Sensex tumbles 580 pts; Dow futures down 449 pts

Equity indices traded with heavy losses in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty regained 11,700 mark after briefly slipping below that level. Weak global cues amid rising COVID-19 cases put pressure on domestic shares.

At 14:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 576.51 points or 1.42% at 39,945.59. The Nifty 50 index dropped 151.9 points or 1.28% at 11,737.45.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.76% while S&P BSE Small-Cap declined 0.62%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 908 shares rose and 1632 shares fell. A total of 149 shares were unchanged.

The Dow Jones 30 Futures were down 449 points, indicating a weak start in US markets today.

 

COVID-19 Update:

India reported 6,10,803 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 120,010 deaths while 72,59,509 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 43,906,632 with 1,166,193 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index declined 1.64% to 2,320.80.

Vedanta (down 6.69%), Hindalco Industries (down 2.38%), NMDC (down 2.3%), Tata Steel (down 2.25%), Hindustan Zinc (down 2.17%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 1.37%), JSW Steel (down 1.33%), National Aluminium Company (down 0.82%) and Coal India (down 0.57%) were top losers in metal index.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Adani Gas advanced 1.22% after the company said its board will consider fund raising on 3 November 2020. In a BSE filing made after market hours yesterday, the company said that its board will consider a proposal to raise upto $400 million through issue of US dollar denominated foreign currency bonds which may be issued in one or more tranches in India or overseas, on a private placement basis.

Network18 Media & Investments rose 1.74% after the media major reported a net profit of Rs 68.01 crore in Q2 September 2020 compared with net loss of Rs 24.68 crore in Q2 September 2019. Consolidated net sales fell 9.6% to Rs 1,060.89 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. Pre-tax profit stood at Rs 89.09 crore in Q2 September 2020 as against a pre-tax loss of Rs 14.47 crore in Q2 September 2019. Consolidated EBITDA zoomed 114% to Rs 166 crore in Q2 FY21 as against Rs 77 crore in Q2 FY20, as revenues are firmly on the road to a full recovery. EBITDA margin improved to 15.6% in Q2 FY21 from 6.6% in Q2 FY20. The company witnessed a step-jump in EBITDA margins for both News and Entertainment to healthy levels.

TV18 Broadcast rose 1.35% after consolidated net profit surged 148.2% to Rs 115.55 crore on 10.1% decrease in net sales to Rs 1,012.80 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. Consolidated EBITDA galloped 56% to Rs 164 crore in Q2 FY21 as against Rs 105 crore in Q2 FY20, as revenues are firmly on the road to a full recovery. EBITDA margin improved to 16.2% in Q2 FY21 from 9.3% in Q2 FY20. The company witnessed a step-jump in EBITDA margins for both news and entertainment to healthy levels.

Numbers to Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee fell to 73.875 compared with its previous closing 73.71.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 5.859% compared with its closing of 5.846% in the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 December 2020 settlement declined 0.14% to Rs 50,89.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for December 2020 settlement fell $1.28 to $39.92 a barrel.

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