Nifty trades near 15,200 mark; HDFC twins drag

Benchmark indices were trading with modest losses in afternoon trade. At 13:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 236.47 points or 0.46% at 51,208.18. The Nifty 50 index lost 53.50 points or 0.35% at 15,192.10. A rise in US bond yields spoilt investor sentiment globally.

HDFC (down 2.18%), HDFC Bank (down 1.23%) and Reliance Industries (down 0.74%) were major drags.

The broader market was trading firm. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.79%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,585 shares rose and 1,215 shares fell. A total of 192 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,088.70 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 392.91 crore in the Indian equity market on 3 March 2021, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 11,51,65,467 with 25,59,576 deaths. India reported 1,73,413 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,57,435 deaths while 1,08,26,075 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Gainers & Losers:

Tata Steel (up 5.71%), Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) (up 4.14%), Bajaj Finserv (up 3.82%), JSW Steel (up 3.70%) and Axis Bank (up 3.36%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.

Hero MotoCorp (down 1.42%), Bajaj Auto (down 1.05%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 1.03%), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (down 0.72%) and BPCL (down 0.68%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bajaj Electricals was up 2.34% and Mahindra Logistics (MLL) rallied 5.64%. MLL signed an agreement with Bajaj Electricals for innovative logistics optimisation and outsourcing. This deal is a complete end-to-end re-design and outsourcing of Bajaj Electricals' entire logistics by Mahindra Logistics, with the twin objectives of achieving enhanced & industry-best service levels, coupled with a logistics cost saving in excess of 25%. The total contract value of this deal will be in excess of Rs 1,000 crore over the next 5 years.

V.S.T. Tillers Tractors advanced 2.20% after the company entered into a share purchase agreement (SPA) for an investment of $1,500,000 (about Rs 11,07,15,000) in series A preferred stock of Zimeno Inc. Zimeno Inc is an unlisted company incorporated in the United States of America (USA). Zimeno Inc is in the development of electric autonomous tractor. After the allotment of Series A preferred stock, the company's shareholding in Zimeno will be about 2% on fully diluted basis.

Alembic Pharmaceuticals fell 0.69%. The drug maker announced that its joint venture (JV), Aleor Dermaceuticals has received the final approval from the US drug regulator for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for testosterone gel, 1.62%. The approved ANDA is therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug product (RLD), AndroGel 1.62%, of AbbVie Inc. (AbbVie).

Testosterone gel, 1.62% (20.25 mg/1.25 gm actuation) is indicated for replacement therapy in adult males for conditions associated with a deficiency or absence of endogenous testosterone: primary hypogonadism (congenital or acquired) and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (congenital or acquired). Aleor Dermaceuticals (Aleor) had previously received tentative approval for this ANDA.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia declined on Thursday following an overnight slide on the Wall Street as bond yields rose again.

US stocks posted heavy losses on Wednesday as rising bond yields spooked investors. The weakness came as the 10-year Treasury yield extended gains. The benchmark rate climbed to a high of 1.49% on Wednesday before retreating slightly. Last week, the yield surged to a high of 1.6% in a move that some described as a "flash" spike.

The U.S. economic recovery continued at a modest pace over the first weeks of this year, with businesses optimistic about the months to come and demand for housing "robust," but only slow improvement in the job market, the Federal Reserve reported.

In oil developments, OPEC and its non-OPEC partners - an energy alliance sometimes referred to as OPEC+ - are expected to convene via video conference on Thursday to discuss how to manage supply to the market.

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