Benchmarks trade firm; metal stocks decline

The benchmark indices continued to trade with strong gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty was trading above the psychological 11,000 mark. Encouraging Q1 numbers countered the impact of the surge in domestic coronavirus cases.

At 14:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 317.34 points or 0.86% at 37,337.48. The Nifty 50 index added 115.80 points or 1.06% at 11,017.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.85% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.03%.

The market breadth is strong. On the BSE, 1492 shares rose and 1100 shares fell. A total of 184 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index shed 0.31% to 2,096.50. The index has risen 2.46% in the past three sessions.

Hindustan Copper (down 3.69%), MOIL (down 2.98%), Ratnamani Metals Tubes (down 1.16%) and National Aluminum Co. (down 1.13%) were the index losers.

APL Apollo Tubes (up 6.61%) and Coal India (up 2.18%) were the only stocks currently in the green in an otherwise declining index.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Alembic Pharmaceuticals rose 2.83% to Rs 1004.505 after the company received a tentative approval from the US drug regulator for empagliflozin and metformin hydrochloride tablets. The drug is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The tablet has an estimated market size of $172 million for twelve months ending March 2020 according to IQVIA.

Trident was down 2.99% to Rs 6.17. The stock had slumped 7.23% to hit the day's low at 5.90 in early trade today.

Trident's consolidated net profit tumbled 91.7% to Rs 10.11 crore in Q1 June 2020 from Rs 122.43 crore in Q1 June 2019.Revenue from operation declined 46% in the June quarter to Rs 708.54 crore from Rs 1312.15 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The textiles segment revenue stood at Rs 586.30 crore (down 44.9% YoY) and paper & chemical business segment revenue came in at Rs 122.31 crore (down 50.7% YoY) during the quarter.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 5.801% compared with previous closing of 5.805% in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee edged lower to 74.91 compared with its previous closing 75.02.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2020 settlement slipped 26 cents to $42.88 a barrel. The contract lost 0.53% or 23 cents to end at $43.14 in the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2020 settlement shed 0.01% to Rs 48,960.

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