The domestic equity benchmarks ended with small losses after a volatile day on Friday. Pharma, IT, FMCG and PSU banks shares were in demand. As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 154.89 points or 0.31% to 49,591.32. The Nifty 50 index lost 37.05 points or 0.25% to 14,836.75.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.08% while The S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.69%.
Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1666 shares rose and 1234 shares fell. A total of 178 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 13,39,71,287 with 29,02,493 deaths. India reported 9,79,608 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,67,642 deaths while 1,19,13,292 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Ten states including Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab have shown a steep rise in the daily COVID-19 cases, accounting for 84.21% of the 1,26,789 new infections, the health ministry said on Thursday. The national weekly COVID-19 positivity rate has increased by 6.21% from 2.19% to 8.40% in the first seven days of March and April, the ministry said.
Primary Market:
The initial public offer (IPO) of Macrotech Developers received bids for 4.08 crore shares as against 3.64 crore shares on offer, according to the stock exchange data at 15:10 IST on Friday (9 April 2021). The issue was subscribed 1.12 times.
The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday, 7 April 2021, and it will close on Friday, 9 April 2021. The price band for the IPO is set at Rs 483-486 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 30 equity shares and in multiples thereof.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty IT index rose 0.74% to 27,348.25, extending gains for sixth day. The index has added 5.78% in six sessions.
Coforge (up 3.02%), Mphasis (up 2.37%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.33%), Wipro (up 1.83%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (up 1.36%), HCL Tech (up 0.84%) and MindTree (up 0.57%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Alkem Laboratories jumped 4.45% to Rs 2826.75. the company's board has approved approved the commencement of commercial production/ operations at the Chakan manufacturing facility of Enzene Biosciences, subsidiary of the company, located at Pune, Maharashtra, w.e.f. today, i.e. 09th April, 2021.
Ashok Leyland fell 1.55% to Rs 120.90. Switch Mobility, the company's subsidiary, and Siemens entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) towards building a co-operative technological partnership in electric commercial mobility segment and execute eMobility projects in India. The MOU is aimed at delivering efficient, cost-effective and sustainable E-Mobility solutions to various commercial vehicle customers in India.
Thyrocare Technologies added 3.34% to Rs 1042.60. The company said that Arindam Haldar, who had joined the company as a chief executive officer (CEO) in September 2020, expressed his intention of resigning from his current post for personal reasons.
Westlife Development rose 1.31% at Rs 426. In wake of the new restrictions announced to curb the spread of COVID-19 infections in Maharashtra, Westlife Development owned McDonald's restaurants will operate 24/7 for contactless McDelivery from select stores in Mumbai.
Global Markets:
Most European shares advanced while most Asian stocks decline on Friday.
In the US, the S&P 500 rose to another record high on Thursday amid a strong rally in major technology stocks.
Federal Reverse chairman Jerome Powell signaled on Thursday that the economic rebound from the pandemic still has room to go as the recovery thus far hasn't been well-rounded. Powell also repeated that inflation is not expected to be serious even though near-term price pressures are likely.
Data showed an unexpected rise in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits. A total of 744,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time during the week ended April 3, the Labor Department said Thursday.
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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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