Benchmark indices traded in a narrow range near the day's high in mid morning trade. The Nifty traded above the 15,050 level. Barring the Nifty Auto index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE were trading in the green.At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 462 points or 0.92% at 50,758.64. The Nifty 50 index surged 152.35 points or 1.02% at 15,071.70.
In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.15% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 1.56%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1822 shares rose and 880 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 114,728,460 with 2,548,573 deaths. India reported 170,126 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 157,346 deaths while 108,12,044 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Economy:
IHS Markit India Services PMI rose to 55.3 in February 2021 from 52.8 in January 2021. The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index pointed to the sharpest rate of expansion in output in one year. Moreover, the latest reading extended the current growth sequence to five months. Survey participants linked the upturn to improved demand and more favourable market conditions. New work intakes expanded for the fifth straight month, and at the fastest pace over this sequence. According to monitored companies, marketing efforts and increases in new clients led to sales growth.
Meanwhile, the auction of telecom spectrum ended on Tuesday (2 March) with total bids of 77 thousand eight hundred 14 crore 80 lakh rupees for the airwaves. Telecommunications Secretary Anshu Prakash said, incremental bids for 668.20 crore rupees were made on the second and concluding day of spectrum auction.
The bidding took place for spectrum in 800 Megahertz, 900 Megahertz, 1,800 Megahertz, 2,100 Megahertz and 2,300 Megahertz bands. The total quantity of spectrum for which right to use has been acquired in these bands is 855.60 Megahertz.
Three bidders, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance JioInfocomm participated in the auction. A total quantity of 2,308.80 Megahertz spectrum was put to auction, including spectrum that is expiring up to December this year.
Reliance Jio was the biggest bidder acquiring 488.35 Megahertz of spectrum for over 57 thousand 1 hundred 22 crore rupees. Bharti Airtel bid for 355.45 Megahertz of spectrum for over 18 thousand 6 hundred 98 crore rupees. Vodafone Idea bid for 11.80 Megahertz of airwaves for over 1 thousand 9 hundred 93 crore rupees.
Spectrum Usage Charges for the spectrum acquired in this auction will be payable at the rate of 3% of adjusted gross revenue of the licensee, excluding revenue from wireline services.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index slipped 0.57% to 10,682.80, snapping its two-day winning run. The index saw some profit taking after rising 5.6% in two trading sessions.
Bajaj Auto (down 1.91%), Hero MotoCorp (down 1.66%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 1.35%), TVS Motor Company (down 1.23%), Ashok Leyland (down 0.94%), Eicher Motors Ltd (down 0.73%), Bosch (down 0.58%), MRF (down 0.53%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.51%) were top losers in automobile segment.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Bank of Baroda (BoB) rose 3.37% to Rs 86 after the state-run lender said it has closed the qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue, which was conducted to raise up to Rs 4,500 crore. The capital raising committee approved the issue price of Rs 81.70 per equity share (including a premium of Rs 79.70), which is at a discount of 5% (Rs 4.28 per equity share) to the floor price of Rs 85.98 apiece, BoB said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. The issue opened on 25 February 2021.
Jaiprakash Power Ventures rose 1.68%. The board of the company on 2 March 2021 approved divesting 74% stake in the Jaypee Powergrid, a joint venture between Power Grid Corporation of India and the company. The amount of consideration will be informed on execution of share purchase agreement and the transaction is expected to be completed by 31 March 2021.
Global Markets:
Asian stocks advanced on Wednesday. China's Caixin/Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 51.5 for February, a decline from January's reading of 52. PMI readings above 50 represent expansion while those below that level signify contraction.
Japan's services sector extended declines in February for a 13th straight month. The final au Jibun Bank Japan Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at a seasonally adjusted 46.3.
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday led by technology names, as the market gave back some of the strong gains from the previous session.
In coronavirus developments, U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday the country will have a large enough supply of coronavirus vaccines to inoculate every adult in the nation by the end of May — two months earlier than previously expected.
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