Key equity indices ended almost flat after a volatile sessions on Wednesday. The Nifty managed to end above the 13,100 mark. While banks and financial shares corrected, metal, auto and realty shares were in demand.
As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, lost 37.40 points or 0.08% to 44,618.04. The Nifty 50 index shed 3.60 points or 0.03% at 13,105.45.
The broader market outperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.55% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.68%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1728 shares rose and 1196 shares fell. A total of 161 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 6,38,76,767 with 14,80,516 deaths. India reported 4,28,644 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,38,122 deaths while 89,32,647 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
The U.K. became the first country in the world to authorize the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, making it available from next week. BioNTech, the German biotech that developed the vaccine with Pfizer, said that the companies are ready to deliver the first doses to the U.K. immediately. Both the companies are anticipating further regulatory decisions across the globe in the coming days and weeks and are ready to deliver vaccine doses following potential regulatory authorizations or approvals.
Burger King India IPO Update:
The initial public offer (IPO) of Burger King India received bids for 17.99 crore shares on Wednesday, 2 December 2020, as against 7.44 crore shares on offer, as per the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) website data at 15:30 IST. The issue was subscribed 2.42 times.
The issue opened for subscription today (2 December) and it will close on Friday, 4 December 2020. The price band for the IPO is set at Rs 59-60 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum lot of 250 equity shares and and in multiples thereof.
The IPO consists of fresh issue of shares amounting to Rs 450 crore and an offer of sale of 6 crore shares by the promoter selling shareholder, QSR Asia. The net proceeds from the fresh issue are proposed to be utilised in funding roll out of new company-owned Burger King restaurants; and general corporate purposes.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index rose 1.17% to 9,092.10. The index has gained 4.05% in the four sessions.
Bajaj Auto (up 2.64%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 2.53%), Maruti Suzuki (up 1.43%), Bharat Forge (up 1.19%) and Ashok Leyland (up 0.65%) advanced while TVS Motor Company (up 2.43%) declined.
Hero MotoCorp rose 0.56% to Rs 3,127.70. The two-wheeler major sold 591,091 units of motorcycles and scooters in November 2020, up 14.4% over 516,775 units sold in November 2019.
Eicher Motors shed 0.14% to Rs 2,529.80. Royal Enfield total sales rose 6% to 63,782 units in November 2020 over November 2019.
Tata Motors advanced 2% to Rs 183.35. The company's sales in the domestic and international market for November 2020 stood at 49,650 vehicles, up 20.73% compared with 41,124 units during November 2019.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Coal India gained 2.53% to Rs 129.55. On a provisional basis, the company's coal production jumped 3.3% to 51.7 million tonnes (MT) in November 2020 from 50 million tonnes (MT) in November 2019. Coal offtake in November 2020 stood at 51.3 million tonnes (MT), recording a 8% growth from 47.5 million tonnes (MT) in November 2019.
Phoenix Mills jumped 11.22% to Rs 766.95 after company, along with its subsidiaries, signed a non-binding term-sheet with an affiliate of GIC to create a strategic, retail-led mixed-use platform.
Bharti Infratel added 4.31% to Rs 225.25 after the counter witnessed multiple block deals in early trade today, 2 December 2020.
On the BSE, the counter clocked a volume of 8.11 crore shares as against its average trading volume of 5.55 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock gained 6.07% to hit a high of Rs 229.05 on BSE today.
The counter clocked a volume of 12.82 crore shares compared with its average trading volume of 1.46 crore shares in the past one quarter. The stock added 5.53% to hit a high of Rs 227.95 on NSE today.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) added 3.54% to Rs 438.75 after cargo volume handled by the company, excluding Krishnapatnam Port, registered a growth of 10% in November 2020 over November 2019. Overall, in November 2020, APSEZ handled cargo volume of 24 mmt which includes 3 mmt handled at Krishnapatnam Port. (Krishnapatnam port was acquired by APSEZ in October 2020).
Infosys advanced 0.41% at Rs 1141.95. The IT major and Rolls-Royce have signed a strategic partnership for sourcing engineering and R&D services for Rolls-Royce's civil aerospace business. As part of the overall partnership, Rolls-Royce will transition a significant part of its engineering centre capabilities for civil aerospace in Bengaluru to Infosys. Infosys said it will provide a full range of high-end engineering and R&D services integrated with advanced digital service to Rolls-Royce.
NCC advanced 2.91% to Rs 46 after the company said it received four new orders totaling Rs 3,905 crore in November 2020. One order of Rs 848 crore pertains to water division and balance three orders totaling to Rs 3,057 crore pertain to building division, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Smartlink Holdings hit an upper circuit of 20% at Rs 87.95. The company's board will consider a share buyback on 4 December 2020.
Global Markets:
The US Dow Futures were currently down 88 points, indicating a muted start to equities on Wall Street today.
Most European shares declined while most Asian stocks advanced on Wednesday.
In the United States, the main stock indices jumped on Tuesday, adding to their sharp gains from the previous month. The Dow climbed 185 points, helped by a 3% jump in Apple's stock. The 30-stock average hit an intraday record in Tuesday's session. The S&P 500 climbed 1.13% to close at a record high. The Nasdaq Composite also notched a new record, closing up 1.28%, as the mega-cap tech stocks all closed in the green.
Sentiment got a boost after a group of lawmakers unveiled a $908 billion stimulus plan, however, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected the proposal later in the day. Still, investors are hopeful for a second stimulus package.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell called the economic outlook extraordinarily uncertain on Tuesday when he and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke before Congress this week as part of mandated updates on CARES Act funding. Mnuchin did call on Congress for $300 billion in aid for restaurants heading into the winter months.
In US economic data, the IHS Markit final manufacturing purchasing managers index reading for November was unchanged at 56.7 from its initial reading. The Institute for Supply Management's November manufacturing index slipped to 57.5% from an October reading of 59.3%.
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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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