Share markets in India are presently trading deep in the red, tracking weak Asian markets which fell as virus fears resurfaced.
Fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections in China sent investors scurrying for safe havens.
The BSE Sensex is trading down by 703 points (down 2.1%), at 33,050 levels.
Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 195 points (down 2%).
The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 0.8%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading on a flat note.
Sectoral indices are trading on a negative note with stocks in the finance sector and banking sector witnessing most of the selling pressure.
The rupee is trading at Rs 76.09 against the US$.
Market participants are tracking Reliance Industries share price as the company's partly-paid shares issued under rights issue made a strong stock market debut, surging 10% to Rs 710.65 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
In news from the commodity space, domestic gold prices saw profit booking in early trade today even as Covid-19 cases in India mounted and a second wave of cases across the world worried the governments.
On MCX, August gold futures slipped 0.7% to Rs 47,020 per 10 grams.
Tracking gold, silver futures dropped 0.9% to Rs 47,324 per kg.
Global gold rates rose today as the US dollar weakened and fears of a second wave of the coronavirus in Beijing prompted investors to seek the safe-haven metal.
At the time of writing, spot gold was up 0.2% at US$ 1,733.45 per ounce. US gold futures rose 0.2% to US$ 1,740.90 per ounce.
Last week, gold posted its biggest weekly percentage gain since April.
In other news, gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw net inflows of Rs 8.2 billion in May as investors preferred safe haven options amid stock market volatility and the coronavirus crisis.
According to the latest data available with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi), a net sum of Rs 8.2 billion was pumped into gold-linked ETFs in May, much higher than the net Rs 7.3 billion infused in April.
The category had seen net outflows of Rs 2 billion in March.
The inflows meant assets under management (AUM) of gold funds climbed to Rs 101 billion at the end of May, from Rs 91.9 billion at the end of April.
Overall, mutual fund houses witnessed inflows of over Rs 708 billion across all segments in May as compared to inflows of Rs 460 billion in April.
We will keep you updated on how gold performs in the coming days. Stay tuned.
Speaking of gold, how lucrative has gold been as a long-term investment in India?
The chart below shows the annual returns on gold over the last 15 years...
Gold Has Been a Shining Long-Term Investment
As you can see, barring just two years - 2013 and 2015, gold has delivered positive returns in 13 of the last 15 years.
Moving on to news from the chemical sector, shares of Aarti Industries tumbled 7% today after the company said it has received an early termination notice from a customer invoking the "termination of convenience" clause of a long term contract entered on June 15, 2017.
The contract was expected to generate revenue of approximately Rs 40 billion over a 10-year period.
In a press release, the company said that it has received a notice from the Global Agrochemical Major, opting to terminate the 10-year contract it had entered on June 15, 2017 to supply a high-value agrochemical intermediary with application into Herbicides.
The company further said that it understands that the reason for the same is the Customer's change in strategy. "They now are looking to focus on the final formulation and would like to source the Active Ingredient rather than their original plan to manufacture it," it said in an exchange filing.
Upon the triggering of this termination event, the guarding provisions for compensation under the contract come into effect. As a result, the compensation to Aarti Industries is estimated to be in the range of US$ 120 million to US$ 130 million.
Aarti Industries share price is presently trading down by 5.8%.
Comments
Log in or sign up to join the conversation.