Key equity benchmarks continued trading near the flat line in early afternoon trade. The Nifty was trading below the 11,500 mark. Pharma, metal, auto and FMCG shares declined.
At 12:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 7.01 points or 0.02% at 38,852.83. The Nifty 50 index lost 10.10 points or 0.09% at 11,494.85.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.64% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.50%.
Sellers outpaced buyers. On the BSE, 958 shares rose and 1533 shares fell. A total of 172 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 31,028,757 with 960,698 deaths. India reported 10,03,299 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 87,882 deaths while 43,96,399 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.39% to 20.125. The Nifty September 2020 futures were trading at 11,493, at a discount of 1.85 points compared with the spot at 11,494.85.
The Nifty option chain for 24 September 2020 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 46.88 lakh contracts at the 11,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 42.66 lakh contracts was seen at 11,500 strike price.
India-China standoff:
Sixth round of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China on border stand-off will be held from Monday (21 September) at Moldo. The talks will include the implementation of a five-point agreement reached between the two Foreign Ministers at the SCO summit in Moscow on disengagement of troops and de-escalation of the situation in eastern Ladakh.
Parliament passes two Farm Bills:
Parliament passed two bills aimed at transforming agriculture in the country and raising farmers' incomes. The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 which were passed by Lok Sabha on 17 September 2020, were passed by the Rajya Sabha on 20 September.
The new legislation will create an ecosystem where the farmers and traders will enjoy freedom of choice of sale and purchase of agri-produce. It will also promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce outside the physical premises of markets notified under State Agricultural Produce Marketing legislations. The farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their produce and will not have to bear transport costs.
The Bill also proposes an electronic trading in transaction platform for ensuring a seamless trade electronically. In addition to mandis, farmers will get freedom to do trading at farmgate, cold storage, warehouse, processing units, etc. Farmers will be able to engage in direct marketing thereby eliminating intermediaries resulting in full realization of price.
Farmers in Punjab, Haryana and several others states have been protesting against the new legislations ever since the bills cleared Lok Sabha earlier last week.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index fell 1.49% to 8,040.15. The index rose 0.41% in the previous session.
Tata Motors (down 3.31%), Maruti Suzuki (down 2.57%), Bajaj Auto (down 1.42%), Hero MotoCorp (down 0.97%) and Ashok Leyland (down 0.94%) edged lower.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Steel Strips Wheels added 2.53% to Rs 462.30. The company announced export orders of nearly 10,000 wheels worth $133,000 for US caravan trailer market, to be executed in October 2020 from its Chennai plant.
IRCTC rose 0.72% to Rs 1414. Considering the huge demand for travel on specific routes, Ministry of Railways has decided to run 20 pairs of clone special trains from 21 September 2020. These clone trains will run on notified timings and will be fully reserved trains. The stoppages shall be limited to operational halts.
GOCL Corporation soared 10.49% to Rs 205.90 after the company said its UK subsidiary will garner about Rs 257 crore by paring stake in Quaker Houghton.
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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