Indian indices opened flat on Wednesday after registering record high on Tuesday as losses in heavyweights HDFC, HUL, TCS and RIL, were neutralized by gains in ICICI Bank, L&T, Bajaj Finance and Infosys. At 9:18 am, the Sensex was trading 17 points higher at 43,969 while the Nifty was less by 15 points at 12,859. By 9.19 am, the BSE Sensex was trading 72 points or 0.16 per cent higher at 44,024.79. The index was down 100 points in early trade. The NSE barometer Nifty50 stood at 12,892.75, up 18.55 points or 0.14 per cent. Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Tata Steel, DLF, Ajanta Pharma, Wipro, PTC India were the stocks receiving maximum attention.
Eighteen of 30 Sensex stocks were trading higher in early trade. Banking stocks led the pack. At 9:25 am shares of SBI were up by 1.67 percent ICICI Bank added 1.20 per cent to Rs 492. IndusInd Bank NSE 2.24 %, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance and L&T climbed up to 1 per cent. Tech Mahindra slipped down 1.11 per cent at Rs 835. HUL NSE -1.65 %, Sun Pharma NSE -1.16 % and Titan Company dropped up to 1 per cent.
The BSE Midcap index rallied 0.4 per cent while BSE Smallcap jumped 0.53 per cent. Broadest index on BSE, BSE 500 was up 0.19 per cent. Lakshmi Vilas Bank made headlines and sped down by 20 per cent to Rs 12.40 after RBI imposed a one-month moratorium on the lender with a cap on deposit withdrawal at Rs 25,000 per account. Old generation private sector lender, Lakshmi Vilas Bank would be the third bank to get rescued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in a span of just a year, the other 2 being Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank and Yes Bank.
Tata Steel dropped by 0.80 percent as it is planning the sale of its Dutch steel mill to SSAB.
DLF limited rose by 0.45 percent as of 10:56 am, Delhi Land & Finance is a commercial real estate developer. Ajanta Pharma rose by 0.62 percent as of 10:58 am, Ajanta Pharma Limited is a multinational company based in India engaged in development, manufacturing, and marketing of pharmaceutical formulations. It has a presence in India, the United States, and about 30 other countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and CIS.
Wipro reported a drop by 1.18 percent as of 11:00 am in tandem with its decline in quarterly net profit. PTC India dropped by 0.46 percent as of 11:01 am. PTC India Limited, formerly Power Trading Corporation of India Limited, is an Indian company that provides power trading solutions, cross border power trading, and consultancy services. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company also has operations in Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.
Adani Gas climbed up 8.76 per cent to Rs 318. DHFL added 5 per cent to Rs 19.35. SpiceJet reported a rise of 2.48 per cent to Rs 61.75. The Indian rupee opened on a flat note at 74.49 against the US dollar, a fall of 3 paise noted from Tuesday’s close. Asian firms are reporting a boom post the risen hopes regarding a promising COVID-19 vaccine, while US crude prices and gold prices have drooped down.
