Markets witness marginal losses amid volatility; Sensex drops 20 points & Nifty close above 17,500

Domestic equity markets witnessed marginal losses on Friday, December 10, 2021, amid negative cues from the global markets. The Sensex closed below 58,800 while the Nifty settled near the 17,500 level. Investors are awaiting the US inflation data on Friday which could influence the Fed's decision on rolling back economic stimulus.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 20.46 points, or 0.03 per cent to end at 58,786.67. The NSE Nifty 50 also slipped 5.55 points, or 0.03 per cent, to finish at 17,511.30. The Nifty Bank rose 23.20 points, or 0.06 per cent, to close at 37,105.65.

Broader indices outperformed the Sensex at the BSE with the S&P BSE MidCap index rising 0.39 per cent and S&P SmallCap adding 0.85 per cent.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,103 shares rose and 1,168 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index at the NSE, 20 shares advanced while 29 shares declined and one remained unchanged. The top five gainers on Nifty 50 were Asian Paints (up 3.16 per cent), Grasim (up 1.35 per cent), SBI Life (up 1.28 per cent), SBI (up 1.26 per cent) and BPCL (up 0.88 per cent). The top five losers were Divi's Laboratories (down 1.55 per cent), Titan (down 1.52 per cent), HDFC (down 1.15 per cent), Tata Consumer (down 1.03 per cent) and Kotak Bank (down 1.01 per cent).

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 3.26 per cent to 16.06 per cent.

IPO Update

Metro Brands IPO: The initial public offering (IPO) of ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Metro Brands Ltd, was subscribed 0.27 times by 5 pm today, the first day for bidding for the issue. The Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) and Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) portions were subscribed 0.02 times and 0.52 times, respectively. The three-day initial share sale of the footwear retailer will close on Tuesday, December 14, 2021. The company has fixed a price band of Rs 485-500 per equity share as it has plans to raise up to Rs 1,368 crore through the public issue. The issue comprises a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 295 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 2,75,32,574 equity shares worth Rs 1,073 crore by promoters and other shareholders. A retail-individual investor can apply for a minimum of 30 equity shares and in multiples of 30 shares thereafter.

MapmyIndia IPO: The initial public offering (IPO) of C.E. Info Systems Limited, the operator of India's leading map and navigation services provider - MapmyIndia, was subscribed 6.16 times by 5 pm on Friday, the second day for bidding for the issue. The Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) portion was subscribed 4.32 times, while the Non-Institutional Investors (NII) and Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) portions were subscribed 6.27 times and 7.17 times, respectively. The three-day initial share sale will conclude on Monday, December 13, 2021. The price band for the public issue has been fixed at Rs 1,000-1,033 per share. The company has plans to raise up to Rs 1,040 crore through an offer for the sale of existing shares. Investors can bid for a minimum of 14 equity shares and in multiples of 14 equity shares thereafter. The IPO is entirely an offer for sale of up to 10,063,945 equity shares by existing shareholders.

Shriram Properties IPO: The initial public offering of Shriram Properties, a leading real estate developer and part of Shriram Group, was subscribed 4.60 times by 5 pm on Friday, the third and the last day for bidding. The Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) portion was subscribed 1.85 times, while the Non-Institutional Investors (NII) and Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) portions were subscribed 4.82 times and 12.72 times, respectively. The portion reserved for employees was subscribed 1.25 times. The price band for the public issue was fixed at Rs 113-118 per share for its Rs 600-crore initial share sale. The initial public offering comprised of a fresh issue of Rs 250 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 350 crore by investors. Investors can bid for a minimum of 125 equity shares and in multiples of 125 equity shares thereafter.

Star Health Listing: The shares of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Star Health and Allied Insurance made a weak debut on the stock market debut today. The stock listed below the issue price of Rs 900 per share. The counter was listed at around a 6 per cent discount to Rs 848.8 per share on the BSE and Rs 845 per share on the NSE. The shares settled at Rs 906.85 per share at the BSE, at the premium of 0.76 per cent as compared to the issue price of Rs 900 per share. It settled at Rs 901 per share at the NSE, at a premium of 0.11 per cent as compared to the issue price of Rs 901 per share. It made a 52-week high of Rs 940 per share on the BSE and NSE during the early morning trade today. The initial public offering (IPO) of Star Health had been subscribed 79 per cent on the last day of the offer. The issue price for the IPO worth Rs 7,249 crore was Rs 900 per share.

Economy

A foreign brokerage reportedly expects the Indian economy to continue to show positive surprises and record up to 9 per cent growth in the next financial year. For the current financial year too, the brokerage anticipates growth to be higher than the consensus forecast of 8.4-9.6 per cent, and printing in at around 10.5 per cent, media reports said.

Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel on Friday said India's pharmaceutical exports to Pakistan have increased from 129.32 million US dollars in 2016-17 to 152.32 million dollars in 2020-21.

In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Ms. Patel said the few instances of non-receipt of payments are being taken up with relevant authorities concerned for resolution.