Domestic equity barometers were trading in a narrow range with modest losses in mid-morning trade. At 11:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 94.03 points or 0.20% to 46,796.31. The Nifty 50 index lost 34.60 points or 0.25% to 13,706.10.
Shares witnessed profit selling after a five-day rising streak during which the Sensex added 2.02% while the Nifty gained 1.95%.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.36% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.38%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 940 shares rose and 1733 shares fell. A total of 143 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,355.25 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,494.36 crore in the Indian equity market on 17 December, provisional data showed.
Coronavirus Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 74,905,155 with 1,661,115 deaths. India reported 313,831 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 144,789 deaths while 9,520,827 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Pharma index rose 0.39% to 12,651.40. The index has added 1.76% in the past three sessions.
Dr. Reddy's Labs (up 1.37%), Biocon (up 1.26%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 0.45%), Cipla (up 0.39%), Lupin (up 0.31%) and Torrent Pharma (up 0.31%) declined.
Cadila Healthcare (down 0.64%) and Alkem Laboratories (down 0.25%) declined.
Global Markets:
Asian stocks are trading mixed on Friday as investors reacted to the Bank of Japan's rate decision and monetary policy statement.
The Bank of Japan on Friday announced a six-month extension of its special program aimed at easing corporate financing pressures amid the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, the yield target on the 10-year Japan government bond was set at around 0% while the short-term interest target was set to -0.1%.
The Japanese central bank also said it will "conduct an assessment for further effective and sustainable monetary easing" as it looks to support the economy and achieve its ever elusive inflation target, with the findings likely to be out in March.
In Europe, Britain and the European Union struck a pessimistic tone in trade talks on Thursday, with a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying it was "very likely" there would be no agreement unless the bloc changed its position "substantially".
Both sides have reportedly called on the other to shift position to try to safeguard almost a trillion dollars worth of trade from tariffs and quotas when a so-called transition period ends on 31 December 2020.
The US stocks finished firmly positive on Thursday, 17 December 2020, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average all finishing near record territory after data showing a slowdown in the US labour market stoked investor bets that US Congressional leaders will clinch a $900 billion stimulus deal.
US initial jobless claims rose to 885,000 in the week ended December 12th, an increase of 23,000 from the previous week's revised level of 862,000, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. With the unexpected increase, jobless claims climbed to their highest level since hitting 893,000 in the week ended September 5th.
The lawmakers signaled progress toward an agreement on a new relief package. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed that the two sides are "close to an agreement" but cautioned that it's "not a done deal yet."
On the vaccine front, US experts were set to meet to decide whether to recommend approval of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine, potentially paving the way for a second vaccine early next week after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
