Benchmarks hover near flat line; realty shares extend losses

Key benchmark indices were trading near the flat line with some positive bias in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 24.25 points or 0.06% at 38,381.43. The Nifty 50 index rose 4.75 points or 0.04% at 11,338.60.

After hitting a low of 11,251.70 in early trade, the Nifty regained 11,300 mark in morning trade. However, gains were capped amid weak Asian cues triggered by rising tech tensions between Washington and Beijing. Hong Kong-listed shares of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), China's largest chip manufacturer, plunged on Monday following reports Trump's administration is considering imposing export restrictions on SMIC.

In the broader market back home, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.73% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.08%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1181 shares rose and 1460 shares fell. A total of 175 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index lost 0.86% to 218.15. The index has lost 3.36% in three sessions.

DLF (down 2.36%), Prestige Estates (down 2.35%) and The Phoenix Mills (down 2.07%) edged lower while Brigade Enterprises (up 4.96%), Oberoi Realty (up 2.94%) and Omaxe (up 0.36%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Repco Home Finance hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 181.90 after the company's consolidated net profit rose 2.6% to Rs 64 crore on 4.1% increase in total income to Rs 341.92 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. The overall loan book rose 6% to Rs 11,979.50 crore at the end of June 2020. Loans to the self - employed segment accounted for 51.7% of the outstanding loan book and loans against property product account for 18.7% of the same. Stage 3 assets stood at 4% of the loan assets as at the end of June 2020 as compared to 4.2% as at the end of June 2019.

Alembic Pharmaceuticals skid 0.31% to Rs 924.55. The drug maker on Monday (7 September) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary received tentative approval from the US drug regulator for its abbreviated new drug application Treprostinil injection in multiple-dose vials. The drug is indicated for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension to diminish symptoms associated with exercise. Treprostinil Injection has an estimated market size of $466.1 million for twelve months ending December 2019 according to United Therapeutics Corporation's 2019 financial result.

Numbers to Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee edged higher to 73.35 compared with its previous closing 73.14.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 5.994% compared with previous closing of 5.930% in the previous trading session.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2020 settlement fell 46 cents to $42.20 a barrel. The contract fell 3.2% or $1.41 to end at $42.66 in the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2020 settlement rose 0.29% to Rs 50,823.

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