Equities yield minor gains; Nifty above 16,250

The benchmark indices witnessed modest returns during afternoon trade. The Nifty index traded above 16,250 level.

At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 50.87 points or 0.09% at 54,420.64. The Nifty 50 index gained 12.30 points or 0.08% at 16,271.10. The S&P BSE Sensex scaled a new all-time high of 54,576.64 while the Nifty 50 index hit 16,294.65 during intraday trade.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.41% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.64%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 951 shares rose and 2,156 shares fell. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is scheduled to announce its bi-monthly policy review on 6 August 2021 at the end of the three-day meeting held from 4 August 2021 to 6 August 2021. As per reports, the RBI is likely to maintain the status quo on interest rates. The MPC, a six-member team headed by RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, had left the rates unchanged last time, citing concerns about inflation.

Coronavirus Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 20,02,42,092 with 42,56,850 deaths. India reported 4,11,076 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,26,290 deaths while 3,09,74,748 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India saw a single day rise of 42,982 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,18,12,114, while the active cases increased to 4,11,076.The death toll climbed to 4,26,290 with 533 fresh fatalities. The active cases comprise 1.29% of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.37%.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.19% to 13.0550. The Nifty 26 August 2021 futures were trading at 16,281.75, at a premium of 10.65 points as compared with the spot at 16,271.10.

The Nifty option chain for 26 August 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 22 lakh contracts at the 16,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 50.2 lakh contracts was seen at 15,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index declined 2.39% to 2,438. The index added 2.30% in three sessions, till yesterday.

Central Bank of India (down 5.23%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 4.26%), Punjab & Sind Bank (down 4.21%), Bank of Maharashtra (down 3.74%) and Indian Bank (down 3.32%) were the major losers in the PSU Bank segment.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Greenply Industries dropped 4.55%. The company, on Wednesday, 4 August 2021 announced its foray into the Medium Density Fiber (MDF) boards business. For this purpose, the board of directors of the company announced the acquisition of M/S Baahu Panels as a wholly owned subsidiary. The greenfield manufacturing plant would be setup in Vadodara, Gujarat with an estimated cost of Rs 548 crore.

Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) gained 1.42% after the steel manufacturer reported a sharp recovery in steel sales during the month of July 2021, returning back to its growth path. Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) steel sales rose 5% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) and surged 21% M-o-M (month-on-month) to 6.7 lakh tonnes as compared to 6.4 lakh tonnes during the same month in the previous year. JSPL announced a monthly steel production of 6.5 lakh tonnes, rising 8% Y-o-Y as compared to 6.03 lakh tonnes during the same month in the previous year. Exports accounted for more than 40% of the total sales volumes due to high spot demand from international markets.

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