Sensex tanks 622 pts on weak Asian signals

The benchmark indices continued to trade with significant losses in mid-morning trade. At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 622.34 points or 1.65% at 37,046.08. The Nifty 50 index was down 188.30 points or 1.69% at 10,943.55.

Global investors' sentiment took a hit after US Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida told the media on Wednesday that the U.S. economy remains in a deep hole of joblessness and weak demand, and called for more fiscal stimulus. Clarida added that the central bank will not raise interest rates until it sees 2% inflation for at least a few months and full employment is reached. Meanwhile, rising COVID-19 infections in Europe and uncertainties over U.S. presidential elections also worried investors.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 2.01% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 2.06%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 439 shares rose and 1848 shares fell. A total of 110 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index fell 1.06% to 11,561.80. The index has lost 2.65% in two sessions.

Divi's Labs (down 2.17%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 1.91%), Cipla (down 1.88%), Biocon (down 1.8%), Alkem Laboratories (down 1.29%) and Sun Pharma (down 0.91%) declined while Dr. Reddy's Labs (up 0.50%) bucked the trend.

Cadila Healthcare slipped 1.04% to Rs 379.9. The company said that it has received tentative approval from the USFDA to market Palbociclib Capsules in various strengths. Palbociclib is an anti-cancer medicine that interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body. The drug will be manufactured at the group's formulation manufacturing facility at the SEZ, Ahmedabad.

Stocks in Spotlight:

IIFL Securities slipped 3.13% to Rs 38.75. The company said it has agreed to acquire an additional 6.25% stake in Trendlyne from one of the existing investor. Post-acquisition, IIFL Securities shall hold 20.55% of the share capital of Trendlyne on fully diluted basis, it added. Pursuant to this Giskard Datatech (Trendlyne) shall become an associate of the company.

Ircon International shed 0.06% to Rs 80.30. The company said that it has secured works of total 9 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) valuing more than Rs 400 crore from Ministry of Railways, Government of India. The scope of work is to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services for construction of ROBs in lieu of existing Level Crossings. The period of completion is 24 months from the date of signing of MoU with Zonal Railways, the company said. The work has been awarded by the Ministry of Railways through a competitive bidding among PSUs, it added.

Global Markets:

Asian markets mostly declined on Thursday, with South Korea declining the most.

The Kospi in South Korea dropped more than 2% after tensions on the Korean Peninsula resurfaced. A South Korean official has been shot dead and burned by North Korean troops, said the South's defence ministry which condemned the "brutal act".

The US stock market finished volatile session steep lower on Wednesday, 23 September 2020, as risk-off selling triggered after data showing a cooling of U.S. business activity and Federal Reserve officials highlighted the need for Congress to agree on a new round of stimulus to support the economic recovery.

Investors were disappointed that Washington lawmakers haven't reached an agreement on more stimulus and uneasy over speculation that the US presidential election could drag on due to slow vote counts or legal challenges.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the central bank was not planning any "major" changes to its Main Street Lending Program, while saying that both the Fed and Congress need to "stay with it" in working to bolster the economic recovery.

US composite business activity index slipped to 54.4 in September from 54.6 in the previous month, IHS Markit said Wednesday. The flash services purchasing managers index inched down to 54.6 from 55 in August. The flash manufacturing index rose to 53.5 in September from 53.1 in the prior month. This is a 20-month high. Any reading above the 50 neutral mark indicates improving conditions.

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