Domestic equity indices extended losses and hit the day's low as selling pressure intensified in mid-afternoon trade. Barring the Nifty Metal index, all other sectoral indices on the NSE were trading in the red.
At 14:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 355.88 points or 0.73% at 48,081.40. The Nifty 50 index slipped 89.15 points or 0.63% at 14,110.35.
Profit selling emerged after the Sensex hit a record high of 48,616.66 while the Nifty hit a fresh all time high of 14,244.15 in early trade today.
The broader market gave up early gains. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.11% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.5%.
The market breadth turned negative. On the BSE, 1,393 shares rose and 1,665 shares fell. A total of 126 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 8,64,12,620 with 18,69,153 deaths. India reported 2,27,546 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,50,114 deaths while 99,97,272 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Balram Bhargava, chief of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), on Tuesday, said that Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine has been cleared in the clinical trial mode, which means consent of participants has to be taken. He was responding to the questions being raised on the clearance given to Covaxin.
Meanwhile, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Sunday approved AstraZeneca's vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and Covaxin for restricted emergency use in the country, paving the way for a massive inoculation drive.
Economy:
The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index came at 52.3 in December 2020. The index highlighted output growth for the third month in a row, however falling from 53.7 in November, the latest figure pointed to the slowest pace of expansion over the aforementioned sequence.
Commenting on the latest survey results, Pollyanna De Lima, Economics Associate Director at IHS Markit said, "Although the news that the service sector remained in expansion mode during December is welcome, the fact that growth lost momentum yet again shouldn't be disregarded.
The slowdown is particularly notable given the size of the sector, the fact that the recovery only began in October and that monthly rates of increase in new business and output were moderate relative to those seen in the manufacturing industry. A spike in COVID-19 cases was reported as a key factor restricting growth of new work intakes among service providers, which in turn curbed the rise in output and led to increased business uncertainty about the outlook. Given the damaging impact of the pandemic on the service economy, some companies are facing financial difficulties, which is preventing staff hiring. December saw the ninth round of job shedding in ten months. To add to the testing conditions services firms are facing, their expenses continued to rise while pricing power diminished. Input prices rose at the sharpest rate in ten months during December, but firms absorbed the increase in cost burdens amid efforts to stimulate demand. It is clear that the early part of 2021 will continue to be challenging, but we're looking at a sustainable recovery and some return to normality once COVID-19 vaccines become available."
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty IT slipped 0.9% to 25,536.30 amid profit taking after three-day rally. The index rose 6.26% in past three trading sessions.
Info Edge (down 4.52%), L&T Infotech (down 2.92%), Coforge (down 2.8%), Mindtree (down 1.39%), HCL Technologies (down 1.09%) and Tech Mahindra (down 0.6%) declined.
Numbers to Track:
In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee rose to 73.14 compared with its previous closing of 73.175.
The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 5.898% as compared to its previous close of 5.850%.
MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2021 settlement rose 0.01% to Rs 51,726.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.13% to 89.297.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2021 settlement rose 49 cents to $54.09 a barrel. The contract surged nearly 5% to settle at $53.60 in the previous trading session.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU