Market nudges lower in early trade; breadth positive

Key benchmark indices are trading with small losses in early trade. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 48.35 points or 0.1% at 49,535.81. The Nifty 50 index was down 20.15 points or 0.14% at 14,575.45.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.31%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.26%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is positive. On the BSE, 1030 shares rose and 862 shares fell. A total of 79 shares were unchanged.

Budget session:

The Union Budget 2021-22 would be presented on February 1. The Parliament session would be starting from January 29, and would be held in two phases. Subject to exigencies of government business, the session is likely to conclude on 8 April 2021.

Stocks in news:

Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI) rose 1.23%. LTI plans to expand its multi-year, global alliance with IBM to help businesses transform their operations through open hybrid cloud adoption. With the proposed center, LTI will help their clients migrate and modernize core business applications leveraging IBM`s open hybrid cloud platform built on Red Hat OpenShift.

Ircon International rose 1.26%. Ircon International achieved milestone by opening the 30 KM section between Korichhapar to Dharamjaigarh within the targeted date i.e., 31.12.2020. A Trial run was carried on 31 December 2020. The cost of this line is approximately 325 crores and the work is executed by Ircon International under an SPV named Chhattisgarh East Railway.

Bharat Dynamics advanced 3.22%. Bharat Dynamics and Thales have signed a Teaming Agreement to work in partnership on the STARStreak Air Defence system with the support of both the Governments of India and the United Kingdom.

HFCL rose 1.8%. The company`s consolidated profit after tax jumped 86.2% to Rs 85.11 crore on 49.7% rise in revenue to Rs 1277.48 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019.

DEN Networks surged 4.01%. The company`s consolidated profit after tax jumped 390% to Rs 60 crore on 8% rise in revenue to Rs 342 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019.

Global Markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed on Friday as investors regionally reacted to the release of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden`s $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package.

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday revealed details of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package. Biden`s proposal, called the American Rescue Plan, includes some familiar stimulus measures in the hope of sustaining families and companies till vaccines are widely distributed. Some of the proposed measures include stimulus checks as well as unemployment support.

Shares of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi plunged in Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump`s administration placed the firm on a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies.

In US, stocks fell slightly on Thursday, with tech shares declining, as traders awaited the unveiling of a potentially big economic stimulus package.

Sentiment got a boost earlier in the session as trial data published late Wednesday showed that Johnson & Johnson`s one-dose coronavirus vaccine is safe and generates a promising immune response.

Investors kept an eye on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who struck a dovish tone in comments at a virtual symposium with Princeton University. Powell said the U.S. central bank is not raising interest rates anytime soon and rejected suggestions the Fed might start reducing its bond purchases in the near term.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump became the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice when the House voted 232-197 on Wednesday to charge him with inciting riots at the Capitol.

Back home, the domestic equity benchmarks reversed early losses and ended with decent gains on Thursday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 91.84 points or 0.19% to 49,584.16. The Nifty 50 index gained 30.75 points or 0.21% at 14,595.60.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,076.62 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 188.10 crore in the Indian equity market on 14 January, provisional data showed.

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