Benchmarks correct on profit selling; Nifty holds 11,300 mark

Key indices traded with modest losses in morning trade as investors booked profits after recent gains. At 10:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 297.24 points or 0.77% at 38,317.05. The Nifty 50 index was down 75 points or 0.66% at 11,333.45. Both these indices rose about 2% in the previous three sessions.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.44%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.64%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1318 shares rose and 907 shares fell. A total of 128 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 22,328,069 with 7,86,303 deaths. India reported 6,86,395 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 53,866 deaths while 20,96,664 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed that India is on the heels of crossing 3 crore cumulative COVID-19 tests and the total number of recoveries has crossed 2 million. Coupled with this is another achievement of highest ever single day recovery of 60,091 in the last 24 hours. With this high number of COVID-19 patients recovering and being discharged from the hospitals and home isolation (in case of mild and moderate cases), the Recovery Rate has scaled the twin peak of crossing 73% (73.64%). This has also led to the declining Case Fatality Rate, which stands at a new low of 1.91% today. The record high recoveries have ensured that the actual caseload of the country viz. the active cases has reduced and currently comprises less than 1/4th (only 24.45%) of the total positive cases. India has posted 13,61,356 more recoveries than the active cases (6,76,514).

Earnings Today:

Accelya Solutions (up 0.92%), Indian Overseas Bank (up 3.72%), J Kumar Infra (up 2.52%), MOIL (up 0.13%) and Sheela Foam (up 0.96%) are some of the companies that will announce their results today.

Stocks in Spotlight:

IIFL Wealth Management rose 3.88%. The board of directors of IIFL Wealth Management has declared a one-time special interim dividend of Rs 40 per equity share of the face value of Rs 2 each. The record date for this purpose is 27 August 2020.

L&T Finance was up 0.67%. The Committee of Directors of L&T Finance Holdings on Wednesday, 19 August 2020, approved the offer and issuance of up to 2,000 unsecured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of face value of Rs 10 lakh at par aggregating to nominal amount of up to Rs 200 crore on a private placement basis at the coupon/interest rate of 8% per annum payable annually. The NCDs will be listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the tenure of the NCDs shall be 1095 days. NCDs will be redeemed at par on 28 August 2023. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 August 2020.

PNB Housing Finance gained 2.27%. The board of directors of the company has approved to raise equity capital aggregating upto Rs 1800 crore through preferential issue / rights issue. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 August 2020.

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