Share market update: Sensex, Nifty trade sideways with strong gains

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Benchmarks traded sideways with strong gains in mid-morning trade amid positive global cues. At 10:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 668.2 points or 1.4% at 48,546.27. The Nifty 50 index was up 182.35 points or 1.27% at 14,523.85. In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.12% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.76%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1859 shares rose and 859 shares fell. A total of 197 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 146,830,782 with 31,06,384 deaths. India reported 28,13,658 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 195,123 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. On Sunday, India reported 3.55 lakh fresh Covid cases and registered 2,807 deaths.

The US government has decided to lift the export ban on the essential raw materials required by the vaccine manufacturer in India for production of COVID-19 vaccine. This development comes after several US lawmakers voiced their concerns over the COVID-19 situation in India. They exerted pressure on the Biden administration to extend assistance, release vaccines and other raw materials critical for India. White House said, US has identified sources of specific raw material urgently required for Indian manufacture of the Covishield vaccine that will immediately be made available for India.

Meanwhile, the government will continue giving COVID vaccine doses from its 50% quota to the states and Union Territories for free during the phase three of the vaccination drive. These vaccines will continue to be administered by States and Union Territories.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index jumped 2.6% to 32,553.10. It was the top performing sectoral index on the NSE.

ICICI Bank (up 5%), Axis Bank (up 3.05%), SBI (up 2.35%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 2%), Federal Bank (up 1.87%), IDFC First Bank (up 1.57%), IndusInd Bank (up 1.39%), RBL Bank (up 1.37%) and Punjab National Bank (up 1.18%) were top gainers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.52% to Rs 1914.25 after the company and bp announced the start of production from the satellite cluster gas field in block KG D6 off the east coast of India. RIL and bp have been developing three deep-water gas developments in block KG D6 – R Cluster, Satellite Cluster and MJ – which together are expected to produce around 30 mmscmd (1 billion cubic feet a day) of natural gas by 2023, meeting up to 15% of India’s gas demand. The developments will each utilize the existing hub infrastructure in the KG D6 block. RIL is the operator of the block with a 66.67% participating interest and bp holds a 33.33% participating interest.

Natco Pharma rose 3.78% to Rs 911 after the company said that it is seeking an emergency approval of Molnupiravir capsules for Covid-19 treatment. Natco Pharma has applied to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) in India for approval of Phase-III clinical trial of Molnupiravir Capsules for the treatment of COVID-19 positive patients. Pre-clinical data have shown that Molnupiravir has broad anti-influenza activity, including highly potent inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication. Patients treated with Molnupiravir achieved response within 5 days of therapy indicating that the duration of treatment with Molnupiravir is short, with the additional advantage of being an oral therapy, the drug maker said in a statement.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks advanced on Monday as signs the world economic recovery was well on track bolstered risk appetite.

U.S. stocks rebounded on Friday as Wall Street reassessed concerns arising from news that the White House could seek a hike to the capital gains tax. Stocks were supported by data indicating an acceleration in economic activity and even faster growth in new home sales, as investors largely brushed off Thursday’s reports that President Joe Biden would propose a large increase on the capital-gains tax for the wealthiest Americans.

In U.S. economic data, the IHS Markit purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector rose to a record 60.5 in April from 59.1 a month earlier, while the services sector PMI jumped to 63.1 from 60.4. A reading of more than 50 indicates an expansion in activity.

New home sales rose to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.021 million in March, the U.S. Census Bureau reported — the fastest pace since 2006. Month-over-month, sales rose 20.7%. Also, the Census Bureau revised the sales figure for February up to a rate of 846,000, from the originally reported rate of 775,000.

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