Benchmarks trade with losses; metal shares correct

Key equity indices once again slipped towards early lows in mid-morning trade as selling pressure resumed. The Nifty traded just above 11,550 level. At 11:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 173.84 points or 0.44% at 39,129.28. The Nifty 50 index fell 44.85 points or 0.39% at 11,559.70.

Negative global cues spoiled sentiment. Global shares declined after the US Federal Reserve indicated its benchmark interest rate will stay close to zero at least through 2023 but announced no additional stimulus plans.

The broader market were almost flat. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.01% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.14%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1050 shares rose and 1257 shares fell. A total of 158 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 264.66 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 212.21 crore in the Indian equity market on 16 September, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 29,763,811 with 9,39,456 deaths. India reported 10,09,976 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 83,198 deaths while 40,25,079 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

The government said that the country's recovery rate among the COVID-19 patients has reached to 78.64%. During the last 24 hours, more than 82 thousand COVID patients have been recovered. Health Ministry said the total number of recoveries has reached over 40.25 lakh.

Economy:

India's commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said the government is working on setting up a single window system for clearances and approvals of industry. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Goyal said the cell is being planned as a one-stop digital platform to obtain all requisite central and state clearances and approvals to start business operations in the country. Goyal said the investment clearance cell will be a national portal that integrates the existing clearance systems of various ministries and departments of the government and of states without disrupting the existing IT portals of ministries.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Bill proposes amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. With this new Bill, the central government aims to bring cooperative banks under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

New Listing:

Shares of Happiest Minds Technologies were trading at Rs 365.80 at 11:13 IST on BSE, a premium of 127.23% over the initial public offer price of Rs 166.

The stock debuted at Rs 351, a premium of 111.45% to the initial public offer (IPO) price. So far the stock hit a high of Rs 395 and low of Rs 351. On BSE, so far 74.07 lakh shares were traded on the counter while on NSE, 350.79 lakh shares were traded so far.

The IPO of Happiest Minds Technologies received bids for 351.18 crore shares as against 2.32 crore shares on offer. The issue was subscribed 150.98 times. The issue was open between 7th and 9th September 2020. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 165-166 per share.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index fell 1.04% to 2,371.35. It was the biggest loser among the sectoral indices on NSE.

Hindalco Industries (down 2.86%), NMDC (down 2.2%), National Aluminium Company (down 1.74%), Tata Steel (down 1.48%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 1.47%) and JSW Steel Ltd (down 0.94%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Dhanuka Agritech surged 8.29% to Rs 832 after the company's board fixed 28 September 2020, as the record date to determine shareholders eligible to participate in share buyback. In July, the board approved buyback of upto 10 lakh equity shares at a final buyback price of Rs 1,000 each for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 100 crore.

ABM Knowledgeware hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 95.95 after the company bagged an order worth Rs 127.44 crore for SAP technology modernization. It also includes the implementation of several new SAP modules and productivity tools. The migration of the entire set-up to cloud infrastructure is also included in the project.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones futures were down 318 points, indicating a weak opening in the US stocks later today.

Asian markets were trading lower on Thursday as investors react to overnight developments from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England will announce their respective policy decisions on Thursday.

In US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended lower on Wednesday, reversing gains late in the day as losses in technology shares outweighed a Federal Reserve statement that stoked optimism it would keep U.S. interest rates near zero for a prolonged period. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a small gain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 36.78 points, or 0.13%, to 28,032.38, the S&P 500 lost 15.71 points, or 0.46%, to 3,385.49 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 139.86 points, or 1.25%, to 11,050.47.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday vowed to keep interest rates near zero until inflation is on track to overshoot the U.S. central bank's 2% target. The new economic projections showed policymakers now see the economy shrinking 3.7% this year, far less than the 6.5% decline they forecast in June. They see unemployment, which registered 8.4% in August, dropping to 7.6% by the end of the year. The recovery is here, and it's well along, Powell said.

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