:::LALKAR GROUP::::

The domestic equity benchmarks were currently trading near the day's low in mid afternoon trade. The Nifty was hovering below the 17,500 mark. Metal shares extended losses for the third day.

At 14:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 253.87 points or 0.43% to 58,762.02. The Nifty 50 index lost 103.40 points or 0.59% to 17,481.75.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.06%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 1220 shares rose and 2008 shares fell. A total of 156 shares were unchanged.

Investors will continue to focus on the U.S. Federal Reserve's upcoming September meeting for clues on the central bank's tapering of its easy monetary policy. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference on Wednesday at the conclusion of the two-day meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Prospects of tighter U.S. monetary policy and the Delta variant-induced slowdown in global economic growth coupled with possible corporate tax hikes worried the investor community.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index slumped 4.48% to 5,429.25, extending losses for third day. The index has declined 7.34% in three sessions.

Tata Steel (down 7.16%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 6.97%), NMDC (down 6.28%), SAIL (down 5.73%), National Aluminum Company (down 5.58%), Hindalco Industries (down 5.05%) and JSW Steel (down 4.02%) declined.

Further, Vedanta (down 3.31%), MOIL (down 2.98%), APL Apollo Tubes (down 2.37%), Hindustan Zinc (down 2.32%), Adani Enterprises (down 2.08%), Coal India (down 1.28%) and Ratnamani Metals Tubes (down 0.92%) edged lower.

On Friday, the GST Council chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave its nod for increasing the GST on iron ore and manganese ore. It also approved raising GST on nickel, copper and zinc. The council gave its consent to increase GST on metals from 5% to 18%.

Stocks in Spotlight:

IRB Infrastructure Developers rose 1.70% to Rs 173.85. IRB Sindhudurg Airport, a special purpose vehicle of IRB Infra, received aerodrome license for Sindhudurg Airport from the Director General of Civil Aviation on Saturday, 18 September 2021. The aerodrome license will enable IRB Infra to open the new aviation facility for airlines and general public.

Laxmi Organic Industries hit a lower circuit of 5% at Rs 512.90. The company said that it is resuming operations of its manufacturing unit located at Mahad Industrial Area, MIDC, Raigad.

Numbers to Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee fell to 73.65 from its previous closing of 73.48.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2021 settlement rose 0.16% to Rs 46,061.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.18% at 93.36.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2021 settlement fell $1.04 cents or 1.38% to $74.30 a barrel.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.153% from its previous close of 6.167%.