Domestic Markets closed in Red; Sensex fell 124 points & Nifty closed above 15,800

Domestic equity barometers ended near the day's low after a volatile session on Monday, July 26, 2021. The S&P BSE Sensex fell 123.53 points or 0.23 per cent to 52,852.27. The Nifty 50 index lost 31.60 points or 0.20 per cent to 15,824.45. The Nifty Bank index lost 84.70 points or 0.24 per cent to close at 34,949.70.

However, the broader markets outperformed as the S&P BSE MidCap rose 0.06 per cent and S&P BSE SmallCap closed with a gain of 0.34 per cent.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1839 shares rose and 1513 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index on NSE, 20 shares gained and 30 shares fell. The top five gainers on Nifty were SBI Life (up 3.96 per cent), Bajaj Finserv (up 2.38 per cent), Hindalco (up 1.88 per cent), Divi's Laboratories (up 1.87 per cent) and Ultratech Cement (up 1.73 per cent). The top five losers were JSW Steel (down 1.80 per cent), Wipro (down 1.54 per cent), Reliance (down 1.51 per cent), SBI (down 1.41 per cent) and BPCL (down 1.28 per cent).

COVID-19 Update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 19,41,65,023 with 41,59,142 deaths. India reported 4,11,189 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,20,967 deaths while 3,05,79,106 patients have been discharged, data showed.

Other Events in India

BS Yediyurappa has reportedly announced his resignation as the Karnataka Chief Minister after weeks of uncertainty. While resigning, Mr Yediyurappa was seen breaking down on the stage from where he made the announcement. Mr Yediyurappa even issued a word of caution to colleagues and said people have lost their faith in the government, reports added.

Reserve Bank of India revised various regulatory restrictions for providing loans and advances to bank directors and their relatives. A personal loan of a maximum of Rs 5 crore can be granted to directors of other banks. Earlier this limit was Rs 25 lakh.

Approval of directors or management committee will be required to sanction loans of Rs 5 crore and above to any relative other than spouse and minor, dependent children of their own Chairman, Managing Directors or other Directors. The same condition will be applicable to family members of the Chairman, Managing Directors or Directors of other banks.

Business Economists Survey

Do not expect those labour constraints to go away any time soon. At least that is according to a survey of business economists out Monday, in which only 6 per cent of respondents expect US labour shortages to abate by the end of 2021. Nearly a third of panellists said they did not know, indicating elevated uncertainty.