Sensex loses 254 points; Nifty ends at 17,711

Key indices ended with modest losses on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. Trading was volatile ahead of the monthly F&O expiry on Thursday, 30 September 2021. The S&P BSE Sensex closed 254.33 points or 0.43 per cent down at 59,413.27. The Nifty 50 index fell 37.30 points or 0.21 per cent to 17,711.30. The Nifty Bank dropped 202 points or 0.53 per cent to 37,743.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.62 per cent while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.40 per cent.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1920 shares rose and 1310 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 at the NSE, 27 shares advanced and 23 shares declined. The top five gainers on Nifty 50 were NTPC (up 6.40 per cent), Coal India (up 6.22 per cent), Power Grid (up 5.68 per cent), Sun Pharma (up 4.52 per cent), and IOC (up 4.03 per cent). The top five losers were HDFC (down 2.05 per cent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.80 per cent), Asian Paints (down 1.77 per cent), UltraTech Cement (down 1.69 per cent) and Eicher Motors (down 1.49 per cent).

Aditya Birla AMC IPO

The Rs 2,786 crore initial public offering (IPO) of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC which opened today for bidding was subscribed 56 per cent. The three-day issue will close on October 1, 2021. The company has a plan to raise up to Rs 2,786 crore from this public issue. The initial share sales price band has been fixed at Rs 695-712. An investor can bid for a minimum of 20 equity stocks (one lot) and in multiples of 20 stocks thereafter. The offer is entirely an offer for sale, wherein two promoters -- Aditya Birla Capital and Sun Life (India) AMC Investments -- will divest their stakes in the asset management firm.

COVID-19 Update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 232,730,064 with 4,764,388 deaths. India reported 282,520 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 447,751 deaths, data showed.

SEBI Framework for Gold and Social Stock Exchanges:

Stock market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the frameworks for gold exchange and Social Stock Exchange. The market regulator also approved amendments to the delisting framework for equity shares at the board meeting held yesterday.

A gold exchange is being set up to trade the yellow metal in the form of electronic gold receipts, which will help in having a transparent domestic spot price discovery mechanism. The instrument representing gold is to be called Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR) and will be having trading, clearing and settlement features akin to other securities.

In a statement, SEBI said the Gold Exchange, encompassing the entire ecosystem of trading of EGR and physical delivery of gold, is expected to create a vibrant gold ecosystem in the country. The Gold Exchange would be a national platform for buying and selling EGRs with underlying standardized gold in India and also create a national pricing structure for gold.

SEBI has also allowed the introduction of silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in India. The Sebi board approved the amendment to Sebi (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996 to enable the introduction of Silver ETFs. These will be in line with the regulatory mechanism for gold ETFs.

Under the creation of the Social Stock Exchange (SSE), the SEBI board said it will be used for purpose of fundraising by social entrepreneurs. SSE will be a separate segment of the existing stock exchanges.

Economy

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and the Bank of England's Governor Andrew Bailey are all speaking at the ECB Forum on Central Banking on Wednesday. US Senate Republicans blocked a House-passed bill Monday that would have funded the government into December and suspended the debt ceiling until December of 2022.

Congress must approve government funding by Friday to avoid a shutdown and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress in a letter on Tuesday that lawmakers need to raise the debt limit by October 18 to avoid a government default. President Biden's massive infrastructure plan also faces an uncertain future.

Spanish inflation quickened at the fastest pace in 13 years in September as surging electricity prices continued to push up household expenses in the Spanish economy. Consumer prices rose 4% from a year earlier, faster than the 3.6% predicted by economists in a survey. The data could be a presage of euro-area inflation data due to be released on Friday and forecast to hit 3.3%. German import prices rose the fastest in 40 years last month.