At 11:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 174.16 points or 0.36% at 48,427.33. The Nifty 50 index was up 51.85 points or 0.36% at 14,548.35.
In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.29% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was gained 0.46%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is strong. On the BSE, 1661 shares rose and 988 shares fell. A total of 156 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 153,977,028 with 3,223,800 global deaths.
India reported 34,87,229 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 226,188 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. In last 24 hours, India reported 3,82,315 new cases and 3,780 deaths.
RBI Governor Speech:
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das in his address to the media said that wide-ranging and swift actions are needed against the spread of the second COVID-19 wave. Central bank is monitoring emerging developments. Das said the global economic outlook is highly uncertain and clouded with downside risks. Financial markets regained ground on COVID vaccine optimism.
The RBI will continue to monitor the emerging situation and deploy all instruments at its command, Das said. Disruption in manufacturing units so far is minimal. Consumption demand is holding up, he added.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Pharma index jumped 2.75% to 13,598.55 after yesterday's decline. The pharmaceutical index saw buying after slipping 2% in yesterday's trade.
Lupin (up 7.68%), Alkem Laboratories (up 4.71%), Sun Pharmaceutical (up 3.93%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 3.55%), Cadila Healthcare (up 3.14%), Torrent Pharmaceutical (up 2.18%), Dr. Reddy's (up 1.8%) and Divi's Laboratories (up 1.3%) were top gainers in pharmaceutical space.
Earnings Impact:
Adani Total Gas fell 0.73%. The company's consolidated net profit jumped 18.6% to Rs 144.82 crore on 26.4% surge in net sales to Rs 584.48 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. On a standalone basis, the combined volume of CNG and PNG stood at 166 MMSCM (Million Metric Standard Cubic Meter) in Q4 FY21 as against 145 MMSCM in Q4 FY20, registering a growth of 14.48% Y-o-Y (year-on-year). The average volume in Q4 FY21 increased to 1.85 MMSCMD (Million Metric Standard Cubic Meter Per Day) as compared to average volume of 1.67 MMSCMD in Q3 FY21, showing recovery of 11% on Q-o-Q (quarter-on-quarter) basis.
IIFL Securities jumped 2.55% after the company reported 107.5% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 77.31 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with Rs 37.25 crore in Q4 FY20. Total income during the quarter increased 22.1% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 256.29 crore. Profit before tax in Q4 FY21 was at Rs 91.58 crore, up by 79.7% from Rs 50.96 crore in Q4 FY20. Assets under management stood at Rs 43,755 crore as on 31 March 2021.
RBL Bank rose 0.91%. The bank reported 34.1% drop in net profit to Rs 75.34 crore on 3.6% decline in total income to Rs 2610.83 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. Net Interest Income (NII) declined by 11% to Rs 906 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. Net Interest Margin (NIM) was at 4.17% as on 31 March 2021 as against 4.93% as on 31 March 2020. Cost to income was 45% in Q4 FY21 as against 50.6% in Q4FY20. The bank's operating profit grew 17% to Rs 877 crore in Q4 March 2021 from Rs 752 crore in Q4 March 2020. Provisions and contingencies increased 27.5% to Rs 766.25 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with Rs 601.17 crore in Q4 FY20. On the asset quality side, gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 2,601.53 crore as on 31 March 2021 as against Rs 1,050.21 crore as on 31 December 2020 and Rs 2,136.52 crore as on 31 March 2021.
Global Markets:
Overseas, Asian shares were trading lower on Wednesday as sentiment took a knock from a selloff in large cap Wall Street tech stocks, even as some of the other major Asia-Pacific markets are closed for the day. Markets in China, Japan and South Korea are shut for public holidays.
In US, the Nasdaq fell more than 2% on Tuesday as steep declines in megacap growth stocks pushed Wall Street below record trading levels, with investors seeking shelter in more defensive parts of the market.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday that interest rates may have to rise to keep a lid on the burgeoning growth of the U.S. economy brought on in part by trillions of dollars in government stimulus spending. The former Fed chair later tempered her comments somewhat on the need for higher rates, saying she respects the Federal Reserve's independence and was not trying to influence decision-making there.
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