Stocks held firm in mid-morning trade on steady buying demand in index pivotals. Positive Asian stocks supported gains on the domestic bourses. PSU bank stocks were under pressure. The Sensex is currently trading below the 37,000 level after hitting intraday high above that level in early trade. The market breadth turned negative from positive. At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 258.43 points or 0.71% at 36,852.76. The Nifty 50 index added 79.40 points or 0.74% at 10,847.45. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.21% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.24%. The market breadth turned negative. On the BSE, 1109 shares rose and 1208 shares fell. A total of 179 shares were unchanged. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,031 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 431.21 crore in the Indian equity market on 10 July 2020, provisional data showed. Buzzing Index: The Nifty PSU Bank index fell 1.25% to 1,471.20, extending losses for second day. The index has lost 3.88% in two sessions. Among the index constituents, Jammu and Kashmir Bank (down 3.18%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 1.86%), Bank of Baroda (down 1.84%), UCO Bank (down 1.79%), Bank of Maharashtra (down 1.73%), Union Bank of India (down 1.4%), Canara Bank (down 1.1%), Punjab National Bank (down 1.43%), Indian Bank (down 1.1%), SBI (down 0.77%) and Bank of India (down 0.61%) declined. Stocks in action: Reliance Industries (RIL) gained 2.99% to Rs 1,934.70. The scrip surged 3.64% to hit an all time high of Rs 1947 in trade today. RIL said that Qualcomm Ventures has committed to invest upto Rs 730 crore in Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore. Biocon rose 1.22% to Rs 419.35. The company said that it has received the Drugs Controller General of India's (DCGI) approval to market Itolizumab injection for emergency use in India for the treatment of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) in moderate to severe ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) patients due to COVID-19. Global Markets: Shares in Asia rose across the board on Monday buoyed by hopes of a coronavirus vaccine, though a spike in infections around the world capped gains. Investors remained watchful of the corporate earnings as that would reveal how companies fared during the second quarter of the fiscal year 2020-21, the period during which when nationwide lockdowns were imposed in most of the countries around the globe. The US stock market settled session higher after recouping early losses on Friday, 10 July 2020, as a positive update from Gilead's antiviral drug to treat COVID-19 brushed off worries about a fresh wave of coronavirus infections and its impact on the economic recovery. Gilead Sciences said on Friday that an analysis of clinical-trial data for its remdesivir drug found a 62% reduction in mortality risk among severely ill COVID-19 patients compared with standard care. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |