Indices trade higher; PSU banks correct

Benchmark indices continued to trade with modest gains in mid-afternoon trade. PSU banks corrected after advancing in the past two sessions. At 14:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 171.70 points or 0.42% at 40,603.30. The Nifty 50 index added 35.15 points or 0.30% at 11,908.20.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.29% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.13%.

The market breadth was almost even. On the BSE, 1223 shares rose and 1339 shares fell. A total of 164 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.

Numbers to Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee rose to 73.49 compared with its previous closing 73.37.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 5.932% compared with previous closing of 5.940% in the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 04 December 2020 settlement shed 0.14% to Rs 50,615.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for December 2020 settlement lost 38 cents to $42.24 a barrel. The contract declined 0.72% or 31 cents to settle at $42.62 in the previous trading session.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index fell 1.36% to 1,305.50. The index had risen 4.5% in the past two sessions.

Bank Of Baroda (down 3.9%), Central Bank of India (down 2.68%), Bank of Maharashtra (down 2.1%), Punjab National Bank (down 1.97%), Union Bank of India (down 1.47%), Jammu and Kashmir Bank (down 1.35%), Bank of India (down 1.23%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 1.08%) and Canara Bank (down 0.89%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Zensar Technologies rose 3.45% to Rs 191.80 after the company said it has divested its non-core third-party maintenance (TPM) business to Service Express for a consideration of $10 million. The deal is in line with Zensar's commitment to focus on and invest in its core businesses which comprised 96% of its revenues as on Q1FY21.

Granules India shed 0.13% to Rs 390.95. The pharma company reported 70.8% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 164 crore on a 22.7% rise in income from operations to Rs 858 crore in Q2 FY21 over Q2 FY20. Operating profit surged 78.6% to Rs 256 crore in Q2 September 2020 from Rs 144 crore in Q2 September 2019. Operating profit margin was at 29.9% as on 30 September 2020 as against 20.5% as on 30 September 2019.

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