Markets end flat; Sensex closes 29 points down & Nifty settles above 17,350 mark

Tracking negative global cues, key equity indices ended flat after a volatile trade on Wednesday, September 8, 2021.

The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 29.22 points or 0.05 per cent to close at 58,250.26. The Nifty 50 index fell 8.60 points or 0.05 per cent to end at 17,353.50. However, the Nifty Bank gained 299.40 points or 0.82 per cent to close higher at 36,768.20.

The broader markets outperformed the Sensex at the BSE with S&P BSE MidCap added 0.81 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap rose 0.55 per cent. Meanwhile, in the intraday deals, the BSE MidCap touched a new high of 24,591.84.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,820 shares rose and 1,359 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index at the BSE, 28 shares rose and 22 shares fell. The top five gainers on Nifty 50 were Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 3.57 per cent), Power Grid (up 1.76 per cent), Grasim (up 1.64 per cent), BPCL (up 1.63 per cent) and Coal India (up 1.56 per cent). The top five losers on Nifty were Divi's Laboratories (down 2.40 per cent), Nestle India (down 2.30 per cent), Wipro (down 1.68 per cent), SBI Life (down 1.68 per cent) and Hindalco (down 1.42 per cent).

COVID-19 Update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 221,894,939 with 4,585,792 deaths. India reported 391,256 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 441,411 deaths, data showed.

Economy

Union Cabinet today approved the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Textiles. Under it, incentives worth Rs 10,683 crore will be provided over five years. Briefing reporters in New Delhi, Textiles Minister, Piyush Goyal said, this will positively impact states like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha. He said, the decision will help in creating additional employment of over 7.5 lakh people directly and several lakhs more for supporting activities.

The scheme will promote the production of high-value Man-Made fabrics, Garments and Technical Textiles in the country. The incentive structure has been so formulated that the industry will be encouraged to invest in fresh capacities in these segments. This will give a major push to the growing high-value Man-Made Fibre segment which will complement the efforts of the cotton and other natural fibre-based textiles industry in generating new opportunities for employment and trade.

Japan's economy grew faster than initially estimated in the April-June quarter. Revised GDP data by the Cabinet Office released on Wednesday showed the economy grew an annualised 1.9 per cent in April-June, from an initial estimate of a 1.3 per cent expansion.

The UK is set to take the lead among developed economies by raising new taxes that will help trim pandemic budget deficits, an issue that is likely to dominate policy debate across the world in the coming years. A 12-billion-pound ($17 billion) charge on workers and companies is due to come before Parliament for a vote on Wednesday. If approved, it will mean that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak -- whose Tory party has historically been committed to cutting taxes -- will preside over some of the highest levels of taxation in UK history.

The proposal to increase National Insurance by 1.25 percentage points is controversial for more than one reason. The economics are not clear-cut. Plenty of analysts say that low borrowing costs - UK 10-year debt has been trading at yields around 0.7 per cent -- and still-weak economies mean there is no rush to retrench. Domestic politics are also fraught.