Indian share markets witnessed buying interest throughout the day today and ended higher.
Benchmark indices started the week on a positive note tracking global equities, which climbed higher on hopes that US President Donald Trump could be discharged from hospital later in the day, easing some of the political uncertainty that shook global markets in the previous session.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to hold a virtual media briefing on the outcome of the 42nd GST Council meeting at 5:45 PM today.
At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 277 points.
Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty stood higher by 86 points.
TCS and Tata Steel were among the top gainers today. Bajaj Finserv, on the other hand, was among the top losers today.
SGX Nifty was trading at 11,526, up by 87 points, at the time of writing.
The BSE Mid Cap index ended down by 0.2%.
The BSE Small Cap index ended up by 0.4%.
Sectoral indices ended on a positive note with stocks in the IT sector and metal sector witnessing maximum buying interest.
Asian stock markets ended on a positive note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng ended up by 1.3% and the Nikkei ended up by 1.2%.
US stock futures are trading higher today, indicating a positive start for Wall Street indices.
Nasdaq Futures are trading up by 104 points (up 0.9%), while Dow Futures are trading up by 171 points (up 0.6%).
The rupee is trading at 73.29 against the US$.
Gold prices are trading up by 0.3% at Rs 50,300 per 10 grams.
In news from the finance sector, the Supreme Court today adjourned the hearing in the loan moratorium case to October 13.
The bench granted an additional week's time to the government to file the affidavit recounting the guidelines, notifications and circulars that have been taken by the RBI and Union government.
The above developments come as the center is set to formulate a scheme to waive compound interest for small borrowers during the six-month moratorium period, which may come at a cost of Rs 50-70 billion.
The scheme on the compound interest waiver will spell out the manner in which the government will transfer money to banks after they submit claims of the entitled borrowers.
According to the finance ministry's filing to the top court on Friday, the interest waiver will apply for loans taken by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for educational, housing, consumer goods and auto loans, and for credit card dues.
For the categories specified by the government, the waiver on interest will be irrespective of whether the borrower has availed of the moratorium.
In March, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had allowed borrowers to seek a six-month moratorium on all loans due to the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis, but banks and finance companies charged interest on the entire amount.
According to the calculation done by the Indian Banks' Association, a waiver of compound interest payments during the six-month loan moratorium period will cost lenders close to Rs 100 billion.
The center and the RBI have already told the supreme court that the moratorium can be extended by up to two years.
How the above developments pan out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space.
Speaking of the finance sector, note that the market crash impacted all stocks, but finance stocks took the worst hit.
Even as the Sensex made a comeback to pre-COVID levels, the slowdown and asset quality concerns amid the moratorium extension is an overhang on the financial sector.
Moving on to stock-specific news...
Hatsun Agro Products was among the top buzzing stocks today.
Shares of the company surged 12% to Rs 870 on the BSE, after it announced plans to reward shareholders by issuing bonus shares.
The board has fixed October 29, 2020 as the record date for the purpose of determining the shareholders eligible to vote on the resolutions for the issue of bonus shares.
Hatsun Agro Products' share price ended the day up by 7.6%.
Market participants were also tracking Chemcon Speciality Chemicals share price.
Shares of the company remained under pressure today, falling as much as 12% in intra-day trade.
The stock of the specialty chemicals has slipped 31% in the past two trading days after making a stellar debut at the bourses on Thursday.
Chemcon Speciality Chemicals was listed at Rs 731, a 115% premium against the issue price of Rs 340 per share on the BSE.
Comments
Log in or sign up to join the conversation.