The benchmark indices were trading in a narrow range near the day's high in afternoon trade. Positive global cues boosted investors sentiment.
At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, soared 637.38 points or 1.29% at 50,218.11. The Nifty 50 index added 190.80 points or 1.28% at 15,113.95.
HDFC Bank (up 2.72%), Reliance Industries (up 1.67%) and ICICI Bank (up 1.61%) boosted the indices.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.89%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.26%.
Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,959 shares rose and 1,007 shares fell. A total of 160 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,255.84 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,948.48 crore in the Indian equity market on 17 May 2021, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 16,36,42,990 with 33,90,316 deaths. India reported 33,53,765 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 2,78,719 deaths while 2,15,96,512 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Meanwhile, the government has dropped plasma therapy from COVID-19 treatment protocol. Covid National Task Force released new clinical guidelines for management of mild, moderate and severe COVID-19 cases. Plasma therapy does not find a mention under the new guidelines. The decision came on the basis of recommendations of experts from AIIMS, ICMR-COVID-19 National Task Force, and Joint Monitoring Group of Union Health Ministry.
The plasma therapy, which includes transfusion of COVID-19 antibodies from the blood of a recovered patient to the one being treated, has not been found effective in reducing the progression to severe disease nor has a decrease in the fatality rate been observed.
The World Health Organization on Monday, 17 May 2021 warned that the global pandemic isn't over yet despite high COVID-19 vaccination rates in some countries. In Asia, places such as Singapore and Taiwan have seen a recent resurgence in local infections, prompting authorities to tighten restrictions in a bid to stem the virus' spread.
Economy:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest bulletin said that the biggest economic impact during the second wave has been on the demand outlook. RBI said demand has seen a sharp fall during the April-May period, but added that the situation is better than the first wave in 2020.
According to the central bank, loss of mobility, lower discretionary spending, lack of employment and inventory accumulation are some of the factors that indicate weaker demand during the second wave in India. While RBI said that the resurgence of Covid-19 has dented economic activity in the first half of Q1:2021-22, it has not yet debilitated it.
Gainers & Losers:
Bajaj Auto (up 4.65%), Bajaj Finance (up 4.02%), Eicher Motors (up 3.89%), Titan Company (up 3.87%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (up 3.86%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.
Bharti Airtel (down 2.35%), UPL (down 1.38%), ITC (down 0.96%) Coal India (down 0.78%) and Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 0.39%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.
Nifty Result Today:
Tata Motors was up 3.39% ahead of its Q4 results today.
Earning Impact:
Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals (MRPL) spurted 6.58% after the company posted a net profit of Rs 328.30 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with net loss of Rs 1,629.14 crore in Q4 FY20. Net sales declined 3.94% year-on-year to Rs 13,575.94 crore in Q4 FY21 as against Rs 14,132.28 crore in Q4 FY20. The company reported pre-tax profit of Rs 519 crore in Q4 FY21 as against a pre-tax loss of Rs 2,276 crore in Q4 FY20. EBITDA stood at Rs 874 crore in Q4 FY21 as against EBITDA loss of Rs 1,891 crore in Q4 FY20.
Stock in Spotlight:
Larsen & Toubro Infotech (L&T Infotech) gained 0.78%. The company has entered into a strategic engagement with Hoist Finance AB to provide banking-as-a-service for performing loans segment through its digital banking platform. Hoist Finance AB is a pan European financial services company. L&T Infotech's Digital Banking platform, powered by Temenos, will enable Hoist Finance to be more scalable and with faster on-boarding of new asset classes across regions. The platform provides seamless interoperability, agility, and higher security at a lower total cost of ownership.
Global Markets:
Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Tuesday, 18 May 2021, as global markets look to break out from the gloomy sentiment seen at the start of the trading week.
Japan's economy shrank at an annualized rate of 5.1% in January to March, government data showed Tuesday. On a seasonally adjusted basis, gross domestic product in January-March fell 1.3% quarter-on-quarter. That came as resurgent COVID-19 infections in the country snapped two quarters of consecutive growth.
Wall Street stocks ended lower on Monday, weighed down by tech shares as signs of growing inflation worried investors about the potential for tighter monetary policy.
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