The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 62.45 points or 0.18% at 35,697.40. The Nifty 50 index shed 2.55 points or 0.02% at 10,448.90.
The broader market underperformed. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.89% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.36%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1051 shares rose and 1426 shares fell. A total of 166 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 20 stocks advanced while 30 stocks declined.
Global Markets:
European shares extended gains after the Bank of England (BoE) surprised the market on Wednesday and slashed its benchmark interest rates by 50 bps to 0.25%. BoE also announced a new term-funding scheme to support small and medium-sized companies, as well as new steps to help commercial banks lend more. The announcement follows a similar decision by the US Federal Reserve last week.
Asian markets fell across the board on Wednesday as investors continue to track developments around government stimulus with the coronavirus continuing to spread.
Concerns surrounding the global coronavirus outbreak have sent markets on a roller-coaster ride in recent days. The disease has infected at least 119,284 and has taken 4,300 lives so far, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization.
In US, stocks closed sharply higher on Tuesday after a volatile session that restored about half of the losses seen Monday when stocks saw the biggest one day fall since the 2008 financial crisis.
Tuesday's rebound was partly fueled by a White House push to persuade Congress to agree to a fiscal stimulus package that may include a payroll tax cut to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty PSU Bank index fell 3.37% to 1,631.50. The index has lost 13.76% in the past three sessions.
Corporation Bank (down 9.16%), Bank of Baroda (down 4.61%), Syndicate Bank (down 4.24%), Indian Bank (down 4.13%), Canara Bank (down 3.96%), Bank of India (down 3.84%), State Bank of India (down 3.63%), Punjab National Bank (down 3.27%), Union Bank of India (down 2.95%), Andhra Bank (down 1.36%), United Bank of India (down 0.56%) and Central Bank of India (down 0.36%) declined.
Punjab & Sind Bank (up 3.86%), IDBI Bank (up 2.58%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 1.69%), UCO Bank (up 0.7%) and Allahabad Bank (up 0.11%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Asian Paints advanced 0.96% to Rs 1887.40. The paint maker's promoters have released pledge on 1.39 crore shares, representing 1.45% shareholding in the company.
JSW Steel fell 2.69% to Rs 222.85. The company said its crude steel production was up 5% to 13.20 lakh tonnes in February 2020 from 12.57 lakh tonnes in February 2019. The production of flat rolled products rose 7% to 9.82 lakh tonnes in February 2020. Production of long rolled products remained muted at 3.08 lakh tonnes.
Infosys lost 3.16% to Rs 681.65. The IT major announced that it has joined the Qualcomm Smart Cities Accelerator Program to offer end-to-end solutions for smart stadiums, smart venues and smart event management. This program is designed to connect cities, municipalities, government agencies, and enterprises with Qualcomm Technologies' ecosystem to help deliver greater efficiencies, cost savings, and broad access to solutions for smart cities' problems today.
HBL Power Systems surged 15.13% to Rs 15.60. The company has received order worth Rs 70 crore from South Central Railways for train collision avoidance systems. It also has received order valued Rs 85 crore for seven submarine propulsion batteries from Indian Navy. The company has received export orders worth $3.6 million for supply of lithium thermal batteries to be completed over the next 18 months.
Indian Hume Pipe Company rose 3.17% to Rs 169.40 after the company received a letter of acceptance (LoA) for the work of Rs 357.53 crore from Madurai City Municipal Corporation, Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
ABB India shed 2.37% to Rs 1100. The company informed that its board approved the sale of its solar inverter business on slump sale basis to Marici Solar India for value of Rs 100.6 crore. The company's board, on 9 July 2019, had granted in-principle approval for sale of company's solar inverter business to the Italian company, FIMER S.p.A. The board's stake sale decision is in line with ABB Group's strategy of ongoing systematic portfolio management to strengthen competitiveness, focus on quality of revenue and higher growth segments.
RBL Bank jumped 10.23% to Rs 229.05 after the bank clarified that it is well capitalized, financial strong and boasts a healthy liquidity ratio. The bank said it has capital adequacy ratio of 16.08% with Tier-1 at 15.02% which is significantly higher than the prescribed regulatory requirement at 11.5% and 9.5% respectively. The bank also said there has been no material adverse change in the asset quality since Q3 December 2019 and the bank's growth guidance remains consistent.
Welspun Corp slipped 3.50% at Rs 120.05. The company announced that it has secured a major offshore pipes supply contract in Australia for the Barossa offshore Development project from Allseas Marine Contractors Australia PTY. The contract scope comprises manufacturing & supply of 270 km (87 KMT) pipes for critical offshore application.
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