Broader market trades firm; Europe opens lower

Domestic equity barometers were rangebound in afternoon trade. At 13:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 216.33 points or 0.57% at 38,267.11. The Nifty 50 index was up 68.60 points or 0.61% at 11,315.70.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.73% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.13%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1668 shares rose and 944 shares fell. A total of 145 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 21,881,858 with 7,74,053 deaths. India reported 6,73,166 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 51,797 deaths while 19,77,779 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Grasim Industries (up 7.31%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (up 2.88%), Ultratech Cement (up 2.61%), Tata Motors (up 2.51%) and UPL (up 2.37%) were the top gainers.

BPCL (down 1.54%), Tech Mahindra (down 0.98%), IndusInd Bank (down 0.91%), HCL Technologies (down 0.81%) and Cipla (down 0.78%) were the top losers.

Bandhan Bank was up 0.24% to Rs 288 after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) removed regulatory restrictions after bank complied with promoter shareholding norms. As per the restriction imposed by RBI in September 2018, Bandhan Bank was required to take prior approval from the central bank for opening of a new branch. The remuneration of the MD & CEO of the bank was also frozen. The restriction was imposed as the bank's promoters failed to comply with licensing requirements of reducing their stake in the bank.

Vedanta fell 1.95% to Rs 125.45. The media reported that the Madras high court on Tuesday rejected Vedanta Resources Plc's petition to challenge the March 2018 closure order by the Tamil Nadu government of Sterlite Copper smelter plant in Tuticorin, about 610 km from Chennai, in March 2018.

The petition was reportedly moved by the company in February last year, after the Supreme Court granted Vedanta liberty to move the High Court in this regard. While pronouncing the judgment this morning, the Court reportedly informed that the verdict would have been out by 12 March, if it were not for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Global Markets:

European shares declined while Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday as investors continued to watch developments in US-China tensions.

South Korea's KOSPI tumbled 2.46% after a South Korean news agency reported that concerns are rising over a potential "massive outbreak" of coronavirus cases. The country reportedly confirmed 246 more Covid-19 cases as of Tuesday midnight local time, according to the daily update from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

US President Donald Trump's administration announced Monday a further tightening of restrictions on Huawei, aimed at limiting the Chinese telecommunications giant's access to commercially available chips.

Meanwhile, investors are also monitoring US pressure on Bytedance, the Chinese owner of popular social media app TikTok. Last week, President Trump reportedly signed an executive order giving the company more time to figure out a sale of its US TikTok business.

The media reported that Microsoft is being currently seen as the frontrunner in the race to buy TikTok's operations in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand assets. But that changed late Monday after it emerged that Larry Ellison's Oracle was also in talks to acquire those units, the reports added. Ellison is a known supporter of the president.

In US, the S&P 500 rose slightly on Monday to start the week, but fell short of a record closing high once again amid declining trading volumes and lingering concerns over a US coronavirus stimulus bill and simmering US-China tensions. The Nasdaq Composite hit an all-time high. The Dow Jones index, however, was weighed down by losses to financial and industrial stocks.

Both Democrats and Republicans have indicated they are at a stalemate over a new stimulus package. Democrats have proposed to send more than $900 billion to states and municipalities in one bill. A counteroffer from the GOP did not include any additional aid for states and local governments.

The National Associated of Home Builders noted that its housing market index climbed to 78 in August, up from 72 in July. The New York Federal Reserve Bank's Empire State Manufacturing index fell to 3.7 in August, down from 17.2 in the previous month.

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