The key equity indices were trading with minor gains in morning trade. Pharma, IT and FMCG shares were under pressure. At 11:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 138.93 points or 0.30% to 47,013.29. The Nifty 50 index added 34.25 points or 0.25% to 13,851.80.
The broader market was trading firm. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.76% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.38%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1600 shares rose and 903 shares fell. A total of 139 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.
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 Bank index rose 0.36%, advancing for second day. The index has added 0.6% in two sessions.
IndusInd Bank (up 3.99%), Federal Bank (up 2.65%), RBL Bank (up 1.44%), ICICI Bank (up 1.30%), HDFC Bank (up 0.99%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.82%), Bandhan Bank (up 0.77%) and Punjab National Bank (up 0.77%) advanced.
Axis Bank (down 2.24%), SBI (down 0.53%) and IDFC First Bank (down 0.31%) declined.
Earnings impact:
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) rose 0.23% to Rs 1459.80. The company's standalone net profit tanked 62.1% to Rs 78.09 crore on 68.7% fall in net sales to Rs 224.37 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019. The revenue from catering segment slumped 81.81% to Rs 48.95 crore, revenue from internet ticketing segment declined 36.96% to Rs 143.02 crore, revenue from Rail Neer segment dropped 71.10% to 16.93 crore and revenue from tourism business slumped 83.70% to Rs 15.46 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019.
United Breweries (UBL) added 1.39% at Rs 1301.15. On a consolidated basis, the company reported 18.8% jump net profit to Rs 126.78 crore on 11.3% decline in net sales to Rs 1291.10 crore in Q3 FY21 over Q3 FY20. UBL said it saw sharp volume recovery over the previous quarter with most markets bouncing back. All regions barring North recorded strong growth compared to the previous quarter with all India sequential growth clocking 37%.
Global Markets:
Markets in Asia declined across the board on Friday. Japan's industrial output extended declines in December as factories struggled with a hit to demand from expanded COVID-19 lockdown measures globally. Official data released on Friday showed factory output declined 1.6% in December.
U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, bouncing from sharp losses in the prior session, thanks to a broad rally as earnings season got off to a strong start.
On the data front, gross domestic product in the U.S. grew at a 4% annualized pace in the fourth quarter. The annualized pace closed out a 2020 that saw GDP overall decline 3.5% for the full year and by 2.5% from the fourth quarter of 2019.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell but remained at a historically high 847,000 last week, a sign that layoffs keep coming as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage. Last week's claims fell by 67,000, from 914,000 the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday.
On the coronavirus front, biotech firm Novavax said that its vaccine was more than 89% effective in protecting against Covid-19. A study found that the vaccine appeared to be 85.6% effective against the U.K. variant. A separate phase two study in South Africa, however, showed the vaccine isn't nearly as effective against a new strain ravaging that country.
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