Benchmarks turn range bound; PSU banks rally

The main equity indices were trading in a narrow range with modest gains in mid-morning trade. The Nifty hovered around the 15,700 mark. All the sectoral indices on the NSE were in the green. Upbeat Asian stocks boosted sentiment.

At 11:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 198.04 points or 0.38% at 52,139.16. The Nifty 50 index gained 67.75 points or 0.43% at 15,703.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.75% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.45%.

The market breadth was robust. On the BSE, 2285 shares rose and 654 shares fell. A total of 129 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 174,326,389 with 3,755,587 global deaths.

India reported 11,67,952 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 359,676 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index surged 1.52% to 2,466.20, snapping its two-day losing streak. The PSU Bank saw bargain hunting after dropping nearly 3% in two days.

PNB (up 3.33%), Bank of Baroda (up 2.14%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 1.91%), Union Bank of India (up 1.42%), SBI (up 1.29%), Indian Bank (up 1.22%), Bank of India (up 1.18%) and Canara Bank (up 1.03%) were top gainers in PSU bank space.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Divi's Laboratories added 3.09% to Rs 4,397 after US-based drug major Merck announced supply agreement with US government for experimental Covid-19 drug, molnupiravir. Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, on Wednesday announced it has entered into a procurement agreement with the United States government for molnupiravir (MK-4482). Molnupiravir is currently being evaluated in a Phase 3 clinical trial, for the treatment of non-hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 and at least one risk factor associated with poor disease outcomes. Merck is developing molnupiravir in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

JSW Steel added 1.96% after the company's crude steel production grew 10% to 13.67 lakh tonnes in May 2021 as against 12.48 lakh tonnes in May 2020. Production of flat rolled products jumped 10% to 9.99 lakh tonnes while production of long rolled products surged 55% to 3.09 lakh tonnes in May 2021 over May 2020. The capacity utilization remained at 91% in May 2021 as the liquid oxygen supplies were over 30,000 tonnes for medical purposes in May 2021 from the steel complexes of the company across India as against over 20,000 tonnes in April 2021.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks were trading higher on Thursday. Focus is locked on Thursday's release of U.S. consumer price data and a European Central Bank meeting for further clues about how soon policymakers may begin to withdraw support for Europe's economy rolled out following the COVID-19 crisis.

U.S.-China tensions are in focus, with Joe Biden revoking Trump-era bans on TikTok and WeChat. The president ordered a review of software applications from foreign adversaries and action against those that pose a security risk.

Wall Street stocks ended lower on Wednesday, reversing earlier gains as investors awaited inflation data for clues as to when the U.S. Federal Reserve might tighten its dovish monetary policy.

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