Market drifts higher in early trade; breadth negative

Key benchmark indices are trading firm in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 241.48 points or 0.41% at 58,732.41. The Nifty 50 index was up 52.55 points or 0.3% at 17,449.45. Asian stocks are trading lower.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.13%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.39%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is negative. On the BSE, 1125 shares rose and 1389 shares fell. A total of 111 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in news:

HCL Technologies rose 1.41%. HCL Technologies announced a five-year, digital transformation deal with MKS Instruments Inc., a global provider of instruments, systems, subsystems and solutions for advanced manufacturing processes, to improve performance, productivity and speed to market.

SBI Cards and Payment Services dropped 4.31%. CA Rover Holdings, an affiliate of Carlyle Asia may reportedly sell 3.2 crore shares in the company through a block trade. Shares are being offered at Rs 1,021 to Rs 1,072.3 each.

Cadila Healthcare fell 0.47%. Zydus Healthcare, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cadila Healthcare has entered into an agreement with Integrace Private Limited ('Purchaser') to sell two brands viz. Mifegest and Cytolog.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (Glenmark) rose 0.45%. The company has received final approval by the United States Food & Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) for Clindamycin Phosphate Foam, 1%, the generic version of Evoclin1 Foam, 1%, of Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Kitex Garments gained 2.27%. Kitex Garments has signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Telangana State Government for investing Rs. 2,406 crores in the state of Telangana. The investment is planned at Kakatiya Mega Textile Park, Warangal and Industrial Park, Sitarampur, Rangareddy District.

Action Construction Equipment rose 1.45%. Action Construction Equipment launched its Qualified Institutions Placement on Monday. The floor price has been fixed at Rs 254.55 per share for the offer.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks are trading lower on Tuesday as investors continue to monitor the situation surrounding embattled developer China Evergrande Group. Japanese stocks declined as they returned to trade following a Monday holiday. Markets in mainland China and South Korea are closed on Tuesday for a holiday.

Wall Street fell in a broad sell-off on Monday, as fear of contagion from potential collapse of China's Evergrande drove investors out of equities in a flight for safety.

The US Federal Reserve is due to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday as investors look for cues on when it will begin pulling back on its bond purchases.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference Wednesday at the conclusion of the two-day meeting. Powell has said the so-called tapering could occur this year, but investors are waiting for more specifics, particularly after mixed economic data released since Powell's last comments.

Back home, the domestic equity benchmarks ended near the day's low amid heavy sell off on Monday. Weak global cues spoiled sentiment. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 524.96 points or 0.89% to 58,490.93. The Nifty 50 index lost 188.25 points or 1.07% to 17,396.90.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 92.54 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,626.58 crore in the Indian equity market on 20 September, provisional data showed.

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