Market drifts lower in early trade; RBL Bank drops

Trading for the week began on a negative note as the key benchmark indices drifted lower in early trade on uncertainty over the economic impact of the Omicron coronavirus. Weakness in bank stocks weighed on the bourses. The Nifty dropped below the psychological 17,000 level.

At 9:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 439.26 points or 0.77% at 56,685.05. The Nifty 50 index lost 150.30 points or 0.88% at 16,853.45.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.95% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.72%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,085 shares rose and 1,529 shares fell. A total of 127 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 715 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 43.24 crore in the Indian equity market on 24 December 2021, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

RBL Bank was locked in 10% lower circuit at Rs 155.25 after the board of directors of the bank accepted the request of Vishwavir Ahuja to proceed on medical leave and appointed Rajeev Ahuja (existing Executive Director of the Bank) as the Interim Managing Director & CEO of the Bank. The Reserve Bank of India has appointed Yogesh Dayal as an Additional Director on the board of the bank for a period of two years till December 23, 2023 or till further orders, whichever is earlier.

Reliance Industries shed 0.77%. The company has received the approval from National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to withdraw its plan to demerge its oil-to-chemical (O2C) business into a separate unit.

Lupin rose 0.98%. The global pharma major intimated that it has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) Sevelamer Carbonate for Oral Suspension, 0.8 g and 2.4 g packets to market a generic equivalent of Renvela for Oral Suspension, 0.8 g and 2.4 g Packets of Genzyme.

Adani Transmission (ATL) advanced 2.78% after the firm bagged the Letter of Intent (LoI) for the acquisition of a renewable energy evacuation system under Khavda-Bhuj Transmission. ATL will build, own, operate and maintain the transmission project in Gujarat for a period of 35 years.

GMR Infrastructure gained 0.47%. GMR Airports Netherlands B.V., a step down subsidiary of GMR Airports (GAL), on 23 December 2021, signed the Shareholders` Agreement (SHA) and Share Subscription Agreement (SSA) with Angkasa Pura II (AP II) for the development and operation of Kualanamu International Airport (Project) in Medan, Indonesia.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks are trading mixed on Monday, with multiple major markets in the region closed for holidays, as uncertainty over the economic impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant weighed on investor sentiment. Major markets in Asia-Pacific such as Australia and Hong Kong are closed for the Christmas holidays.

U.S. airlines have cancelled or delayed thousands of flights over the past three days due to COVID-19-related staff shortages, while several cruise ships had to cancel stops after outbreaks on-board.

China`s industrial profits in November jumped 9% from last year, data released by China`s National Bureau of Statistics showed. The US markets were shut on Friday, 25 December 2021 on account of Christmas holiday.

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