained 2.07% to Rs 385.25 after the company received new orders worth Rs 625 crore across various businesses. The global EPC player in the power and infrastructure contracting sector bagged orders from Africa in the power transmission business. The company also won an order for railway electrification in India. Meanwhile, Kalpataru Power's international subsidiary has secured new power transmission projects in Europe.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News