Indices pare gains; Nifty holds 11,900

Key indices came off the day's high in afternoon trade as mixed global cues triggered profit booking at higher levels. At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 210.27 points or 0.52% at 40,641.57. The Nifty 50 index added 48 points or 0.41% at 11,921.45.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.26% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.15%.

The market breadth was almost even. On the BSE, 1211 shares rose and 1270 shares fell. A total of 160 shares were unchanged.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 6 pm today, 20 October 2020.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,656.78 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,621.73 crore in the Indian equity market on 19 October, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

India reported 748,538 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 115,197 deaths while 6,733,328 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 40,344,310 with 1,117,539 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Gainers & Losers:

HCL Tech (up 4.3%), Tech Mahindra (up 3.23%), Bharti Airtel (up 3.13%), Larsen & Toubro (up 2.82%) and TCS (up 1.69%) were top gainers in Nifty 50 index.

Earnings Today:

Hindustan Unilever (up 0.39%), L&T Infotech (up 1.70%), Indian Energy Exchange (down 0.77%), Hindustan Zinc (down 0.82%), Kajaria Ceramics (down 0.69%), CCL Products (up 0.57%), Mahindra CIE (down 0.44%), CRISIL (up 0.77%), Bombay Dyeing & Mfg.Co. (down 1.24%), DCM Shriram (up 0.19%), Maharashtra Scooters (up 1.06%) and Ramkrishna Forgings (up 0.71%) are some of the companies that will announce quarterly earnings today.

Earnings Impact:

ACC rose 0.71%. The cement major's consolidated net profit rose 20.26% to Rs 363.85 crore on 0.26% increase in net sales to Rs 3537.31 crore in Q3 September 2020 over Q3 September 2019. Cement sales volumes rose by 0.78% to 6.49 million tonnes in Q3 September 2020 compared with 6.44 million tonnes in Q3 September 2019. Operating EBITDA increased 20.47% to Rs 671 crore in Q3 September 2020 over Q3 September 2019. Operating EBITDA margin rose by 328 basis points to 19.4% in Q3 September 2020 compared with 16.1% in Q3 September 2019, supported by efficiency and cost reduction.

HDFC Life Insurance Company down 0.25%. The company reported 6.1% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 327.83 crore on 89.6% increase in total income to Rs 16,426.03 crore in Q2 FY21 over Q2 FY20. Net premium income during the second quarter rose by 34.9% to Rs 10056.71 crore as against Rs 7456.87 crore in the same period last year.

Britannia Industries tumbled 5.27%. The FMCG company posted a 23% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 498.13 crore in Q2 September 2020 from Rs 404.22 crore reported in Q2 September 2019. Consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 3,419.11 crore in Q2 September 2020, rising 12% from Rs 3,048.84 recorded in Q2 September 2019.

L&T Technology Services rose 0.48%. LTTS' consolidated net profit slipped 19.4% to Rs 166.30 crore on 6.3% decrease in net sales to Rs 1,313.80 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. At the end of the second quarter, the patents portfolio of L&T Technology Services stood at 550, out of which 404 are co-authored with its customers and the rest are filed by LTTS. The company's employee strength stood at 15,902 by the end of Q2 FY21. Meanwhile, the board has declared an interim dividend of Rs 7.50 per equity share. The record date is 27 October 2020.

Tata Metaliks added 3.2%after company's net profit soared 250.57% to Rs 82 crore on 1.6% rise in net sales to Rs 519.63 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia were mixed on Tuesday as the stalemate over the fresh US fiscal stimulus continued on weigh on investor sentiment. Concurrently, record daily coronavirus infections in Europe ignited concerns about more severe lockdowns in the region.

China's latest one-year and five-year loan prime rates (LPRs) were left unchanged on Tuesday. At present, the one-year LPR sits at 3.85% while the five-year rate is at 4.65%

The US stock market finished session mostly lower on Monday, 19 October 2020, as risk sentiments undermined due to opposition to a sizable pandemic aid package hardened in the Republican-controlled US Senate.

President Donald Trump, who is trailing far behind his challenger Joe Biden in the polls, has proposed a $1.8 trillion package and indicated he would go higher, while Democrats in the House of Representatives have approved a $2.2 trillion measure. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has repeatedly signaled he would not support a massive package.

A National Association of Home Builders survey released on Monday showed record optimism in the industry but investors were nonetheless focused on the dwindling time Congress and White House have to agree on a spending package to boost the coronavirus-ravaged US economy.

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