Benchmarks off day's high; Nazara Tech hits lower circuit

The main stock indices trimmed gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty held above 14,700 mark. The undertone of the market was positive amid strong cues from other Asian stock markets.

At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, surged 756.19 points or 1.54% at 49,764.69. The Nifty 50 index advanced 227.60 points or 1.57% at 14,734.90.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.65% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.60%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,511 shares rose and 1,243 shares fell. A total of 174 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.56% to 20.3275. The Nifty March futures were trading at 14,809.30, at a premium of 74.40 points as compared with the spot at 14,734.90.

The Nifty option chain for 29 April 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 20.4 lakh contracts at the 15,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 32.8 lakh contracts was seen at 14,000 strike price.

New Listing:

Shares of Nazara Technologies hit a lower circuit of 20% at Rs 1576.80 at 12:30 IST on the BSE. The stock was still trading at a premium of 43.22% over the initial public offer (IPO) price of Rs 1101. The stock was listed at Rs 1971, a premium of 79.02% to the IPO price. The stock hit a high of Rs 2026.90 in initial trades. On the BSE, 6.16 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far.

The IPO of Nazara Technologies received bids for 51.25 crore shares as against 29.20 lakh shares on offer, according to the stock exchange data. The issue was subscribed 175.46 times. The issue opened for bidding on 17 March 2021 and closed on 19 March 2021. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 1100-1101 per share.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index rose 1.83% to 12,100.85. The index added 2.40% in two sessions.

Torrent Pharma (up 3.38%), Cipla (up 2.86%), Cadila Healthcare (up 2.40%), Divi's Laboratories (up 2.39%) and Aurobindo Pharma (up 2.36%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Biocon gained 1.90% after the company announced a partnership between Biocon Pharma, its wholly owned subsidiary and Libbs Farmaceutica, a leading pharmaceuticals company in Brazil. As part of the out-licensing deal with Libbs, Biocon Pharma will be responsible for drug development and manufacturing, while Libbs will leverage its deep expertise and reach in Brazil to import, distribute and market, subject to approvals from the Brazilian health regulatory agency, ANVISA. This partnership, which marks the entry of Biocon's generic formulations into Latin America, builds upon a successful association with Libbs, which began in 2017 to launch biosimilar Trastuzumab in Brazil.

Vascon Engineers rose 1.07% after the company said it has received letter of acceptance for two projects amounting to Rs 515.63 crore from Uttar Pradesh Public Works Department for establishment of new medical colleges.

Politics:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address election rally in Puducherry today, 30 March 2021 to seek support for the NDA in the union territory.

All eyes will be on outcome of state assembly elections. Polls are to be held for 294 seats in West Bengal, 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, 140 seats in Kerala, 126 seats in Assam and 30 seats in the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The eight-phase election in West Bengal which began from March 27 will continue till April 29. Elections in Kerala will be held in a single phase on April 6. Puducherry will vote in a single phase on April 6. Elections in Tamil Nadu will be held in a single phase on April 6. Assam will vote in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6. The counting of votes for all states will be held on May 2 and the results will be declared the same day.

Coronavirus Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 12,76,43,380 with 27,92,044 deaths. India reported 5,40,720 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,62,114 deaths while 1,13,93,021 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India saw 68,020 new coronavirus cases in a span of 24 hours on Monday, the highest single-day rise so far this year, taking the country's COVID-19 tally to above 1.20 crore, according to Union Health Ministry data. Registering a steady increase for the 19th day in a row, the active cases have increased to 5,21,808, which comprise 4.33% of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 94.32%, the data stated.

Maharashtra on Monday added 31,643 fresh infections, but the lower tally was attributed to reduced testing because of Holi. The state has recorded close to six lakh cases this month and registered over 2,100 deaths. State officials said that for now, local trains will continue to run but fresh restrictions will be introduced to reduce overcrowding at restaurants, malls, public places, private offices and pubs.