Broader market trades higher; PSU banks in demand

The equity barometers were trading near the day's low in mid-afternoon trade. A surge in India's COVID-19 cases spooked investors as states move to impose partial restrictions, curb large public gatherings and order random testing at malls. Negative global cues also spoiled investors sentiment.

At 14:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 538.67 points or 1.07% at 49,597.55. The Nifty 50 index was down 130.85 points or 0.88% at 14,714.45.

In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.04% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.42%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1468 shares rose and 1323 shares fell. A total of 190 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 128,152,416 with 2,803,009 deaths. India reported 552,566 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 162468 deaths while 114,34,301 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Numbers to Track:

Brent crude for May 2021 settlement rose 29 cents to $64.46 a barrel. The contract fell 1.29% to settle at $64.14 a barrel in the previous session.

The partially convertible rupee rose to 73.29 against the dollar, compared with its previous closing of 73.38.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2021 settlement rose 0.18% to Rs 43,950.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index jumped 2.47% to 2,182.5. The index has added 4% in three sessions.

Canara Bank (up 4.86%), Bank of Baroda (up 4.08%), Indian Bank (up 2.6%), PNB (up 2.21%), SBI (up 1.61%), Indian Overseas Bank (up 1.57%), Central Bank of India (up 1.54%) and Bank of Maharashtra (up 0.96%) were top gainers in PSU bank space.

Bank of India was down 0.22%. The PSU Bank said that it had issued 6,020 Basel III Compliant Additional Tier-I (AT-1) bonds with a face value of Rs 10 lakhs each, aggregating to Rs 602 crore. The issue comprised of a base size of Rs 250 crores plus green-shoe option of Rs 352 crore. The bidding took place on 26 March 2021 while the settlement and the allotment happened on 30 March 2021.

Stocks in Spotlight:

IDFC First Bank slumped 4.55%. The private lender launched a qualified institutional placement (QIP) of equity shares on Tuesday (30 March 2021). The capital raising committee of the board of directors of the bank, at its meeting held on 30 March 2021, authorised the opening of the QIP issue and approved the floor price of Rs 60.34 per equity share, the private sector bank said in a regulatory filing made after market hours yesterday. The floor price is at 3.50% premium of IDFC First Bank's closing price of Rs 58.30 recorded on Tuesday. The capital raising committee of the bank will meet on 6 April 2021, to determine the QIP issue price.

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