The benchmark indices traded with strong gains in afternoon trade, tracking positive global cues. The Nifty touched the 14,300 mark. Barring the Nifty Metal index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE were trading in the green.
At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 500.60 points or 1.04% at 48,593.92. The Nifty 50 index gained 157.70 points or 1.12% at 14,295.05.
Buying was broad based. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.08%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.02%.
Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,949 shares rose and 1,043 shares fell. A total of 147 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 42 stocks advanced while 8 stocks declined.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 382.30 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 989.50 crore in the Indian equity market on 7 January 2021, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 8,80,51,477 with 18,98,655 deaths. India reported 2,25,449 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,50,570 deaths while 1,00,37,398 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Nearly a week after the government suspended the flights to and from the United Kingdom amid concerns over the new coronavirus strain, the two countries resumed normal flight operation from Friday.
According to reports, the first flight carrying 256 passengers arrived in the national capital from London today. The resumption of the normal flight operations comes nearly a week after the government suspended services between India and UK on December 23 over the new and more contagious strain of the virus.
Economy:
The central government on Thursday projected that the country's economy will contract by 7.7% in the current fiscal year 2020-21, as per the first advance estimates of gross domestic product released by the National Statistical Office. The agriculture sector estimate for FY 2021 stood at 3.4%. Also, mining estimate stood at -12.4% for FY21 against 3.1%(YoY) and nominal GDP estimate stood at -4.2%.
Gainers & Losers:
Maruti Suzuki India (up 5.56%), Wipro (up 4.67%), UPL (up 4.55%), Tech Mahindra (up 4.54%) and Eicher Motors (up 3.50%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.
Hindalco Industries (down 1.32%), HDFC (down 0.95%), Bharti Airtel (down 0.48%), Tata Steel (down 0.48%) and ITC (down 0.47%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.
Results Today:
IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was up 2.33%. TCS will announce its Q3 quarterly results today.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Biocon advanced 2.32% after the pharmaceutical major announced that the board of its subsidiary Biocon Biologics has approved a primary equity investment by Abu Dhabi based ADQ (ADQ), one of the region's largest holding companies.
As per the terms of the proposed agreement, ADQ will invest Rs 555 crore for a 1.80% minority stake in the biosimilar business, valuing Biocon Biologics at a post money valuation of about $4.17 billion. Post the completion of this transaction, Biocon will hold 89.89% stake in Biocon Biologics on a fully diluted basis. Established in Abu Dhabi in 2018, ADQ is one of the region's largest holding companies with direct and indirect investments in more than 90 companies locally and internationally.
ONGC gained 1.58% after the state-run corporation announced that it has approved the offer and issuance of up to 15,000 non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of face value of Rs 10 lakh at par aggregating to a total issue size of up to Rs 1,500 crore.
ONGC said that the company has approved the offer and issuance of up to 15,000 unsecured, listed, redeemable, non-cumulative, taxable NCDs of face value of Rs 10,00,000 at par aggregating to a total issue size of up to Rs 1,500 crore on a private placement basis to identified investors at the interest rate of 4.50% p.a. payable annually.
Strides Pharma Science fell 1.78%. The company said that Aditya Puri has joined the Strides Group as an advisor and also as a director of its associate company, Stelis Biopharma. Stelis Biopharma is a vertically integrated biopharmaceutical company. The company offers end-to-end state-of-the-art CDMO services across all phases of pre-clinical and clinical development and commercial supply of biologics.
A stalwart of the Indian banking and financial services industry, Aditya Puri was the founder-managing director and chief executive officer of HDFC Bank from its inception in 1994 until his retirement from the position in October 2020.
Global Markets:
Shares in Europe opened higher on Friday as global investors anticipate that a Democratic-controlled U.S. government will lead to greater fiscal support.
In Asia, shares of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor soared following reports of a deal between the firm and Cupertino-based tech giant Apple on developing electric vehicles and batteries.
The US stocks rose to all-time highs on Thursday as the U.S. Congress confirmed the election of Joe Biden as president early Thursday, a day after supporters of Donald Trump invaded the U.S. Capitol. Thursday marked the Nasdaq's first-ever close above 13,000. It was also the first time the Dow and S&P 500 ended a session above 31,000 and 3,800, respectively.
Traders continued to focus on the possibility for additional fiscal aid after the Democratic party secured a slim majority in the Senate, giving it control of both congressional chambers.
Sentiment on Wall Street also got a boost after the Institute for Supply Management said its index for nonmanufacturing activity in the U.S. rose to 57.2 in December from 55.9 in November.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
