| Domestic shares advanced for the second consecutive session on Monday. The Nifty reclaimed 11,200 mark. Buying was broad based with banks and auto shares making the biggest moves.
As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 592.97 points or 1.59% at 37,981.63. The Nifty 50 index surged 186.7 points or 1.71% at 11,236.25.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rallied 2.68% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index jumped 2.61%.
Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1928 shares rose and 756 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 32,994,213 with 996,682 deaths. India reported 9,62,640 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 95,542 deaths while 50,16,520 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
RBI MPC:
The Reserve Bank of India announced that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled during September 29, 30 and October 1 2020 has been rescheduled. The dates of the MPC's meeting will be announced shortly.
In last meeting, the six-member MPC kept repo rate untouched at 4%; and reverse repo rate at 3.35% while maintaining the accommodative stance.
Economy:
President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave assent to three farm bills recently passed by the parliament. The bills are Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) bill, 2020. The act is aimed at transforming agriculture in the country and raising farmers' income.
The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 permits the electronic trading of farmers' produce and allows setting up of transaction platforms for facilitating direct online buying and selling of farm products.
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 provides for a farming agreement prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce. A guaranteed price to be paid for the purchase of farming produce will be mentioned in such agreements.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 allows the central government to regulate the supply of certain food items only under extraordinary circumstances such as war and famine.
Meanwhile, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has sanctioned the first installment funds of Rs 19,444 crore to Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Telangana for Kharif paddy procurement under minimum support price operations. Chhattisgarh gets the highest amount to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore. Telangana has been sanctioned Rs 5,500 crore and Haryana Rs 5,444 crore.
The Agriculture Ministry said this proactive step by NCDC during the COVID pandemic will give the much needed financial support to farmers of these three states who account for nearly 75% of production of paddy in the country.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.65% after the company said its retail business subsidiary, Reliance Retail Ventures, received the subscription amount of Rs 7,500 crore from Silver Lake for acquisition of 1.75% stake.
Escorts surged 7.53%. The company has been informed by Escorts Kubota India (EKI) that they have started the commercial production of Kubota Tractors from 25 September 2020. Escorts Kubota India (EKI) is a 60:40 Joint Venture between Kubota Corporation, Japan and Escorts.
Tata Steel rose 2.67%. The steel major, on September 25, 2020, has acquired 34.92 lakh shares of Tata Metaliks pursuant to conversion of Warrants issued at a price of Rs 642 per warrant aggregating to Rs 224.21 crore.
Lupin gained 1.2%. The drug major on Monday (28 September) announced the launch of Atorvastatin Calcium tablets having received an approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) earlier. Atorvastatin Calcium tablets USP, 10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg, and 80 mg, is the generic equivalent of Lipitor tablets, 10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg and 80 mg, of Pfizer Inc., and indicated to lower cholesterol in blood for adults and children over 10 years of age.
Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporation spurted 2.15% after the company said that its securities issue committee will meet on or after 30 September 2020 to consider allotting FCCBs worth to $15 million to IFC. Last year, the company's securities issue committee approved the terms and conditions for issue of FCCBs aggregating to $30 million in two equal tranches to IFC and also disclosing the allotment of 30 (thirty) FCCBs having a par value of $500,000 each, being the first tranche, to IFC, for an aggregate amount of $15 million.
Gulf Oil Lubricants India (GOLIL) jumped 4.36% to Rs 664.25 after the company announced a strategic lubricants partnership with S-Oil Corporation of South Korea. S-Oil Corporation is one of the leading oil refining and lubricant manufacturing companies in Asia. Under the partnership, GOLIL will exclusively manufacture and market S-Oil's entire range of lubricants under the brand 'S-Oil Seven' for the Indian market.
Premier Explosives hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 119.50 after the company said it received arms licence for making all types of warheads and fuses in Telangana. The licence, which is valid for life time, enables the company to enter into new business area in defence explosives like warheads (blasts, fragmentation, shaped charge) and all types of fuses (electronic, mechanical).
Global Markets:
US Dow Jones futures 30 were up 364 points, indicating a strong opening in the US stock market today.
European shares were trading higher while most Asian indices advanced on Monday.
China's industrial profits rose 19.1% in August, the country's National Bureau of Statistics announced over the weekend. Chinese economic data has been watched by investors for signs of the country's continued recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
In Europe, Bank of England policymaker Silvana Tenreyro has reportedly said that the central bank's investigation into whether negative interest rates could help the British economic recovery has yielded “encouraging” results.
Investors will focus on the first debate between U.S. President Donald Trump and rival Joe Biden on Tuesday ahead of the November election.
In US, stock indexes closed higher after a choppy session Friday, as tech shares clawed back some of their big September declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 358.52 points higher, or 1.3%, at 27,173.96. The S&P 500 climbed 1.6% to 3,298.46. The Nasdaq Composite popped 2.26% to 10,913.56.
Shares of Amazon rose 2.5% and Facebook gained 2.1%. Apple advanced 3.8% and Microsoft climbed 2.3%. Netflix closed 2.1% higher. Novavax shares jumped nearly 11% after the company said Thursday it has started a final-stage study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the U.K.
Cruise operators also contributed to Friday's gains. Carnival Corp, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean were up 9.7%, 13.7% and 7.7%, respectively.
Meanwhile, House Democrats are reportedly preparing a $2.4 trillion relief package that they could vote on as soon as next week. The bill would include enhanced unemployment benefits and aid to airlines, but the overall price tag remains well above what Republican leaders have said they are willing to spend.
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