Sensex, Nifty trade with minor losses

Key market barometers continued to trade with small losses in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty was trading a tad below the 12,250 level. At 14:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 61.52 points or 0.14% at 41,585.96. The Nifty 50 index was down 15.95 points or 0.13% at 12,246.80.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.06% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was flat. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth continued to favor the bears with 1257 shares losing against 1087 shares advancing on the BSE. A total of 172 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 29 stocks advanced while 21 stocks declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

IFCI surged 8.76% to Rs 6.83 after the company said it sold its entire 2.44% stake in NSE. IFCI in an exchange filing during market hours said that it has divested its entire stake in National Stock Exchange (NSE), comprising of 1.20 crore equity shares, or 2.44% equity. The company said it has realized approximately Rs 805.60 crore, representing about 82% of the total committed amount. Process for receipt of approval for remaining quantity is underway, it added.

Solara Active Pharma Sciences rose 2.52% to Rs 450. The active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturer on 23 December 2019 said the Mumbai bench of NCLT on December 20 had pronounced an order sanctioning the scheme of merger between Strides Chemicals (SCPL), Solara Active Pharma Sciences and their respective shareholders. The appointed date for the merger is September 1, 2018, it added.

In September 2018, the company's board had approved the amalgamation of the company's wholly-owned subsidiary Strides Chemicals with the company by way of a scheme of amalgamation.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.577 % at 14:15 IST compared with 6.562% in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 71.175, compared with its close of 71.1825 during the previous trading session.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2020 settlement was up 7 cents at $66.46 a barrel. The contract rose 25 cents or 0.37% to settle at $66.39 a barrel during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2019 settlement rose 0.26% to Rs 38,555.

Politics:

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s political troubles deepened with the party losing control of the mineral-rich eastern state of Jharkhand just months after losing the crucial state of Maharashtra.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) legislature party will reportedly elect its leader at a meeting in Ranchi on Tuesday. JMM fought the election in alliance with Congress and Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) to win a comfortable majority with 47 seats.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) won 30 seats, Congress 16 and RJD one seat in the election. BJP, which went solo, won 25 seats.

Legislative Assembly elections were held in Jharkhand from 30 November to 20 December 2019 to elect the 81 members of Legislative Assembly. The election results were declared on Monday.

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