Benchmarks hit day's high; PSU banks in demand

The key equity barometers hit the day's high in morning trade. The Nifty traded above the 17,700 level. PSU banks advanced for sixth straight session.

At 10:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 674.01 points or 1.15% to 59,439.59. The Nifty 50 index added 183.10 points or 1.04% to 17,715.15.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.96% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.22%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, remained strong. On the BSE, 2292 shares rose and 733 shares fell. A total of 173 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 233,713,190 with 4,782,640 deaths. India reported 264,458 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 448,997 deaths according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

A total of 90,73,60,198 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far, with over 23.39 lakh doses being given yesterday, according to the Co-WIN dashboard.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 1.24% to 2,531.75, extending gains for sixth day. The PSU bank index has added 7.39% in six sessions while the benchmark Nifty 50 index has gained 0.81% during the same period.

Among the index constituents, Union Bank of India (up 2.06%), Canara Bank (up 1.55%), Bank of India (up 1.41%), SBI (up 1.25%), Bank Of Baroda (up 1.21%), UCO Bank (up 1.10%) Central Bank of India (up 0.85%) and Indian Bank (up 0.78%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Avenue Supermarts was up 0.80% to Rs 4273.15. The company said its standalone revenue from operations rose 46.6% to Rs 7,649.64 crore in Q2 September 2021 over Q2 September 2020. The company, which owns and operates retail chain D-Mart, reported a revenue from operations of Rs 5,218.15 crore in the same quarter last year, the company informed in a regulatory filing. In the pre-pandemic Q2 September 2019, Avenue Supermarts reported a revenue of Rs 5,949.01 crore.

Grasim Industries fell 1.84% to Rs 1642.70. The Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax has imposed a capital gain tax on the company of Rs 8,334 crore related to a sale of shares in group firm Aditya Birla Capital during tax assessment year 2018-19. The company said it will take appropriate action against the said order which it believes is against the spirit of tax laws.

Pfizer rose 0.88% to Rs 5621.35. The company has entered into a business transfer agreement with Mylan Pharmaceuticals to transfer certain primarily off-patent branded and generic established medicines business (Upjohn Business) as a going concern to Mylan for Rs 180.48 crore.

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