Indices trade firm on positive Asian signals

The market barometers traded near the day's high in mid-morning trade. At 11:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 405.53 points or 1.08% at 37,824.52. The Nifty 50 index added 111.85 points or 1.01% at 11,134.05.

Asian shares advanced as EU leaders agreed on a 750 billion euros package aimed at funding post-pandemic relief efforts in the region.

Hopes for a coronavirus vaccine also lifted risk appetite. The first set of results from early-stage clinical trials of the Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine candidate show the vaccine is safe and induces an immune reaction.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.39% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.48%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1342 shares rose and 947 shares fell. A total of 135 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Segment:

Bharti Airtel (down 0.82%) and Vodafone Idea (down 7.41%) declined.

At the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues hearing yesterday, the Supreme Court reportedly indicated it may consider a longer time frame for repayment of AGR dues.

The apex court reportedly confirmed the government assessment of AGR dues that telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea need to pay and reserved its order on how much time they'll get to do so. The two companies offered to pay the money in 15 years while the government stood by its proposal to give them 20 years.

The three-judge bench, led by Justice Arun Mishra upheld the amount to be paid by Bharti Airtel at Rs 25,976 crore and by Vodafone Idea at Rs 50,399 crore, media reports said. The dues include licence fees, spectrum usage charges (SUC), interest and penalties.

Media reports further suggested that the SC bench refused to countenance any representation from the telcos on a reassessment of dues or excluding SUC of nearly Rs 71,000 crore from the over Rs 1.6 lakh crore liabilities.

Meanwhlile, Vodafone Idea has reportedly missed the July 15 deadline to pay over Rs 1,200 crore to the Department of Telecommunications as licence fee and spectrum usage charges for April-June period.

Global Markets:

Most Asian markets advanced on Tuesday after investor sentiment was supported by a slew of positive news on the coronavirus vaccine and fiscal stimulus fronts.

Meanwhile, European Union (EU) leaders have reportedly reached a deal on a 750 billion euro ($857 billion) recovery fund to help the region recover from the coronavirus crisis.

EU heads of state had been locked in talks since Friday morning to discuss the proposed recovery fund and the EU's next budget, but there had been deep divisions over the size and composition of the fund. Early Tuesday morning, however, the leaders reached a breakthrough agreement.

US stocks climbed on Monday after erasing early losses as tech giants rallied and investors focused on positive COVID-19 vaccine news.

A UK biotech firm, Synairgen, reportedly soared as much as 552% on Monday after announcing that its drug was associated with a significantly lower chance of a patient requiring a ventilator or dying.

AstraZeneca shares slumped after results of an early-stage trial indicated that participants who received the experimental vaccine had increased levels of antibodies and T cells targeting the virus. The company's shares traded as much as 10% higher in London as traders waited for the results. Yet the shares erased gains and turned lower in New York after researchers reiterated that the data was only preliminary and analysts reportedly said the results came in were below par.

Investors are also keeping an eye on Washington, where lawmakers are starting to hammer out a rescue package to replace some of the expiring benefits earlier versions contained.

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