Benchmarks hit record high; PSU banks extend rally

Benchmark indices extended gains and hit record high levels in morning trade. PSU bank extended rally while metal and pharma shares corrected.

At 10:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 284.88 points or 0.63% at 45,711.75. The Nifty 50 index gained 72.7 points or 0.54% at 13,428.40.

The Sensex hit a record high of 45,728.85 while the Nifty scaled fresh all time high of 13,435.45 in morning trade.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (up 2.24%) boosted the benchmarks higher.

The broader market extended its winning run to eighth trading session. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.39% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.51%.

In last eight trading days, the Mid Cap index has gained 7.35% while the Small Cap index has added 7.8%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1540 shares rose and 909 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 3,792.06 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,767.09 crore in the Indian equity market on 7 December 2020, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 67,559,804 with 1,543,803 deaths.

India reported 3,83,866 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,40,958 deaths while 91,78,946 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank jumped 2.52% to 1,777.60, rising for fourth consecutive trading session. The PSU Bank index has added 11.36% in four trading days.

Punjab National Bank (up 4.62%), Bank of India (up 3.48%), UCO Bank (up 3.42%), Central Bank of India (up 3.34%), Bank of Baroda (up 3.33%), Union Bank of India (up 2.88%) and Indian Bank (up 2.16%) were top gainers in PSU Bank segment.

Canara Bank jumped 5.19% to Rs 123.65 after the PSU bank launched a qualified institutional placement (QIP) on Monday (7 December 2020) to raise funds from institutional investors. The sub-committee of the board - capital planning process of the bank, authorised the opening of the QIP issue and approved the floor price of Rs 103.50 per equity share, the bank said in a regulatory filing. The floor price is at a 11.95% discount to Monday's closing price of Rs 117.55 per share.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Titan rose 0.14%. The company's board at its meeting held on Monday (7 December) decided to request the FLAG management to scale down its operations substantially with immediate effect so that further investments from Titan to FLAG cease as early as possible. Consequently, this will lead to Titan making provisions in the current financial year for additional impairment pertaining to its investments in FLAG, in addition to the impairment of Rs 145 crore already made in earlier years.

Cupid gained 4.04% to Rs 261.10 after the company announced that it has received a purchase order from Uttar Pradesh Medical Supplies Corporation for the supply of COVID-19 Antigen Based Rapid Test Kits worth Rs 8.27 crore.

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