The domestic equity barometers were trading with minor cuts in early afternoon trade. Pharma shares corrected for third consecutive session. The Nifty slipped below the 13,800 mark. At 12:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 35.32 points or 0.08% to 46,839.04. The Nifty 50 index lost 21.60 points or 0.16% to 13,795.95.
The broader market was trading firm. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.75% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.24%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1562 shares rose and 1074 shares fell. A total of 149 shares were unchanged.
Some value buying was visible after the benchmark indices corrected a little over 5.5% each in the preceding five trading sessions. Investors remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget on Monday.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 3.69% to 25.19. The Nifty 25 February 2021 futures were trading at 13,844, at a premium of 48.05 points as compared with the spot at 13,795.95.
The Nifty option chain for 25 February 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 14.1 lakh contracts at the 14,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 22.7 lakh contracts was seen at 14,000 strike price.
Union Budget 2021-22:
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman today (29 January 2021) will table the annual Economic Survey in Parliament for the growth projections for 2021-22. The Survey's gross domestic product (GDP) growth projections for 2021-22 and estimates for the current year (2020-21) will be watched.
Chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2.30 pm today to discuss the economic survey. The survey will include details and outcomes of the schemes and policies implemented by the government during the year under review. It may provide hints about what is in store for the economy in the coming days.
Market is awaiting key reforms that could push growth and kickstart the capex cycle in the economy. The Union Budget 2021-22 would be presented on 1 February 2021. The Parliament session starts from today, 29 January 2021, and would be held in two phases. Subject to exigencies of government business, the session is likely to conclude on 8 April 2021.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 101,409,081 with 2,188,840 deaths. India reported 171,686 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 154,010 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
A total of 28,47,608 beneficiaries have so far been vaccinated for COVID-19 through 52,667 sessions held till the evening of January 28, the thirteenth day of the immunisation drive, according to a provisional report of the Union Health Ministry.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Pharma index fell 1.28% to 12,237.85. The index has declined by 4.07% in three sessions.
Dr. Reddy's Labs (down 3.41%), Lupin (down 2.89%), Torrent Pharma (down 2%), Alkem Laboratories (down 1%), Sun Pharma (down 0.86%), Divi's Labs (down 0.8%) and Cipla (down 0.78%) declined.
Shares of Lupin fell 2.86% to Rs 1020.25. The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 438.25 crore in Q3 FY21 as against a net loss of Rs 835 crore reported in Q3 FY20. Net sales increased by 5.4% to Rs 3917.30 crore in Q3 FY21 from Rs 3716.09 crore in Q3 FY20. EBITDA margin improved to 20.6% in Q3 FY21 from 11.7% in Q3 FY20.
On the segmental front, revenue from the formulations business was at Rs 3573.5 crore (up 5.1% YoY) and revenue from the API business was at Rs 343.8 crore (up 8.4% YoY) in Q2 FY21.
Earnings impact:
Tata Chemicals slipped 0.94% to Rs 485.20. On a consolidated basis, the chemical maker's net profit rose 0.2% to Rs 200.72 crore on 0.7% decline in net sales to Rs 2,606.08 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019.
Income from operations on consolidated basis for basic chemistry products segment stood at Rs 1,987 crore, falling 1% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) and specialty products segment at Rs 618 crore, rising 2% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) as compared to the corresponding quarter of last year.
AU Small Finance Bank rose 0.26% at Rs 871.70. The bank's standalone net profit jumped 151.9% to Rs 479.02 crore on 51.2% rise in total income to Rs 1924.53 crore in Q3 FY21 over Q3 FY20. Operating profit before provisions and contingencies for Q3 FY21 grew 179% to Rs 873 crore as against Rs 313 crore in Q3 FY20.
Net Interest Income (NII) for Q3 FY21 jumped 25% to Rs 633 crore from Rs 507 crore for Q3 FY20. Net Interest Margin (NIM) was at 5.4% at the end of December 2020. The bank's provisions and contingencies soared 607% to Rs 284 crore in Q3 FY21 from Rs 40 crore in Q3 FY20.
The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 0.99% as on 31 December 2020 as against 1.54% as on 30 September 2020 and 1.88% as on 31 December 2019. The ratio of net NPAs to net advances stood at 0.24% as on 31 December 2020 as against 0.45% as on 30 September 2020 and 1.01% as on 31 December 2019. AU Bank said GNPA and NNPA would have been 3.3% and 1.3% respectively in the absence of the Supreme Court's interim order. The bank has created additional provisions for these accounts.
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