Sensex advances 418 points to end at a fresh record high of 59,141; Nifty closes at 17,630

Benchmark indices ended with robust gains on Thursday, September 16, 2021, supported by firmness in banks and FMCG stocks. A strong global market and recently introduced reforms for the telecom and auto sector pushed the indices to fresh peaks. In the intraday trade today, the headline indices, Sensex and Nifty, touched 59,204.29 and 17,644.60, respectively.

The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 417.96 points or 0.71 per cent to end at 59,141.16. The Nifty 50 index advanced 110.05 points or 0.63 per cent to close at 17,629.50. The Nifty Bank index closed 816.35 points or 2.22 per cent higher at 37,668.60.

The broader markets underperformed the Sensex with the S&P BSE MidCap index rose 0.48 per cent and S&P BSE SmallCap added 0.08 per cent.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,678 shares rose and 1,595 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index at the NSE, 28 shares rose and 22 shares fell. The top five gainers on Nifty were IndusInd Bank (up 7.31 per cent), ITC (up 6.62 per cent), SBI (up 4.77 per cent), Reliance (up 1.92 per cent) and IOC (up 1.85 per cent). The top five losers were Grasim (down 1.76 per cent), Bharti Airtel (down 1.34 per cent), TCS (down 1.30 per cent), Shree Cement (down 1.26 per cent) and Tata Steel (down 1.25 per cent).

The initial public offering (IPO) of the auto component manufacturer Sansera Engineering was subscribed 11.47 times by 5:00 pm on the last day of subscription. The Rs 1,282.98 crore public issue is a 100 per cent Offer for Sale (OFS) of 17,244,328 equity shares by its existing shareholders and promoters. The company has fixed the price band of the IPO at Rs 734-744 per share. Retail investors looking forward to subscribing to Sansera Engineering's IPO can place bids in the lot of 20 equity shares and multiples thereafter.

COVID-19 Updates

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 22,63,91,916 with 46,59,920 deaths. India reported 3,42,923 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,43,928 deaths while 3,25,60,474 patients have been discharged, data showed.

Economy

The 45th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax, GST council is underway in Lucknow. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the GST Council meeting at 11 AM in Lucknow tomorrow. The 2-day meeting is the maiden physical meet of the GST council following the outbreak of the COVID pandemic. Talking to AIR news Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary said that the finance ministers from all states will attend the meeting. The 2-day meeting will also be attended by senior officials of the Centre and state governments

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday reshuffled his Cabinet, replacing several senior ministers and urging his government to tackle economic inequality in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Japan's exports extended double-digit gains in August, led by strong shipments of chip manufacturing equipment. Exports rose 26.2 per cent in August compared with the same month a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.

Production by US factories, mines and utilities in August surpassed the level seen before the pandemic caused an unprecedented collapse, according to Federal Reserve data released on Wednesday. Industrial production increased 0.4 per cent in August but it could have been 0.3 per cent points higher had it not been for the effects of Hurricane Ida, which caused flooding and destruction in parts of Louisiana and the northeastern US.

Australia shed more jobs than expected in August as the delta variant of Coronavirus forced lockdowns in the nation's two largest cities that stifled efforts to find work and prompted firms to cut staff.