Barometers end flat as IT shares drag; NSE VIX jumps above 18 mark

Benchmark indices ended almost flat after a volatile session on Monday. After a strong opening, the barometers tumbled in the mid-morning trade. Indices bounced in the afternoon, but failed to hold gains and settled near flat line. Asian cues were mixed amid concerns over the Evergrande crisis and rising yields.

IT, pharma and FMCG stocks witnessed profit selling. Realty stocks extended recent rally while auto stocks climbed on hopes of better sales performance in September. Oil explorers were in demand on firm crude oil prices.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 29.41 points or 0.05% to 60077.88. The Nifty 50 index rose 1.90 points or 0.01% to 17855.10.

Both the indices attained record closing high levels. The Sensex hit a record high of 60,412.32 in early trade.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index ended flat while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.13%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1635 shares rose and 1718 shares fell. A total of 183 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 6.67% to 18.05.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 231,820,895 with 4,748,055 deaths. India reported 299,620 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 447,194 deaths according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

In the last 24 hours, India recorded 26,041 new cases of COVID-19. The recovery rate currently stood at 97.78% with 29,621 recoveries in the last 24 hours taking the total recoveries to 3,29,31,972.

A total of 86,27,23,841 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far, with over 38.02 lakh doses being given yesterday, according to the Co-WIN dashboard.

Economy:

The direct tax collections for the financial year 2021-22, as on 22 September 2021 showed that net collections are at Rs 5,70,568 crore, a year-on-year increase of 74.4%. In the last financial year, the net collection was Rs 3,27,174 crore, a Finance Ministry release stated on 24 September 2021. The net direct tax collection of Rs 5,70,568 crore, includes corporation tax of Rs 3,02,975 crore (net of refund) and personal income tax including security transaction tax (STT) of Rs 2,67,593 crore (net of refund).

Meanwhile, ratings agency ICRA on Monday revised up its 2021-22 real GDP growth estimate for India to 9% from the earlier 8.5%. A ramp-up in COVID-19 vaccination, healthy advance estimates of kharif (summer) crop and faster government spending were the factors which led to the revision. ICRA said it expects the second half of the fiscal year to have brighter prospects.

Numbers to Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee fell to 73.8375 from its previous closing of 73.6875.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2021 settlement fell 0.10% to Rs 45,950.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.06% to 93.39.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2021 settlement rose 94 cents or 1.2% to $79.03 a barrel.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper (06.10 GS 2031) rose to 6.21%, compared with 6.181% at close in the previous trading session.

Global Markets:

European shares advanced while Asian stocks ended mixed on Monday, with investors monitoring stocks related to embattled developer China Evergrande Group.

In Germany, preliminary results on Monday morning showed the center-left Social Democratic Party gaining the largest share of the vote with 25.8%. Angela Merkel`s right-leaning bloc of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union was seen with 24.1% of the vote. But coalition negotiations, which could begin on Monday, are likely to take weeks or even months.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will deliver a statement to a European Parliament committee, and the U.K.`s opposition Labour party will resume its annual conference in Brighton.

US stocks closed mixed Friday as the market fell back under pressure amid concerns relating to China, COVID-19 and U.S. politics.

Eyes will also be on U.S. fiscal policy with the House of Representatives due to vote on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill this week, while a September 30 deadline on funding federal agencies could force the second partial government shutdown in three years.

Elsewhere, early projections on Sunday pointed to a knife-edge result in Germany federal elections as the country looks for a successor to Angela Merkel, who is preparing to leave office after 16 years in power.

Stocks in Action:

IT stocks declined on profit selling. The Nifty IT index fell 2.88% today after rising 4.81% in the past four sessions.

Mindtree (down 5.65%), HCL Technologies (down 4.36%), Infosys (down 2.32%) and TCS (down 0.83%) declined.

Shares of multiplex operators PVR (up 5.67%) and Inox Leisure (up 8.10%) advanced after the Maharashtra government on Saturday announced that it will allow cinemas to resume operations in the state after 22 October 2021.

State-run oil explorers Oil India (up 0.94%) and ONGC (up 2.94%) rose amid firm crude oil prices.

Higher crude oil prices boost oil explorers` average realisation from every barrel of the oil sold.

Auto stocks were in demand on hopes of strong sales in September ahead of festive season. The Nifty Auto index jumped 3.22%. It has risen 6% in four sessions.

Maruti Suzuki India (up 6.53%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 4.14%), Bajaj Auto (up 2.77%), Tata Motors (up 4.28%), TVS Motor Co (up 3.49%) and Hero MotoCorp (up 2.8%) jumped.

Easy Trip Planners added 3.63%. InterGlobeTechnology Quotient (ITQ), a leading travel technology provider today announced its agreement with EaseMyTrip, India`s second-largest online travel platform, to provide seamless access to ITQ`s travel commerce platform - Travelport (1G). The agreement is worth $10 million as advance revenue from ITQ.

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