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The main equity indices ended with tiny losses on Tuesday. The Nifty hit record high of 15,778.80 in early trade, encouraging traders to book profits. IT, FMCG and pharma stocks saw buying while banks and financial shares witnessed selling.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 52.94 points or 0.10% at 52,275.57. The Nifty 50 index lost 11.55 points or 0.07% to 15,740.10.

State Bank of India (down 1.21%), HDFC (down 1.18%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.11%), HDFC Bank (down 1.01%) and ICICI Bank (down 0.9%) were major drags.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.38% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.93%. Both these indices outperformed the benchmarks indices.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,837 shares rose and 1,366 shares fell. A total of 141 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 17,36,38,512 with 37,37,406 deaths. India reported 13,03,702 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 3,51,309 deaths while 2,73,41,462 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India reported less than 1 lakh new daily COVID-19 cases for the first time in 63 days. The 86,498 cases are also the lowest in 66 days. The number of deaths, on the other hand, remained above the 2000-mark over the past 24 hours. The country reported 2,123 deaths.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced that the Government of India will provide free vaccines to states for all people above 18 years, starting 21st June. Modi said no state government of the country will have to spend anything on the vaccine and the Government of India will provide free vaccines to all the countrymen. The government has decided that 25% of the vaccine responsibilities that were looked after by the state governments, will now be looked after by the Centre.

Modi said though the government will provide free vaccines to all the countrymen, those who want to pay for the same can get vaccinated at private hospitals. He said, 25% of vaccines can be purchased by the private hospitals. He added that private hospitals will be able to charge a maximum service charge of Rs 150 for a single dose after the fixed price of the vaccine.

Modi said seven companies are working on developing vaccines and three trials are underway. He said research is also underway on nasal vaccines.

The Prime Minister informed that Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana has been extended till Diwali. He said, in this time of pandemic, the government is standing with the poor. Modi said free food grains will be available in fixed quantity every month to more than 80 crore countrymen till November.

Economy:

Ratings agency CRISIL has lowered India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 9.5% for the current fiscal compared to 11% projected earlier. The downward revision reflects the major hit the two engines of growth - private consumption and investment - have taken due to the second COVID-19 wave.

Meanwhile, the World Bank has said it has approved a $500 million program to support MSMEs in India to increase liquidity access for viable small businesses impacted by COVID-19. The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved a $500 million program to support the Government of India's nationwide initiative to revitalize the MSME sector, which has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.006% as compared with 6.022% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 72.89, compared with its close of 72.8025 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2021 settlement rose 0.01% to Rs 49,150.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.18% to 90.11.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2021 settlement fell 59 cents at $70.90 a barrel. The contract fell 40 cents, or 0.56% to settle at $71.49 a barrel in the previous trading session.

Foreign Markets:

European shares advanced while Asian stocks declined on Tuesday.

Revised government data released Tuesday showed Japan's economy shrank 3.9% in the first quarter, an improvement from the initial estimate of a 5.1% contraction.

US stocks clawed back much of their early losses and ended mixed on Monday. Investors are focused on inflation data in the week ahead, with May's Consumer Price Index (CPI) scheduled to be released Thursday.

Buzzing Indian Segment:

The Nifty IT index rose 1.20% to 27,623.80. The index has risen 2.54% in four straight sessions.

Coforge (up 3.41%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (up 2.68%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.28%), HCL Technologies (up 1.83%), Mindtree (up 1.38%), Wipro (up 0.56%), TCS (up 0.51%) and Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.24%) advanced.

Infosys gained 1.75% after the IT major announced a collaboration with Archrock, Inc. (Archrock) to integrate digital technologies and mobile tools for its field service technicians. As part of this engagement, Infosys will leverage its pre-configured accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service Application to streamline and enhance the efficiencies of Archrock's field services and operations.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) climbed 9.86% to Rs 22.85. Piramal Enterprises surged 10.53% to Rs 2167.15.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved Piramal Group's overall resolution plan for Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) on Monday (7 June 2021). As part of the Resolution Plan, the equity shares of the Company are proposed to be delisted, DHFL said in an exchange filing on Monday.

In January, Piramal Capital and Housing Finance, a subsidiary of Piramal Enterprises, had won a bid for acquiring DHFL. Piramal made Rs 37,250-crore bid to acquire the housing finance company. The resolution plan had received approvals from RBI in February 2021 and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in April 2021.

Asian Hotels (West) slumped 13.01% to Rs 209.70 after the company said it temporarily suspended all operations for Hyatt Regency Mumbai with immediate effect due to liquidity crunch.

Shriram Transport Finance Company fell 0.61%. The company's board authorised opening the QIP issue on 7 June 2021. The floor price of QIP issue is set at Rs 1,433.32 per equity share. Further, the board also approved raising funds by issuing equity shares and warrants to Shriram Capital, promoter of the company, on a preferential basis. The company proposed to issue up to 17,36,100 equity shares at a price of Rs 1,440 per equity share, for an aggregate consideration of up to Rs 249,99,84,000. The board proposed to issue up to 17,36,100 warrants at Rs 1,440 each aggregating to Rs 2,499,984,000.

Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) fell 0.70%. The company said its steel production jumped 31% year-on-year to 13.71 lakh tonnes in April-May 2021 compared with 10.44 lakh tonnes in the same period last year. The company reported a production of 6.81 lakh tonnes in April 2021 and 6.90 lakh tonnes in May 2021. JSPL expects to achieve a FY22 production target of 8.0-8.5 million tonnes (MT). The company's steel sales rose 7% YoY to 10.58 lakh tonnes (i.e. 5.59 lakh tonnes in April 2021 and 4.99 lakh tonnes in May 2021).

MOIL added 0.92% after the company said it has received its first patent for innovation in technology for a period of 20 years. MOIL filed a patent application for a composition useful as an alternative filling material for hydraulic stowing in an underground mine and the methods thereof. The government has granted patent for 20 years from 31 March 2018.

Indiabulls Housing Finance rose 1.63% after the company said that it has entered into a strategic co-lending partnership with Central Bank of India to offer secured retail loans and secured MSME loans respectively at competitive rates.

Minda Corporation rose 0.30% after the company announced a joint venture with Republic of Korea's INFAC Elecs Co. to bring its range of automotive antenna solution in India.

Surya Roshni jumped 1.96% after the company bagged Rs 170.52 crore order from Indradhanush Gas Grid for NorthEast Gas Grid Pipeline Project.