Benchmarks end near day's high

Key equity benchmarks ended with robust gains near the day's high on Thursday. As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 646.40 points or 1.69% at 38,840.32. The Nifty 50 index added 171.25 points or 1.52% at 11,449.25.

In the broader market today, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.92% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.27%. Both these indices lagged the Sensex.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1815 shares rose and 898 shares fell. A total of 163 shares were unchanged.

Coronavirus Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 27,766,325 with 902,468 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. India reported 919,018 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 75,062 deaths while 3,471,783 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Primary Market Segment:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Happiest Minds Technologies received bids for 351.18 crore shares as against 2.32 shares on offer, as per the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) website data. The issue was subscribed 150.98 times.

The non-institutional investors category was subscribed 351.46 times. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) category was subscribed 77.43 times. The retail individual investors (RIIs) category was subscribed 70.94 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Monday, 7 September 2020 and closed yesterday, on 9 September 2020. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 165-166 per share.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index added 2.60% to 1,432.85. The index tumbled 12.81% in the past eight sessions.

Bank of India (up 8.50%), Jammu and Kashmir Bank (up 2.93%), Canara Bank (up 2.82%), Indian Bank (up 2.76%), Bank of Baroda (up 2.71%), Punjab National Bank (up 2.28%), Union Bank of India (up 2.12%), UCO Bank (up 1.95%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 1.62%), CBI (up 1.53%) and Indian Overseas Bank (up 0.98%) advanced.

State Bank of India (SBI) added 1.95% to Rs 198.70 after the state-run lender said it sold Rs 4,000 crore of the Basel-compliant Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds at a coupon of 7.74%.

As the aggregate bids were in excess of Rs 6,000 crore, the bank exercised the full green shoe option of Rs 3,000 crore over and above the base issue size of Rs 1,000 crore, SBI said in a statement after trading hours on Wednesday (9 September).

Stocks in Spotlight:

Index major Reliance Industries (RIL) jumped 7% to Rs 2312.60, leading the benchmark indices higher. The scrip gained 8.45% to hit a fresh record high of Rs 2343.90 in intraday trade today. The stock extended gains for second day after the company yesterday informed about the sale of 1.75% stake in Reliance Retail to Silver Lake for a consideration of Rs 7,500 crore.

Control Print spurted 4.58% to Rs 234. Yesterday, India Max Investment Fund bought 1.62 lakh equity shares (0.99% stake) of Control Print at Rs 217.96 per share via bulk deal on the NSE. Concurrently, Grovsnor Investment Fund sold 0.99% stake of the company at Rs 217.96 per share via bulk deal on the NSE.

Natco Pharma rose 2.43% to Rs 780.15. The drug maker will purchase equity shares in Time Cap Overseas, Mauritius, a subsidiary of the company, from the other shareholder Venkatachari Madhusudhan who holds 6.10% shares of the company. This amounts to 72,710 equity shares of $10 face value amounting to $7,27,100.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) added 0.11% to Rs 2134.30. The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has reportedly issued a show cause notice to HUL over advertisement of Lifebuoy Immunity Boosting Hand Sanitizer, that claims to boost immunity, thereby protecting people from covid contagion. The advertising campaign and packaging of the HUL-owned hygiene product, claiming an immunity boosting effect, are misleading and false as a topical application product, the notice reportedly said.

Dilip Buildcon surged 7.09% to Rs 374 after the road construction major received Letter of Acceptance (LOA) for a new Hybrid Annuity Mode project in Bihar. The bid project cost for the project is Rs 1905 crore and is to be constructed within 24 months with a operation period of 15 years. The total length on construction is 49 kilometers.

Indiabulls Housing Finance fell 2.73% to Rs 195.65. The company informed that its board approved opening the qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue on Wednesday (9 September 2020) and added that the floor for the said issue would be Rs 206.70 per share.

Separately, Indiabulls Housing said that the company is in the process of exploring various options in connection with the partial divestment of its equity shareholding in OakNorth Bank, in one or more tranches. The divestment shall result in boosting CRAR and shall free up capital to grow the loan book of the company.

IRCTC gained 1.53% to Rs 1369.95. With respect to media reports suggesting stake sale by the Government in the company, IRCTC said that the Company has not received any information in this regard from Government of India. It added that the quantum in case of OFS is decided by the Government of India and the Company has no role in this regard.

Global Markets:

US Dow Jones futures were down 74 points, indicating a weak opening in US stock market today.

Most European shares declined while Asian indices ended mixed on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Jakarta Composite in Indonesia plunged 4.88% following a temporary trading halt triggered earlier as the index dropped 5%. That came after the country's capital reportedly announced plans to reinstate a partial coronavirus lockdown.

Investors trod carefully ahead of a crucial European Central Bank meeting and US Labor Department's weekly jobless claims report due later in the day.

US stocks rebounded on Wednesday, 9 September 2020, with S&P500, Nasdaq, and Dow Index snapping three days of losing streak, as dip buyers poured into beaten-down technology-related stocks. The rebound on Wall Street came as some traders looked to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following the recent sell-off.

Technology stocks showed a substantial rebound on the day after leading the markets lower over the past few sessions. Among tech stocks, with Tesla Inc shares jumped 7.7%, while Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, and Amazon.com Inc each rose by at least 4%. Facebook Inc and Google-parent Alphabet Inc also climbed.

Yesterday, democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden rolled out his "Made in America" tax policy, while campaigning in Michigan, which includes a proposed new offshoring penalty and a minimum 21% corporate tax on all foreign earnings, but a 10% tax credit for any companies making investments to create U.S. jobs, such as by revitalizing existing facilities that have been closed.

Economic data showed that U.S. employers posted more job openings in July but hired fewer workers than in June, the Labor Department reported, as early-summer optimism about reopening businesses faded. There were 6.6 million job openings posted, not far off the pre-pandemic average.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News