:::LALKAR GROUP::::

The benchmark indices were trading with small losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty index hovered a tad below 17,400 level. Global shares slumped amid concern about China's crackdown on the real-estate sector and the debt crisis at developer China Evergrande Group.

At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, skid 55.16 points or 0.09% at 58,435.77. The Nifty 50 index lost 4.15 points or 0.02% at 17,392.75.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.15% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.93%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,039 shares rose and 2,060 shares fell. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The Reserve Bank of India will conduct open market purchase of Government Securities under the G-Sec Acquisition Programme (G-SAP 2.0) for an aggregate amount of Rs 15,000 crore on 23 September 2021. Simultaneously, the bank will also sale government securities under Open Market Operations (OMO) for an aggregate amount of Rs 15,000 crore on the same day.

Primary Market:

Paras Defence and Space Technologies IPO opened for subscription from Tuesday (21 September) and it will close on Thursday (23 September).

The offer comprises of a fresh issue of up to Rs 140.60 crore and an offer for sale of up to 17,24,490 equity shares (including anchor portion of 29,27,485 equity shares) in the price band of Rs 165 to Rs 175 per share.

As on 12:15 IST, the IPO received bids for 4.89 crore shares as against 71.40 lakh shares on offer. The issue was subscribed 6.86 times so far.

The company intends to utilize the net proceeds from the fresh issue towards purchase of machinery and equipment amounting Rs 34.657 crore, funding incremental working capital requirements amounting Rs 60 crore, repayment or prepayment of all or certain borrowings amounting Rs 12 crore and for general corporate purposes. As of 31 July 2021, its aggregate outstanding indebtedness was Rs 115.827 crore.

Paras Defence and Space Technologies is primarily engaged in designing, developing, manufacturing and testing of a wide range of defence and space engineering products and solutions.

Coronavirus Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 22,90,83,964 with 47,00,015 deaths. India reported 3,09,575 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,45,385 deaths while 3,27,49,574 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

A total of 81,78,68,213 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far, with over 96.18 lakh doses being given yesterday, according to the Co-WIN dashboard.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.24% to 17.5350. The Nifty 30 September 2021 futures were trading at 17,385.15, at a discount of 7.60 points as compared with the spot at 17,392.75.

The Nifty option chain for 30 September 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 21 lakh contracts at the 17,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 32.4 lakh contracts was seen at 17,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index fell 1.37% to 10,062.95. The index lost 2.78% in two trading sessions.

TVS Motor Company (down 3.59%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 2.47%), Exide Industries (down 2.28%), Hero MotoCorp (down 1.96%) and Bajaj Auto (down 1.88%) were the major losers in the Auto segment.

Tata Motors fell 0.70%. The company on Tuesday announced that it will increase the price of its commercial vehicle range in effect from 1 October 2021. The effective price hike will be in the range of 2% and will be implemented on the basis of the model and the variant of the vehicle. On 3 August, the company announced that it will increase prices of its passenger vehicles, on an average of 0.8%, depending on the variant and model.

The automobile maker said that the continued rise in the cost of commodities, such as steel and precious metals, necessitates the company to pass on a part of it through increase in price of the products. The company assured that it has strived to minimise the increase in the price by absorbing a certain portion of the cost at various levels of manufacturing. Furthermore, Tata Motors said it continues the efforts to deliver the lowest total cost of ownership for its customers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals gained 1.42% after the company announced that it has received final approval from the United States Food & Drug Administration for clindamycin phosphate foam. Clindamycin phosphate foam is the generic version of evoclin foam of Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. According to IQVIA sales data for the 12 month period ending July 2021, the Evoclin Foam market achieved annual sales of approximately $12.0 million. Clindamycin is used to treat severe acne in adults and children who are at least 12 years old.

Cadila Healthcare rose 0.15%. Zydus Healthcare, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cadila Healthcare, entered into an agreement on Monday, 20 September 2021 with Integrace, the purchaser, to sell two brands viz. Mifegest and Cytolog. The transaction is expected to be completed within 30 days from the date of execution of agreement subject to customary approvals. The purchaser is a part of the portfolio companies of private equity (PE) firm, True North. Mifegest is an anti-progestational steroid class of drug used for medical termination of pregnancy while Cytolog tablet is a medicine used for medical abortion.