Barometers were trading near the day's high in mid-morning trade, supported by firmness in Kotak Mahindra Bank. FMCG shares advanced while IT shares witnessed selling. At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 42.54 points or 0.11% at 40,188.32. The Nifty 50 index gained 33.05 points or 0.28% at 11,800.05.

The broader market traded with gains. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.84% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.14%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1041 shares rose and 1231 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Union Government today said that the country's COVID-19 recovery rate has crossed 90.62%. More than 63 thousand COVID patients recovered during the last 24 hours. Health Ministry said the total number of recoveries has gone up to over 72 lakh.

India reported 625,857 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 119,502 deaths while 7,201,070 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 4,34,83,973 with 11,58,883 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

MSCI Rebalancing:

Morgan Stanley Capital Investment (MSCI) announced that it will implement changes in Foreign Ownership Limits (FOL) in the MSCI Global Indexes containing Indian securities coinciding with the November 2020 Semi Annual Index Review. The global index major said it will implement the changes at the close of 30 November, effective 1 December 2020. The change is expected to attract billions of dollars in active and passive flows for domestic stocks where the FOL will increase.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty FMCG index gained 1.19% to 30,130.

Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation (up 4.6%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 4.41%), Nestle India (up 4.12%), Tasty Bite Eatables (up 3.62%), Tata Consumer Products (up 2.8%), Britannia Industries (up 2.44%), Emami (up 2.02%) and Godrej Consumer Products (up 1.38%) were top gainers in FMCG segment.

Earnings Impact:

Kotak Mahindra Bank jumped 9.5%. The private lender's net profit soared 26.7% to Rs 2,184.48 crore on 3.78% increase in total income to Rs 8,288.08 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 5,335.95 crore as on 30 September 2020 as against Rs 5,619.33 crore as on 30 June 2020 and Rs 5,033.55 crore as on 30 September 2019. The bank's provisions and contingencies fell 9.64% to Rs 368.59 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Rs 407.93 crore in Q2 September 2019. Net Interest income (NII) for Q2FY21 increased to Rs 3,913 crore, from Rs 3,350 crore in Q2FY20, up 17%. Net Interest Margin (NIM) for Q2FY21 was at 4.52%. Operating profit for Q2FY21 stood at Rs 3,297 crore, recording a 31% jump Y-o-Y from Rs 2,509 crore in Q2FY20. The result was announced during market hours yesterday, 26 October 2020.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals was down 2.43%. On a consolidated basis, the drug maker's net profit jumped 27% to Rs 310 crore on 0.9% increase in net sales to Rs 1,985 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. EBITDA galloped 12% to Rs 641 crore in Q2 FY21 as against Rs 573 crore in Q2 FY20, driven by recovery in India and productivity gains. EBITDA margin improved to 32% in Q2 FY21 from 12% in Q2 FY20. Gross profit fell marginally 0.27% to Rs 1,463 crore (margins at 73%) in Q2 FY21 as against Rs 1,467 crore (margins at 73%) in Q2 FY20. Research & Development (R&D) spend slipped 8% to Rs 119 crore in Q2 FY21 as against Rs 130 crore in Q2 FY20.

Global Markets:

Most Asian indices were trading lower as soaring global coronavirus cases and shrinking hopes for a U.S. stimulus deal took a toll on Wall Street. Profits at China's industrial firms jumped 10.1% year-on-year in September, according to the country's National Bureau of Statistics.

China will reportedly impose sanctions on US entities participating in US arms sales to Taiwan. Lockheed Martin, Boeing Defense and Raytheon will be sanctioned.

US stocks tumbled on Monday as soaring coronavirus cases and uncertainty about a fiscal relief bill in Washington dimmed the outlook for the U.S. economic recovery.

Optimism also dimmed over the White House and Republicans striking a stimulus deal with Democrats before the election. White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow reportedly said that talks had slowed down, but noted they are still ongoing.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News