The benchmark indices traded in a range during early afternoon trade, hovering near its record high levels. The Nifty index continued to trade above 16,200 mark.
At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, surged 456.67 points or 0.85% at 54,280.03. The Nifty 50 index jumped 106.85 points or 0.66% at 16,237.60. The S&P BSE Sensex scaled a new all-time high of 54,440.80 while the Nifty 50 index hit 16,290.20 during intraday trade.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.66% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.67%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,209 shares rose and 1,915 shares fell. A total of 126 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to begin its three-day meet to decide key monetary policy rates on Wednesday. The central bank will announce its bi-monthly monetary policy review on Friday, at the end of the meeting.
Meanwhile, IHS Markit India Services PMI came at 45.4 in July 2021. The index was in contraction territory for the third month in a row. However, the index rose from 41.2 posted in June. Panel members that reported lower output cited subdued demand conditions amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Commenting on the latest survey results, Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director at IHS Markit said, The current COVID-19 environment continued to weigh on the performance of the service sector that is so crucial to the Indian economy. July data was somewhat disappointing, with incoming new business and output falling solidly over the month, but there was at least a slowdown in rates of contraction. Uncertainty over when the pandemic will end, as well as concerns about inflationary pressures and financial troubles, dampened business confidence in July. Service providers were pessimistic towards the outlook for business activity for the first time in a year. Downbeat assessments and ongoing declines in new work caused another round of job shedding in the service sector. The subdued performance of services more than offset a rebound across manufacturing, causing further contractions in private sector sales, output and employment. Rates of reduction eased noticeably from June, however.
Coronavirus Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 19,95,66,049 with 42,46,202 deaths. India reported 4,10,353 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,25,757 deaths while 3,09,33,022 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
With 42,625 people testing positive for the coronavirus infection in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,17,69,132 and the active caseload increased to 4,10,353. The death toll climbed to 4,25,757 with 562 fatalities. The number of active cases increased to 4,10,353 and accounted for 1.29% of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate rose to 97.37%.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 2.83% to 13.3575. The Nifty 26 August 2021 futures were trading at 16,263.55, at a premium of 25.95 points as compared with the spot at 16,237.60.
The Nifty option chain for 26 August 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 20.6 lakh contracts at the 16,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 50.5 lakh contracts was seen at 15,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Financial Services index advanced 2.33% to 17,210.15. The index added 4.50% in three sessions.
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) (up 4.31%), Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (up 4.28%), ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company (up 3.45%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 3.31%) and ICICI Bank (up 3.12%) were the major gainers in the Financial Services segment.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Dr Reddy's Laboratories rose 1.22% after the pharmaceutical major announced the re-launch of over-the-counter Naproxen Sodium Tablets USP, 220 mg, the store-brand equivalent of Aleve, in the US market, as approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).
Alkem Laboratories gained 1.26% after the company intimated regarding the launch of Ibuprofen and Famotidine tablets (800 mg/26.6 mg) in the United States, following an approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).
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