BENCHMARKS SHARPLY PARE LOSSES; EUROPEAN SHARES OPEN HIGHER

Published on Sep 29, 2021 13:24

The domestic equity barometers sharply pared losses in afternoon trade. The Nifty was trading above the 17,700 level. Pharma shares extended gains for second consecutive session. A spike in U.S. benchmark bond yields and a strong dollar capped gains in equities.

At 13:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was at 59,433.34, down 234.26 points or 0.39%. The Nifty 50 index fell 42.95 points or 0.24% to 17,705.65.

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, Ultratech Cement (down 1.62%), HDFC (down 1.46%), Asian Paints (down 1.40%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.32%) and Tech Mahindra (down 1.28%) were the top index losers.

Coal India (up 6.50%), NTPC (up 5.08%), Power Grid Corporation (up 3.64%), IOC (up 3.25% and Hindalco (up 2.71%) bucked the trend.

The broader market was trading firm. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.76% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.29%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1838 shares rose and 1345 shares fell. A total of 171 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 232,730,064 with 4,764,388 deaths. India reported 282,520 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 447,751 deaths according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

A total of 87,74,59,487 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far, with over 53.99 lakh doses being given yesterday, according to the Co-WIN dashboard.

SEBI Framework For Gold And Social Stock Exchanges:

Stock market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the frameworks for gold exchange and Social Stock Exchange. The market regulator also approved amendments to delisting framework for equity shares at the board meeting held yesterday.

A gold exchange is being set up to trade the yellow metal in the form of electronic gold receipts, which will help in having a transparent domestic spot price discovery mechanism. The instrument representing gold is to be called Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR), and will be having trading, clearing and settlement features akin to other securities.

In a statement, SEBI said the Gold Exchange, encompassing the entire ecosystem of trading of EGR and physical delivery of gold, is expected to create a vibrant gold ecosystem in the country. The Gold Exchange would be a national platform for buying and selling EGRs with underlying standardized gold in India and also create a national pricing structure for gold.

SEBI has also allowed the introduction of silver exchange traded funds (ETFs) in India. The Sebi board approved the amendment to Sebi (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996 to enable the introduction of Silver ETFs. These will be in line with the regulatory mechanism for gold ETFs.

Under the creation of Social Stock Exchange (SSE), the SEBI board said it will be used for purpose of fund raising by social entrepreneurs. SSE will be a separate segment of the existing stock exchanges.

Primary Market:

Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC IPO opened for subscription from Wednesday (29 September) and it will close on Friday (1 October). The company is offering 38,880,000 shares (including anchor portion of 11,080,800 equity shares) in the price band of Rs 695 to Rs 712 per share.

As on 13:18 IST, the IPO received bids for 86.56 lakh shares as against 2.77 crore shares on offer. The issue was subscribed 0.31 so far.

The offer comprises of offer for sale comprises sale of 28,50,880 equity shares by Aditya Birla Capital (ABCL) and up to 36,029,120 equity shares by Sun Life AMC. Up to 1,944,000 equity shares have been reserved for allocation to ABCL shareholders. The IPO is a complete offer for sale by existing shareholders and the company will not directly receive any proceeds from the offer.

The company expects that listing of the equity shares will enhance visibility and brand image and provide liquidity to shareholders and will also provide a public market for the equity shares in India.

Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC is currently a 51:49 joint venture between Aditya Birla Capital (ABCL) and Sun Life AMC. The company is the fourth largest asset management companies (AMCs) in India by quarterly average asset under management (QAAUM) since September 2011 and its also the largest non-bank affiliated AMC in India since March 2018.

The company managed total AUM of Rs 2,93,642 crore (closing AUM) under its suite of mutual fund, portfolio management services, offshore and real estate offerings, and approximately 7.18 million investor folios end June 2021.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index rose 2.39% to 14,510. The index has added 2.50% in two sessions.

Sun Pharma (up 4.99%), Cipla (up 3.04%), Alkem Laboratories (up 1.68%), Torrent Pharma (up 1.65%), Cadila Healthcare (up 1.59%), Dr. Reddy`s Labs (up 1.31%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 0.96%), Biocon (up 0.88%) and Divi`s Labs (up 0.70%) advanced.

Lupin gained 0.65% to Rs 955.05. The company has launched Droxidopa Capsules in the United States. Droxidopa Capsules is a generic equivalent of Northera Capsules of Lundbeck NA Ltd., indicated for the treatment of orthostatic dizziness and light-headedness in adult patients. The capsules had estimated annual sales of $294 million in the U.S. (IQVIA MAT July 2021).

Global markets:

European shares opened higher on Wednesday while most Asian stocks declined, following an overnight tumble on Wall Street.

European market attention will be on central banks today with U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and the Bank of England`s Governor Andrew Bailey all speaking at the ECB Forum on Central Banking on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, with tech names dragging down the broader markets as Treasury yields traded near three-month highs and lawmakers in Washington continued their budget stalemate.

Rising bond yields hurt growth stocks because they lower the relative value of future earnings, and make the popular stocks appear overvalued.

Also weighing on sentiment was a budget showdown in Washington. Senate Republicans blocked a House-passed bill Monday that would have funded the government into December and suspended the debt ceiling until December of 2022.

Congress must approve government funding by Friday to avoid a shutdown, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress in a letter on Tuesday that lawmakers need to raise the debt limit by October 18 to avoid a government default. President Biden`s massive infrastructure plan also faces an uncertain future.