Equity indices ended near the day's high; Sensex rises 315 points & Nifty settles at 12,874

The domestic stocks markets closed with decent gains of around 0.70 per cent on Tuesday, November 17, 2020, amid global cues. The equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened on a buoyant note and hit record high levels in early trade today, tracking positive cues from global markets amid improved risk appetite supported by fresh vaccine news.

The 30-share BSE index rallied 314.73 points or 0.72 per cent to scale the fresh peak of 43,952.71. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty 50 gained 93.95 points or 0.74 per cent to 12,874.20. Nifty 50 also touched a lifetime high of 12,934.05 in the day.

The broader market at BSE also surged. Outperforming the Sensex, the BSE Mid-Cap index climbed 1.08 per cent and the BSE Small-Cap index zoomed 0.88 per cent.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1560 shares rose and 1256 shares fell. Similarly, 30 shares advanced on Nifty 50, while 19 declined and 1 remain unchanged. The stocks that gained the most on Nifty 50 block were Tata Motors (up 6.15 per cent), Tata Steel (up 5.97 per cent), HDFC Life (up 5.72 per cent), SBI (up 5.09 per cent) and Adani Ports (up 3.36 per cent). The top losers on Nifty 50 included BPCL (down 4.25 per cent), Hero MotoCorp (down 2.62 per cent), NTPC (down 2.53 per cent), IOC (down 1.96 per cent)and ONGC (down 1.93 per cent).

COVID-19 update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 5,50,24,738 with 13,27,253 deaths. India reported 4,53,401 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,30,519 deaths while 82,90,370 patients have been discharged, data showed.

Inflation and trade deficit in India

The annual rate of inflation based on WPI was at 1.48 per cent (provisional) in October 2020 (over October 2019). The figure stood at 1.32 per cent in September. India's trade deficit narrowed to $8.71 billion in October 2020 from $11.75 billion a year ago as both exports and imports fell during the month. After recording positive growth in September, India's exports fell 5.12 per cent from a year ago to $24.89 billion. Imports also fell 11.53 per cent year-on-year to $33.6 billion in October 2020.

Manufacturing Activity in the US

On the US economic front, a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed New York manufacturing activity unexpectedly expanded at a slower rate in November. The New York Fed said its general business conditions index fell to 6.3 in November from 10.5 in October.