The domestic equity benchmarks ended with minor cuts on Wednesday. The Nifty closed below the 17,250 mark. Pharma and healthcare stocks bucked the broader market weakness and edged higher.
As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, shed 90.99 points or 0.16% to 57,806.49. The Nifty 50 index lost 19.65 points or 0.11% to 17,213.60.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.13% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.49%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2043 shares rose and 1334 shares fell. A total of 97 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
In last 24 hours, India added 9,195 new COVID-19 cases taking India's active caseload to 77,002 patients. India has recorded 781 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus across 21 states and UTs so far out of which 241 people have recovered or migrated. India's active caseload currently stands at 77,002. Active cases account for less than 1% of total cases, currently at 0.22%; lowest since March 2020. Recovery rate currently stands at 98.40%; highest since March 2020.
Economy:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on December 28 cleared the rules for tightening initial public offerings (IPOs) near the end of a year in which companies raised a record Rs.1.2 lakh crore in first-time share sales.
These rules will address gaps like conditions for the objective of IPOs, utilisation of proceeds from the share sales, price bands, anchor investors' lock-in period and the size of the stake a majority shareholder may sell on listing day.
Currently, shareholders can sell their entire shareholding through an offer for sale, but the market regulator has now mandated that shareholders who hold 20% or more cannot exit more than 50% of their stake on listing day.
Buzzing Segment:
Shares of domestic pharmaceutical companies gained on Wednesday as the Drug Controller General of India approved the anti-COVID-19 pill Molnupiravir for emergency use in the country on Tuesday.
Strides Pharma (down 1.08%) will launch the capsule immediately while other homegrown pharma companies such as Aurobindo Pharma (up 0.13%), Natco Pharma (up 1.07%), Dr Reddy's (up 1.54%) and Cipla (up 0.04%) have announced rolling out their generic versions of the drug shortly.
Torrent Pharma (up 1.19%) has announced that it is introducing MSD (a trade name of Merck & Co., Inc, Kenilworth, NJ, USA) and Ridgeback's molnupiravir under the brand name Molnutor in India.
According to the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, 13 companies in India will reportedly manufacture the drug approved for restricted use under emergency situation for treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 and who have high risk of progression of the disease.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) shed 0.95% to Rs 830.70. Mahindra Engineering and Chemical Products, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, has agreed to sell its entire stake aggregating 49% in Mahindra Tsubaki Conveyor Systems. M&M has also subscribed to 1,60,74,000 shares of ReNew Sunlight Energy, constituting 31.2% of the company. RSEPL has become an associate of M&M.
Vedanta slipped 1.70% to Rs 830.70. Vedanta Resources' Zambia copper unit, under provisional liquidation since May 2019, has been run down and is on the verge of collapse, CEO Sunil Duggal reportedly said. The unit known as Konkola Copper Mines requires $1.5 billion to make it a world-class asset, he reported added.
Amara Raja Batteries rose 0.92% to Rs 830.70. The company on Wednesday announced plans to invest in InoBat Auto, a European technology developer and manufacturer of premium innovative batteries for E-mobility.
Shree Ganesh Biotech (India) slumped 6.54% to Rs 150. The company fixed 11 February 2022 as the record date for the proposed 10-for-1 stock split.
United Drilling Tools (UDTL) jumped 4.99% to Rs 440. The company said it has received registration for design patents for three products in the UK.
Global Markets:
European stocks edged higher while most Asian stocks declined on Wednesday as holiday-thinned trading continued in the region. Investors assessed the impact of the omicron Covid variant.
In the UK at the start of this week, infections were still topping 100,000, while France has also reported cases above that figure for the first time. France reported a record high of 179,807 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday.
A study from South Africa found the immune response of people infected with the omicron Covid variant appears to increase protection against delta more than fourfold and could displace it.
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