Key equity indices extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty was trading a tad above the 14,300 mark.

At 14:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 285.09 points or 0.58% to 48,593.45. The Nifty 50 index lost 56.15 points or 0.39% to 14,315.75.

The broader market was trading lower. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.76%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.84%.

Sellers outpaced buyers. On the BSE, 952 shares rose and 1929 shares fell. A total of 169 shares were unchanged.

The slow pace of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout coupled with sparring by the US lawmakers over President Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan worried investors as they imposed significant risks to the global economic recovery from the pandemic.

The investor community hoped for a reassurance from the Fed Chair Jerome Powell after Wednesday's policy meeting that $120 billion of monthly bond purchases won't be tapered any time soon.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 635.69 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,290.35 crore in the Indian equity market on 22 January 2021, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 9,91,95,630 with 21,29,418 deaths. India reported 1,84,182 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,53,470 deaths while 1,03,30,084 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Reports suggest Tata Group's healthcare venture is said to have started initial discussions with Moderna Inc for a partnership to launch its COVID-19 vaccine in India. Tata Medical & Diagnostics could team up with the India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to carry out clinical trials of Moderna's vaccine candidate in India.

India-China Stand-off:

The media reported that the Indian and the Chinese troops had brawled again on their contested border, leaving injuries on both sides. The incident happened last week at the Naku La pass in Sikkim state.

India and China on Sunday reportedly held the ninth round of senior commanders' talks in a fresh bid to resolve the military standoff at eastern Ladakh.

As per reports, India has insisted on setting in motion at the earliest the process of disengagement and de-escalation of troops by the two countries to restore peace and tranquility in border areas.

The last round of talks between the military commanders was held in November last year while senior diplomats of the two countries met on 18 December under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Coordination and Consultation (WMCC) in border areas.

Numbers to Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee depreciated to 72.90 compared with its previous closing of 72.9750.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 5.936% from its previous closing of 5.939%.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2021 settlement fell 0.34% to Rs 48,975.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.16% to 90.267.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2021 settlement rose 31 cents to $55.72 a barrel. The contract lost 1.23% or 69 cents to settle at $56.10 in the previous trading session.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index slipped 0.75% to end at 26,290.60. The index rose 0.15% on Friday.

Info Edge India (down 5.56%), Coforge (down 2.67%), MindTree (down 2.22%), HCL Tech (down 2.19%), Wipro (down 0.71%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (down 0.67%), Tech Mahindra (down 0.36%) and Mphasis (down 0.35%) declined.

Meanwhile, TCS (up 0.44%) and Infosys (up 0.09%) bucked the trend.

Stocks in Spotlight:

PNC Infratech rose 1.65% to Rs 190.55 after the company said it received letter of award for six new rural drinking water supply projects for an aggregate value of Rs 2475 crore.

Kiri Industries shed 0.40% to Rs 467.25. The company said that it started the first phase of commercial production of specialty intermediates at Vadodara plant from 25 January 2021. The combined installed capacity of the first phase of the new plant is 6000 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum), which shall add several new products in dyes intermediates & specialty chemicals sector with incremental revenue of about Rs 300 crore considering full capacity utilization progressively in the next few months and considering current price levels in the market.

Dixon Technologies (India) fell 1.99% to Rs 13792.25. The company said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Padget Electronics, has entered into an agreement with HMD India for manufacturing of Nokia smartphones. The smartphones will be manufactured at Padget's manufacturing facility situated at Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Lupin rose 1.54% to Rs 1096.20. The pharmaceutical major received US drug regulator's approval for Sevelamer Carbonate tablets. The drug is indicated for the control of serum phosphorus in adults and children 6 years of age and older with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Sevelamer Carbonate Tablets (reference listed drug: Renvele) had estimated annual sales of $348 million in the U.S. (IQVIA MAT September 2020).

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