Domestic equity benchmarks ended near the day's low amid significant selloff on Wednesday. Barring the Nifty Pharma index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red. Banks, auto and metal shares witnessed steep selling. The Nifty ended tad above the 14,550 mark, after hitting the day's low at 14,535.
As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 871.13 points or 1.74% to 49,180.31. The Nifty 50 index slumped 261.75 points or 1.77% to 14,553.
Cipla (up 1.82%), Asian Paints (up 1.36%) and Power Grid Corporation of India (up 0.94%) bucked the trend.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 8.86% to 22.50.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 1.63% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.50%.
Balrampur Chini Mills (up 4.32%), Adani Total Gas (up 3.89%), Gujarat State Petronet (up 3.83%), Solara Active Pharma Sciences (up 3.80%) and eClerx Services (up 3.62%) were top gainers in the broader market.
Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 840 shares rose and 2116 shares fell. A total of 168 shares were unchanged.
Domestic shares mirrored the weakness in other global stock markets as rising COVID-19 cases drove demand for safe assets, resulting into flight of capital into treasuries and the dollar. Germany, France and Italy have widened virus-related curbs. The head of the World Health Organization called recent increases in deaths and cases truly worrying trends. Consequently, the crude oil was struggling to hold above the $60 mark after it dropped nearly 6% in the previous session as renewed possibility of lockdowns clouded hopes of recovery in consumption.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 124,143,841 with 2,733,634 deaths. India reported 368,457 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 160,441 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
India recorded 47,262 new cases of the coronavirus disease in a timespan of 24 hours, according to Union health ministry update on Wednesday. Maharashtra recorded 28,699 new Covid-19 cases and 132 deaths. The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (2,533,026), Kerala (1,105,467), Karnataka (971,647), Andhra Pradesh (894,044), and Tamil Nadu (868,367).
Meanwhile, the government has decided to open up its vaccination drive for all above 45 years of age from 1 April 2021, and requested that all eligible people should “immediately register and get vaccinated”. The rest of the population could be considered for vaccination coverage once the current stage is over.
New listing:
Shares of Anupam Rasayan India were trading at Rs 522.40 at 15:25 IST on the BSE, a discount of 5.87% over the initial public offer (IPO) price of Rs 555.
The stock was listed at Rs 534.70, a discount of 3.66% to IPO price. The stock hit a high of Rs 548.95 and low of Rs 501.15. On the BSE, 15.61 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far.
The IPO of Anupam Rasayan was subscribed 44.06 times. The non-institutional investors category was subscribed 97.42 times. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) category was subscribed 65.74 times. The retail individual investors category was subscribed 10.77 times.
The issue opened for bidding on 12 March 2021 and closed on 16 March 2021. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 553-555 per share. The offer comprised of a fresh issue aggregating up to Rs 760 crore by the company.
The company intends to utilize Rs 563.698 crore of the net proceeds towards repayment/prepayment of certain indebtedness availed by the company (including accrued interest) and balance for general corporate purposes. The company's total debt as on 31 December 2020 stood at Rs 841.975 crore.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty PSU Bank index fell 3.32% to 2,152.80. The index gained 2.91% in the previous session.
Bank of India (down 4.72%), Punjab National Bank (down 4.65%), UCO Bank (down 4.42%), SBI (down 3.56%), Canara Bank (down 3.54%), Indian Bank (down 3.53%), Bank of Baroda (down 3.37%), Union Bank of India (down 3.06%) and Jammu and Kashmir Bank (down 2.22%) declined.
Central Bank of India (up 0.90%) and Indian Overseas Bank (up 0.30%) bucked the trend.
Bank of Maharashtra added 3.83% to Rs 21.70. The bank said it has successfully raised Rs 100 crore through private placement of Basel III compliant Tier II bonds.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Grasim Industries slipped 1.55% to Rs 1388.80. The board of the company at its meeting held on 24 March 2021 approved raising funds by availing term loans or by issuing debt securities in India or overseas within the overall borrowing limit of Rs 10,000 crore.
Dalmia Bharat shed 0.87% to Rs 1555.90. The company said its a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, Dalmia Cement (Bharat), has commenced commercial production of Line II having a capacity of 2.25 million tons at its Bengal Cement Works (BCW) unit in West Midnapore in the state of West Bengal. This addition will increase the overall capacity of the BCW unit to 4 million tons per annum.
Cadila Healthcare rose 0.41% to Rs 432.80. The company and its subsidiary Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc. have reached an agreement with Celgene Corporation (Celgene), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb relating to patents for Revlimid (lenalidomide).
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals fell 1.33% to Rs 459.45. The company has received a final approval from the USFDA for chlorpromazine hydrochloride tablets, a generic version of Thorazin tablets of GlaxoSmithKline. The antipsychotic medication is primarily used to treat psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. According to IQVIA sales data for the 12-month period ended January 2021, Thorazine Tablets, achieved annual sales of approximately $108.6 million.
Vascon Engineers rose 2.86% to Rs 18. The company emerged as the lowest bidder for two projects floated by the Uttar Pradesh Public Works Department. The projects are for the establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district hospitals in Bijnor and Kaushambi valued at Rs 246.09 crore and Rs 269.54 crore, respectively.
Rossari Biotech declined 4.60% to Rs 1061.25. The board of the speciality-chemicals maker approved issuing 30,12,046 equity shares of face value of Rs 2 each, on a preferential basis. The board determined a floor price of Rs 996 per equity share or such higher price, aggregating to Rs 300 crore. This preferential issue is subject to necessary approvals, including from the company's shareholders.
Global Markets:
Shares in Europe and Asia tumbled on Wednesday as concerns over the world's recovery from the pandemic weighed on investor sentiment.
An expansion of Japan's factory activity gathered pace in March, a private sector survey showed on Wednesday. The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 52.0 in March from a final 51.4 in February.
The World Health Organization said most regions of the globe are seeing an increase in new COVID-19 cases as highly contagious variants continue to spread. Germany is extending its lockdown until 18 April, while nearly a third of France entered a month-long shutdown on Saturday.
US stocks tumbled on Tuesday as concerns about the cost of infrastructure spending and potential tax hikes to pay for President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion relief bill weighed on investors.
Federal Reserve' Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made their first joint appearance Tuesday before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. The duo acknowledged the richly valued asset prices in the markets, but said that they are not worried about financial stability.
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