Benchmarks trade almost flat; IT shares correct

The key equity indices were trading near the flat line with some negative bias in morning trade. The Nifty was trading below the 15,750 mark. IT shares were under pressure.

At 10:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 38.46 points or 0.07% to 52,444.25. The Nifty 50 index lost 6.75 points or 0.04% to 15,714.75.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.10% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.20%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1576 shares rose and 1274 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 182,153,508 with 3,946,015 global deaths.

India reported 523,257 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 399,459 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Cadila Healthcare said it has applied for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the office of Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for ZyCoV-D - its Plasmid DNA vaccine against COVID-19. The company conducted the largest clinical trial for its COVID-19 vaccine in India so far in over 50 centers.

ZyCoV-D is a plasmid DNA vaccine which when injected produces the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and elicits an immune response mediated by the cellular and humoral arms of the human immune system, which play a vital role in protection from disease as well as viral clearance.

Shares of Cadila shed 0.32% to currently trade at Rs 643 on the BSE.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bajaj Auto rose 1.80% to Rs 4207.35. The two-wheeler maker's total sales surged 24% to 346,136 units in June 2021 as against 278,097 units sold in June 2020. Sequentially, Bajaj Auto's total sales soared 27.32% in June 2021 compared with 271,862 units sold in May 2021.

Escorts fell 1.11% to Rs 1207.25. The company's tractor sales rose 15.5% to 12,533 units in June 2021 from 10,851 units in June 2020. Sequentially, Escorts' total tractor sales zoomed 95.1% in June 2021 compared with 6,423 tractors sold May 2021.

Spicejet slipped 1.17% to Rs 80.05. On a consolidated basis, the airline net loss declined to Rs 256.98 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with net loss of Rs 816.25 crore in Q4 FY20. Net sales dropped 34.15% to Rs 1,829.77 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20 as business continues to be severely impacted by the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic which has adversely hit operations and travel demand.

The average domestic load factor for the quarter was 77.3% while for fiscal 2021, it was 75.7%. Passenger revenue grew 15% in Q4 FY21 as compared to Q3 FY21. Spicejet sustained market leadership position in passenger RASK (revenue per available seat kilometre) amongst listed Indian peers. The company received significant revenue generated through charter business.

Spicejet has carried 39,693 ton of cargo in Q4 FY21 and transported 133 tonnes of COVID-19 vaccine between January 2021 to June 2021. The company has transported 50.50 million COVID‐19 vaccine doses till date.

Meanwhile, the board has authorised to seek enabling approval of shareholders of the company (which will be valid for 365 days) for raising fresh capital of upto Rs 25,00,00,00,000 through issue of eligible securities to qualified institutional buyers, in accordance with the relevant provisions of applicable law and subject to receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, as may be required.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index shed 0.50% to 29,021.55. The index advanced 0.63% yesterday.

Coforge (down 0.99%), Oracle (down 0.97%), MindTree (down 0.92%), Mphasis (down 0.87%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (down 0.86%), Wipro (down 0.80%), Tech Mahindra (down 0.79%), Infosys (down 0.70%) and HCL Tech (down 0.66%) declined.

IT major TCS advanced 0.12%.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News