Sensex, Nifty trade almost flat

The domestic equities hovered near the flat line in afternoon trade. The Nifty was trading above 14,400 mark. Gains were capped amid concerns that climbing new COVID-19 cases in the country could derail the economic recovery.

At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 32.40 points or 0.07% at 48,113.07. The Nifty 50 index gained 7.50 points or 0.05% at 14,413.65.

Axis Bank (up 2.49%), Reliance Industries (up 0.36%) and PowerGrid Corporation of India (up 4.06%) supported the indices.

The broader market outperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.80%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.07%.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1,774 shares rose and 1,034 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 909.56 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 849.98 crore in the Indian equity market on 22 April 2021, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 14,47,67,231 with 30,72,522 deaths. India reported 24,28,616 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,86,920 deaths while 1,36,48,159 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Gainers & Losers:

PowerGrid Corporation of India (up 4.06%), NTPC (up 2.78%), Axis Bank (up 2.49%), IndusInd Bank (up 2.11%) and SBI Life Insurance Company (up 1.74%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 2.36%), Shree Cement (down 1.80%), Grasim Industries (down 1.63%), Cipla (down 1.61%) and Britannia Industries (down 1.51%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.

Nifty Result Today:

HCL Technologies was up 0.19% ahead of quarter financial result today.

Earnings Impact:

Cyient rose 0.30%. On a consolidated basis, Cyient's net profit rose 8.07% to Rs 103.10 crore on 4.67% rise in net sales to Rs 1,093.10 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q3 FY21. The group revenue stood at $149.9 million in Q4 FY21, growing of 6% Q-o-Q (quarter-on-quarter) (4.7% in CC) from Q3 FY21 and 0.4% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) in Q4 FY20. Services revenue was at $119.60 milion in Q4 FY21, rising 3.7% Q-o-Q (2.2% in CC) from Q3 FY21. DLM revenue during the quarter stood at $30.3 million, jumping 16.4% Q-o-Q, while recording a growth of 78.6% Y-o-Y. The board has recommended final dividend of Rs 17 per share for the FY 2020-2021.

Indus Towers lost 0.90%. The company reported 38% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,364 crore on 3% rise in revenue to Rs 6,492 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. EBITDA increased by 17% to Rs 3,413 crore in Q4 March 2021 as against Rs 2,906 crore in Q4 March 2020. The operating free cash flow rose 2% to Rs. 1,494 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. Indus Towers added net 3,715 towers across 22 telecom circles in India during the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter of the financial year 2020-21.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Torrent Power advanced 2.58% after the company said it secured a long-term power purchase arrangement (PPA) for 300 MW capacity of solar power generation. The project will be set up in Gujarat at an estimated cost of Rs 1,250 crore. It is expected to be commissioned within 18 months from the PPA date. The PPA term is 25 years from the scheduled commercial operation date.

HDFC fell 0.06%. The housing financer concluded the sale of 47,75,241 equity shares of Re 1 each, representing 24.48% stake of Good Host Spaces to Baskin Lake Investments, an affiliate of global private equity Warburg Pincus, at Rs 452.71 per equity share, aggregating to a total consideration of Rs 216.18 crore.

Global Markets:

European shares declined while Asian stocks advanced on Friday. US markets ended lower amid reports that the US government will propose a hike in capital gains tax rate on wealthy individuals.

US President Joe Biden is planning a capital gains tax hike to as high as 43.4% for wealthy Americans. The proposal would hike the capital gains rate to 39.6% for those earning $1 million or more, up from 20% currently, as per reports.

On the economic front, the number of Americans applying for unemployment aid fell last week to 547,000, a new low since the pandemic struck and a further encouraging sign that layoffs are slowing on the strength of an improving job market. The Labor Department said on Thursday that applications declined 39,000 from a revised 586,000 a week earlier.

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