Indices trade almost flat; breadth remains strong

The benchmark indices were trading near the flat line in afternoon trade. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 29.89 points or 0.06% at 49,716.32. The Nifty 50 index slipped 5.30 points or 0.04% at 14,868.50.

Reliance Industries (down 0.91%), ICICI Bank (down 1.14%) and Bajaj Finance (down 2.37%) were major drags.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.26%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.86%.

Buyers overpowered the sellers. On the BSE, 1,704 shares rose and 1,102 shares fell. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 13,39,71,287 with 29,02,493 deaths. India reported 9,79,608 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,67,642 deaths while 1,19,13,292 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Ten states including Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab have shown a steep rise in the daily COVID-19 cases, accounting for 84.21% of the 1,26,789 new infections, the health ministry said on Thursday. The national weekly COVID-19 positivity rate has increased by 6.21% from 2.19% to 8.40% in the first seven days of March and April, the ministry said.

Gainers & Losers:

Cipla (up 4.04%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 3.20%), Hindustan Unilever (up 2.80%), Tata Motors (up 2.34%) and Titan Company (up 1.99%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.

Tata Steel (down 3.08%), Bajaj Finance (down 2.37%), Hindalco Industries (down 2.14%), JSW Steel (down 2.04%) and UPL (down 1.82%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.

Stocks in Spotlight:

CEAT rose 0.64%. The company announced its plan to acquire an additional 3.47% stake Tyresnmore. CEAT has entered into a third addendum agreement to the existing share subscription and shareholders' agreement with Tyresnmore Online, an associate of the company and other parties, for making a further investment of up to Rs 2.4 crore in Tyresnmore for an additional 3.47% of the post issue total share capital. Upon completion of the investment, the total holding of CEAT in Tyresnmore on a fully diluted basis would be 44.17%.

A2Z Infra Engineering surged 6.11%. As per the bulk deal data on the NSE, well-known investor Shankar Sharma sold 12.13 lakh equity shares, or 0.69% equity, of A2Z Infra Engineering at Rs 4.35 per share on Thursday, 8 April 2021.

Global Markets:

Most shares in Europe and Asia declined on Friday. In the US, the S&P 500 rose to another record high on Thursday amid a strong rally in major technology stocks.

Federal Reverse chairman Jerome Powell signaled on Thursday that the economic rebound from the pandemic still has room to go as the recovery thus far hasn't been well-rounded. Powell also repeated that inflation is not expected to be serious even though near-term price pressures are likely.

Data showed an unexpected rise in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits. A total of 744,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time during the week ended April 3, the Labor Department said Thursday.

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