Key indices were trading with minor losses in mid-morning trade. The Nifty was hovering below the 14,400 mark. Bank stocks witnessed some bit of bargain hunting.
At 11:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 52.25 points or 0.11% to 48,826.29. The Nifty 50 index fell 10.45 points or 0.07% to 14,361.45.
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.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.66% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.82%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 935 shares rose and 1695 shares fell. A total of 156 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 99,178,504 with 2,129,138 deaths. India reported 184,182 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 153,470 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
India-China Standoff:
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.
Primary Market:
The initial public offer (IPO) of Stove Kraft received bids for 13.51 lakh shares as against 58.94 lakh shares on offer on Monday (25 January 2021), according to the stock exchange data at 11:00 IST. The issue was subscribed 0.23 times. The issue opened for subscription today (25 January 2021) and it will close on Thursday (28 January 2021).
The initial public offer (IPO) of Home First Finance Company India received bids for 4.20 crore shares as against 1.56 crore shares on offer on Monday (25 January 2021), according to the stock exchange data at 11:00 IST. The issue was subscribed 2.69 times. The issue opened for subscription on Thursday (21 January 2021) and will close today (25 January 2021).
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Bank index rose 1.02% to 31,484.65. The index had declined by 4.23% in the past two sessions.
Axis Bank (up 2.84%), HDFC Bank (up 1.70%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.38%) and ICICI Bank (up 0.67% advanced.
RBL Bank (down 3.72%), IDFC First Bank (down 1.82%), Bandhan Bank (down 1.56%), IndusInd Bank (down 1.15%), Punjab National Bank (down 0.87%), Bank of Baroda (down 0.61%), Federal Bank (down 0.55%) and SBI (down 0.46%) declined.
Stocks in Spotlight:
UltraTech Cement rose 4.8% to Rs 5790.70 after the company reported 122.8% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 1584.58 crore on 17.4% increase in net sales to Rs 12,254.12 crore in Q3 December 2019. EBITDA jumped 57% to Rs 3362 crore in Q3 December 2020 from Rs 2147 crore recorded in Q3 December 2019. EBITDA margin improved by 700 basis points to 28% in Q3 December 2020 from Rs 21% in Q3 December 2019.
The cement major's consolidated cement sale volume grew by 14% year on year to 23.88 million tonne in Q3 December 2020 from 20.9 million tonne registered in Q3 December 2019. The cement manufacturer said it continues to focus on debt reduction. Its consolidated net debt reduced to 0.84x in Q3 December 2020 from 1.87x in Q3 December 2019.
Grasim Industries jumped 4.54% to Rs 1050 after the company's board approved a foray into the paints business with an initial capital expenditure of Rs 5,000 crore over the next three years.
Commenting on the development, Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla Group said, The foray into paints is a strategic portfolio choice for Grasim as it looks to identify new growth engines. Grasim's strong balance sheet will facilitate this entry, which will add size, scale and diversity to its existing portfolio of established standalone businesses. The company endeavors to invest in businesses that have the potential to be a leader in their addressable markets; have the ability to achieve scale, and generate consistent and attractive returns in the long term. The paints industry presents a high-growth option for Grasim.”
Atul rose 1.27% to Rs 6585 after the chemicals maker said its board will consider share buyback on Friday, 29 January 2021. The company will announce its Q3 December 2020 results on the same day.
Global Markets:
Asian stocks were mixed on Monday as investors continue to monitor the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
Amid the pandemic, China surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest recipient of foreign direct investment, according to a report released Sunday from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. China brought in $163 billion in inflows last year, compared to $134 billion attracted by the U.S., according to the report.
Developments around Covid-19 are likely to be watched by investors, as the world races to adapt against the mutating coronavirus which has produced a number of potentially more infectious variants.
In US, stocks finished mixed on Friday — the S&P 500 and Dow finished in the red while the Nasdaq Composite closed at a record high. The Dow and S&P 500 ended modestly lower on Friday, dragged down by losses in blue-chip technology stalwarts Intel and IBM following their quarterly results.
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