Nifty reclaims 13,300 mark; breadth remains weak

Benchmark indices registered sharp recovery in afternoon trade. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 40.11 points or 0.09% at 45,513.85. The Nifty 50 index slipped 27.10 points or 0.20% at 13,301.30.

Shares corrected across the globe on concerns that a fast-spreading new coronavirus strain found in Britain could disrupt a global economic recovery. Investors also locked profits ahead of year-end holidays.

The broader market underperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.58%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.80%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 833 shares rose and 1,963 shares fell. A total of 151 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 29 stocks advanced while 21 stocks declined.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 323.55 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 486.12 crore in the Indian equity market on 21 December 2020, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 7,73,64,959 with 17,02,600 deaths. India reported 2,92,518 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,46,111 deaths while 96,36,487 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

In the backdrop of a new strain of the coronavirus emerging in the United Kingdom, the Maharashtra government decided to impose a night curfew from 22 December in all the municipal areas of the state. The curfew will be in place from 11 pm to 6 am till 5 January 2020.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index fell 0.81% to 29,218. The index briefly fell below 29,000 level.

Punjab National Bank (down 4.40%), Bank of Baroda (down 2.47%), IDFC First Bank (down 2.34%), IndusInd Bank (down 1.95%) and RBL Bank (down 1.53%) declined.

Gainers & Losers:

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zones (up 2.63%), PowerGrid Corporation of India (up 2.21%), Bharti Airtel (up 2.21%), HCL Technologies (up 1.95%) and Tech Mahindra (up 1.88%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.

Tata Motors (down 2.98%), Bajaj Finance (down 2.35%), HDFC (down 1.74%), ONGC (down 1.73%) and IndusInd Bank (down 1.44%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.

Stocks in Spotlight:

GTPL Hathway fell 1.43%. The telecom services company said that it has increased its stake in subsidiary, GTPL Abhilash, to 70.88% from 51% earlier upon conversion of 17.06 lakh cumulative convertible preference shares (CCPS) into equal number of equity shares of Rs 10 each on 21 December 2020.

JSW Steel gained 1.78%. JSW Steel Italy, the company's subsidiary, entered into a share purchase agreement (SPA) dated 21 December 2020 with Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), South Africa, for acquisition of 30.73% share capital of GSI Lucchini for a cash consideration of 1 million euros. The balance 69.67% of GSI is held by JSW Steel Italy. GSI's manufacturing unit is located in Piombino, Tuscany Region in Italy.

Global Markets:

European markets opened higher after yesterday's rout. Britain's Q3 GDP grew by a record 16%. The country is yet to make up for its 18.8% slump in the April-June period when much of the economy was shut down.

Trading was cautious amid the ongoing concerns around a fast-spreading COVID-19 mutation, that was first identified in Britain. The new variant forced the U.K. government to shut down London and other parts of southeast England and backtrack on the mixing of households over the Christmas break.

Meanwhile, the U.K. and EU remain deadlocked over post-Brexit trade relations as the 31 December 2020 deadline approaches, with disputes over issues such as fisheries plaguing talks.

Asian markets declined on Tuesday, as developments surrounding the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

In US, the S&P 500 closed lower on Monday, having clawed its way back from steep losses early in the session as investors juggled the outbreak of an ominous new strain of COVID-19 with the passage of a long-anticipated stimulus package.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37.4 points, or 0.12%, to 30,216.45, the S&P 500 lost 14.49 points, or 0.39%, to 3,694.92 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 13.12 points, or 0.1%, to 12,742.52.

The US House of Representatives passed a $892 billion coronavirus aid package aimed at throwing a lifeline to the nation's pandemic-battered economy. The relief bill, which will become law if passed by the Senate and signed by President Donald Trump, includes $600 payments to most Americans as well as additional payments to the millions of people thrown out of work during the pandemic.

The White House has said Trump will sign the bill. The legislation also expands a small-business lending program by about $284 billion and steers money to schools, airlines, transit systems and vaccine distribution. The small-business loan and grant program, known as the paycheck protection program, will exclude publicly traded companies from eligibility.

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