Indian share markets witnessed volatile trading activity throughout the day and ended higher.
At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 185 points (up by 0.5%). Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty stood higher by 64 points (up by 0.6%).
Tata Motors and Zee Entertainment Enterprises were among the top gainers today.
SGX Nifty was trading at 11,560, up by 51 points, at the time of writing.
The BSE Mid Cap index ended up by 1.3%. The BSE Small Cap index ended up by 1.7%.
Sectoral indices ended on a positive note with stocks in the power sector and auto sector witnessing buying interest.
Asian stock markets closed higher today. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng was down 0.26% and the Shanghai Composite stood lower by 0.17%. The Nikkei ended up by 0.47%.
The rupee is trading at 73.06 against the US$.
Jubilant Foodworks was among the top buzzing stocks today.
Jubilant Foodworks reported a net loss at Rs 745 million in June quarter against a profit of Rs 715 million during the same period last year. Revenue went down 59.1% year-on-year (YoY) at Rs 3.8 billion. EBITDA was down 88.7% YoY at Rs 246 million.
Moving on to news from the commodity space, India's gold imports in August nearly doubled from a year ago to the highest level in eight months on an improvement in investment demand. The rise was also seen as some jewelers restocked after New Delhi eased lockdowns.
India, the world's second-biggest consumer of the precious metal imported around 60 tonnes of gold in August, up from 32.1 tonnes a year ago.
In value terms, August imports surged to US$ 3.7 billion from US$ 1.37 billion a year ago.
In news from the finance sector, Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), an industry association for the microfinance industry, said it has issued an advisory to its members on engaging with borrowers after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) moratorium ended on August 31, 2020.
MFIN said the detailed advisory is a reiteration of points covered in the Industry Code of Conduct and Code of Responsible Lending such as fair interactions with borrowers, ensuring transparency, training for employees engaging with borrowers, among several others. The advisory also covers safeguards for COVID-19.
MFIN's CEO and Director Alok Misra said there could be borrowers who might be facing stress. All providers (of microcredit) agree that we must continue to show empathy with these borrowers and allow them time to get on their feet, even though credit discipline is important.
MFIN members include 56 NBFC-MFIs (Non-Banking Financial Company- Microfinance Institutions) and 40 associates, including banks, small finance banks and NBFCs.
Note that the RBI, in March, had announced a moratorium on repayment of term loans in order to provide relief to borrowers impacted by the COVID-19 related disruptions. Initially, the moratorium was allowed till May 31 but was later extended till August 31.
Speaking of the finance sector, note that the market crash impacted all stocks, but finance stocks took the worst hit.
Even as the Sensex has made a comeback to pre-COVID levels, the slowdown and asset quality concerns amid the moratorium extension is an overhang on the financial sector.
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