The domestic equity indices were trading firm in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 248.31 points or 0.51% at 48,501.82. The Nifty 50 index gained 70.90 points or 0.49% at 14,567.40.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.47% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.51%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,654 shares rose and 1,099 shares fell. A total of 175 shares were unchanged.
RBI Governor Speech:
The 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. The central bank is monitoring emerging developments while Das said the global economic outlook is highly uncertain and clouded with downside risks. Das further added that in India's fight against second wave of COVID-19, the RBI proposed to take extra measures. The bank 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.
RBI announced several measures to protect small and medium businesses, individual borrowers from the adverse impact of the intense second wave of COVID-19 across the country. RBI will undertake a purchase of government securities of Rs 35,000 crore in the next two weeks under the newly introduced GSAP-2.0. RBI announced term liquidity facility of Rs 50,000 crore to ease access to emergency health services. The central bank has also decided to conduct special three-year long-term repo operations (SLTRO) of Rs 10,000 crore at repo rate for the small finance banks (SFBs).
Coronavirus Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 15,43,66,761 with 32,27,887 deaths.
India reported 34,87,229 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 2,26,188 deaths while 1,69,51,731 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
India records 3,780 fresh fatalities, over 3.80 lakh cases in single day.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, dropped 2.83% to 22.3575. The Nifty 27 May 2021 futures were trading at 14,620.75, at a premium of 53.35 points as compared with the spot at 14,567.40.
The Nifty option chain for 27 May 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 26.5 lakh contracts at the 15,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 34.9 lakh contracts was seen at 14,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty IT index rose 1.12% to 25,775.60. The index fell 0.73% in the previous session.
MindTree (up 2.85%), Wipro (up 2.28%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (up 2.22%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 1.57%) and TCS (up 1.14%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
InterGlobe Aviation rose 1.79% after the aviation company said that a meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 7 May 2021, to consider and approve raising of funds by issue of equity shares through qualified institutions placement (QIP).
Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) gained 1.70% after the company said it signed an MoU with Rolls-Royce to establish packaging, installation, marketing and services support for Rolls-Royce MT30 marine engines in India. Through this MoU, Rolls-Royce and HAL will expand their long-standing partnership in India and work together in the area of marine applications for the first time. MT30 is a naval gas turbine currently in-service with naval programs worldwide in various propulsion arrangements across seven ship types.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
