| Key barometers reversed trend after hitting fresh intraday high in in mid-morning trade. At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 41.5 points or 0.11% at 37,931.22. The Nifty 50 index was flat at 11,222.9.
The broader market was positive. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.16% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.13%.
The market breadth was almost even. On the BSE, 1055 shares rose and 1129 shares fell. A total of 160 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 26.98 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 542.34 crore in the Indian equity market on 29 September, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
India reported 9,40,441 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 97,497 deaths while 51,87,825 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 33,560,877 with 10,06,564 deaths.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Pharma index surged 2.03% to 11,946.85, bouncing from yesterday's 0.74% decline.
Solara Active Pharma Sciences (up 5.66%), Aarti Drugs (up 4.99%), Morepen Laboratories Ltd (up 4.91%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd (up 4.41%), Dr Reddys Laboratories (up 4.18%), Cipla (up 3.46%), Hikal (up 3.4%) and Cadila Healthcare (up 3.38%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.5%) and Lupin (up 1.46%) rose.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Reliance Industries (RIL) gained 0.42%. India's largest conglomerate, RIL announced today that General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, will invest Rs 3,675 crore into Reliance Retail Ventures, a subsidiary of the company. This investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 lakh crore. General Atlantic's investment will translate into a 0.84% equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis. The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals. This marks the second investment by General Atlantic in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, following a Rs 6,598.38 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.
Arvind Fashions fell 0.76%. The company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Arvind Lifestyle Brands nand Gap Inc., decided to mutually terminate their franchise business relationship in India. Due to circumstances post the Covid-19 pandemic, both companies agreed that a mutual termination was in best interest. Both the companies will work out modalities regarding transition of the Gap business.
Sumitomo Chemical India fell 3.48% to Rs 287.10 as the offer for sale (OFS) opened for non-retail investors today. Through the OFS, the company's promoter propose to sell over 1.64 crore shares, constituting 3.30% paid-up share capital of the company. The floor price for the OFS was set at Rs 270 per shares, a 9.23% discount to Sumitomo Chemical's closing price of Rs 297.45 on Tuesday, 29 September 2020. Both retail as well as non-retail investors will be able to subscribe on Thursday (1 October 2020).
Global Markets:
The US Dow Jones Futures 30 were down 363 points, indicating a weak start on Wall Street today.
Most Asian markets were trading higher on Wednesday as investors reacted to the release of China's manufacturing activity data for September and US presidential debate.
China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for September came in at 51.5 on Wednesday as compared to 51 in August, according to the country's National Bureau of Statistics. Meanwhile, a private manufacturing survey also showed manufacturing activity expanding in September, with the Caixin/Markit PMI coming in at 53 from 53.1 in August.
In US, Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday, snapping a three-day winning streak as investors took money off the table hours before the first U.S. presidential debate.
US President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, wrapped up their first presidential debate on Tuesday night with heated exchanges. Two more debates between the presidential candidates are scheduled to take place on 15 October and 22 October 2020. The US Presidential election is scheduled on Tuesday, 3 November 2020.
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly unveiled a new, $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill proposed by House Democrats, a sign of potential progress in the partisan tug-of-war over the new aid package nearly two months after emergency unemployment benefits expired for millions.
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