Indices trade with minor cuts; metal stocks advance

Key equity barometers continued to trade with minor cuts in early afternoon trade. At 12:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 12.48 points or 0.03% at 38,831.40. The Nifty 50 index was up 10.30 points or 0.09% at 11,482.55.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.45% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.66%. Both these indices outperformed the benchmark Sensex.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1488 shares rose and 1083 shares fell. A total of 165 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 23,901,014 with 819,609 deaths. India reported 7,07,267 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 59,449 deaths while 24,67,758 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.34% to 19.38. The Nifty August 2020 futures were trading at 11,467.65, at a discount of 14.9 points compared with the spot at 11,482.55.

The Nifty option chain for 27 August 2020 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 59.81 lakh contracts at the 11,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 52 lakh contracts was seen at 11,400 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 1.17% to 2,536.90. The index fell 0.74% yesterday.

Mishra Dhatu Nigam (up 5.53%), MOIL (up 3.35%), NMDC (up 3.34%), Welspun Corp (up 2.02%), Coal India (up 1.96%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.62%), Ratnamani Metals Tube (up 1.53%) and Hindustan Copper (up 1.45%) were the top index gainers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Affle (India) hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 2943.35. The company announced that it has won the contract from the Singapore Government to build a 'digital & cloud-based commuter survey platform' for Land Transport Authority (LTA). The total value of the contract is over $1 million.

Va Tech Wabag dropped 4.22% to Rs 217.70. The company has approved a preferential issue of 75 lakh shares aggregating to Rs 120 crore from three high net individuals (HNIs). The HNIs are: Rekha Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (purchased 50 lakh shares for a total of Rs 80 crore), Basera Home Finance (purchased 15 lakh shares for Rs 24 crore) and Sushma Anand Jain & Anand Jaikumar Jain (Joint Holding) (purchased 10 lakh shares worth Rs 16 crore).

Acrysil hit an upper circuit limit of 5% at Rs 128.35. Acrysil, largest manufacturer of 'quartz kitchen sinks' in India and Asia, has announced that the company is expanding its production capacity of its quartz kitchen sinks by 20% through brownfield expansion at its Bhavnagar plant in Gujarat. The proposed capex will increase the manufacturing capability of quartz kitchen sinks by about 1,00,000 units per annum to 6,00,000 units p.a. The purpose of the expansion is to meet the increasing demand from the export market.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News