The main stock indices traded sideways with modest losses in mid-afternoon trade. All the sectoral indices on the NSE were in the red. Autos and banks stocks witnessed major selling.
At 14:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 275.43 points or 0.53% at 52,000.14. The Nifty 50 index lost 78.70 points or 0.5% at 15,661.40. The Nifty index hit a record high of 15,800.45 in early afternoon trade.
Selling was broad based. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index skid 0.2% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.22%.
The market breadth was almost even. On the BSE, 1,578 shares rose and 1,569 shares fell. A total of 141A shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 17,40,01,158 with 37,47,385 deaths. India reported 12,31,415 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 3,53,528 deaths while 2,75,04,126 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
As many as 92,596 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday. This marks a slight uptick in the new reported cases after falling to a 63-day low of 86,498 on Tuesday. The positivity rate now stands at 4.67%.
India has recorded a positivity rate below 10% for 16 consecutive days now. The cumulative caseload has reached 2,90,89,069.
Economy:
The World Bank, on 8 June 2021, projected India's economy to grow at 8.3% in 2021. Earlier, the World Bank had estimated Indian economy to grow at a pace of 10.1% in FY 2021-22. Citing the reason to slash the FY22 growth of Indian economy, the global lending and monitoring body said that India has been hampered by the largest outbreak of coronavirus cases that any country has seen since the beginning of the pandemic.
"In India, an enormous second COVID-19 wave is undermining the sharper-than-expected rebound in activity seen during the second half of FY2020/21, especially in services. With surging COVID-19 cases, foot traffic around work and retail spaces has again slowed to more than one-third below pre-pandemic levels since March, in part due to greater restrictions on mobility," World Bank said in its latest Global Economic Prospects report.
The World Bank on Tuesday upgraded its growth forecast, with the global economy now expected to grow 5.6% in 2021. That compared against an earlier forecast in January for a 4% global economic expansion in 2021. Still, the organization warned in a Tuesday press release that global output will be about 2% below pre-pandemic projections by the end of this year in spite of the recovery.
Numbers to Watch:
In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee rose to 72.96 compared with its previous closing of 72.89.
MCX Gold futures for 4 June 2021 settlement shed 0.14% to Rs 49,056.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.05% to 90.032.
The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.019% from 6.006% recorded at the close of the previous trading session.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2021 settlement rose 56 cents to $72.78 a barrel. The contract had increased 1.02% to settle at $72.22 in the previous trading session.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Videocon Industries hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 6.43 after the the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the resolution plan of Twin Star Technologies. Early in December 2020, the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Videocon had approved the resolution plan submitted by Twin Star Technologies with 95.09% votes. The plan was then filed for NCLT approval on 15 December 2020. "NCLT has pronounced the order on June 8, 2021 approving the resolution plan for the consolidated corporate debtors, including the company, under Section 31 of the Code (Approval Order)," Videocon Industries said in a regulatory filing. "As per the terms of the resolution plan, Videocon Industries will be delisted," it added.
Sterlite Technologies rose 1.95% to Rs 274.40 after the company announced a partnership with Vocus Group, a specialist fibre and network solutions provider in Australia. The deal would help strengthens STL's presence in the Australian market, helping network creators deploy high capacity nationwide networks faster.
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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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