The benchmark indices were trading in a narrow range in afternoon trade. At 13:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 124.63 points or 0.21% at 58,891.26. The Nifty 50 index skid 61.30 points or 0.35% at 17,523.85.

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) (down 2.21%), Tata Steel (down 6.58%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.62%) dragged the market.

Broader indices were trading with minor losses. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index lost 0.49%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.48%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 1,338 shares rose and 1,925 shares fell. A total of 160 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,552.59 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,398.55 crore in the Indian equity market on 17 September 2021, provisional data showed.

Investors will continue to focus on the U.S. Federal Reserve's upcoming September meeting for clues on the central bank's tapering of its easy monetary policy. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference on Wednesday at the conclusion of the two-day meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Prospects of tighter U.S. monetary policy and the Delta variant-induced slowdown in global economic growth coupled with possible corporate tax hikes worried the investor community.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 22,85,41,752 with 46,91,866 deaths. India reported 3,18,181 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,45,133 deaths while 3,27,15,105 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Gainers & Losers:

Bajaj Finserv (up 2.46%), Hindustan Unilever (HUL) (up 2.33%), ITC (up 2.01%), HCL Technologies (up 1.38%) and Britannia Industries (up 1.22%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.

Tata Steel (down 6.58%), Hindalco Industries (down 5.68%), JSW Steel (down 3.77%), Eicher Motors (down 3.23%) and UPL (down 2.73%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Great Eastern Shipping Co. (G E Shipping Co.) dropped 2.67%. The company delivered its 2003 built Aframax Crude Carrier - Jag Lata, to its buyers. The vessel, Jag Lata, was contracted for sale in July 2021. Excluding this vessel, Great Eastern Shipping Co. (G E Shipping Co.)'s current fleet stands at 45 vessels, comprising 31 tankers (8 crude carriers, 18 product tankers, 5 LPG carrier) and 14 dry bulk carriers with an average age of 12.01 years aggregating 3.57 million deadweight tonnes (dwt).

Alkem Laboratories lost 1.19%. The pharmaceutical firm said that its board has approved the closure of operations at Beta Block (Unit II) manufacturing facility located at Baddi, Solan District, Himachal Pradesh. The Beta Block's turnover was Rs 43.25 crore, accounting for 0.60% of the total turnover of the company. The company said that the Beta Block (Unit-II) manufacturing facility at Baddi mainly catered to domestic market for injections and was significantly underutilized. To avoid operating expenditure in Baddi, it is decided to discontinue the manufacturing operations at this facility and the said unit will be used as a warehouse, it added.

Global Markets:

European stocks declined across the board on Monday, 20 September 2021, as global markets contend with concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve's tapering timetable.

Asian market was mixed on Monday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined over 3% as shares of shares of embattled Chinese developer China Evergrande Group continued their decline. Concerns that China's second-largest property developer Evergrande could default on its debts is spilling over into China's financial markets and even risks contagion that could spread to markets beyond China. Markets in mainland China, Japan and South Korea are closed on Monday for holidays.

US stocks dipped on Friday as investors remain cautious due to a resurgent COVID-19 virus and a historical tendency for September to be a weak month for equities. The Food and Drug Administration advisory committee on Friday rejected a plan to administer booster shots of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine to the general public.

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