A bout of volatility was witnessed as the benchmarks once again slipped into the negative terrain in afternoon trade. The Nifty was hovering below the crucial 13,000 mark. Banks and IT shares dragged while auto and realty shares were in demand. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 99.14 points or 0.22% at 44,160.60. The Nifty 50 index slipped 12.65 points or 0.10% at 12,974.35. The broader market traded with strong gains. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.83%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.64%. Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1,718 shares rose and 912 shares fell. A total of 194 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 24 stocks advanced while 25 stocks declined. 1 stock remained unchanged. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,027.31 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 3,400.10 crore in the Indian equity market on 26 November 2020, provisional data showed. COVID-19 Update: Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 6,09,74,576 with 14,32,048 deaths. India reported 4,55,555 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,35,715 deaths while 87,18,517 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Economy: Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog has stated that India is uniquely positioned in the global landscape and has the potential to become the leading force in the new world order. India can create up to $1 trillion of the economic value by digital economy by 2025 with half of the opportunities originating in new digital ecosystems that can spring up in diverse sectors of the economy, he noted addressing the virtual session on Collaboration between Industry and Science during the Global R&D Summit 2020, organized jointly by the Department of Science and Technology, GoI and FICCI. India could potentially see a five-fold increase in economic value from digital transformation by 2025. This will represent an attractive opportunity for global and local businesses, start-ups, and innovators to invest in emerging technologies like AI, Blockchain or drones in ways that are customized to Indian needs. Kant further said that the government is focusing on high-quality public and private R&D and digital is the future both in the private and public sector. Gainers & Losers: Tata Motors (up 4.32%), Bajaj Auto (up 2.98%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.73%), Britannia Industries (up 1.71%) and Titan Company (up 1.64%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index. HDFC Life Insurance Company (down 2.01%), PowerGrid Corporation of India (down 1.69%), HCL Technologies (down 1.35%), TCS (down 1.30%) and State Bank of India (down 1.26%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index. Stocks in Spotlight: Cadila Healthcare rallied 6% after the media reported that the company is expected to introduce its COVID-19 vaccine by March next year. The drug maker will reportedly submit the results of its phase-2 trials next week, which will ascertain the safety, dose and efficacy of the potential vaccine. Subsequently, the company will apply for Phase-3 trial which it plans to conduct on 39,000 participants in December. If all goes well, the company expects to introduce the vaccine by March next year, media reports added. Gillette India advanced 2.52%. The National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) directed the personal care products maker to deposit Rs 57.99 crore in Consumer Welfare Funds. NAA has uploaded an order on 23 November 2020 on their official website on 25 November 2020. Gillette India is a respondent in the said matter. The order alleges that Gillette India has profiteered to the tune of Rs 57,99,37,416 and did not pass on the benefit of a tax reduction in November 2017. Hence, NAA has directed the company to deposit the profiteered amount with interest in Consumer Welfare Funds. Gillette India, however, clarified that that it has passed on the net benefit of the reduced GST rates to its recipients and has not profiteered from it. The company said it is reviewing the said order and will take appropriate steps in due course. ABB India rose 1.95% after the company launched a new range of M3BP motors for its industrial customers in India. ABB's new range of low voltage IEC induction motors are compactly designed and reduces the overall size of the equipment thus minimizing space and total cost of ownership. The launch will further strengthen ABB's presence in segments such as metals, cement, pulp & paper, water & wastewater and applications including fan, pump, compressor, crusher, crane etc. Global Markets: Most European shares were trading higher while Asian indices were up across the board on Friday as investors reacted to strong Chinese data. Profits at Chinese industrial firms rose 28.2% year-on-year in October to 642.91 billion yuan ($97.79 billion), official data showed on Friday, pointing to a steady recovery in the manufacturing sector after it was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Profits rose for a sixth straight month in October, after increasing by 10.1% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in September, the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed. Gains were, however, capped as investors were concerned over the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate, with results and methods used in their phase three vaccine trials coming under criticism from experts in the US. AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford are defending the results, stressing the highest standards were used and that additional analysis will be conducted. In US, financial markets were closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday while U.S. bonds and stocks will trade on a partial schedule on Friday. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |