Nifty50: 18,199 ▼ 186 (-1.0%)
Sensex: 61,067 ▼ 635 (-1.0%)
Hello people,
Look who is playing ‘Grinch’ in the markets this Christmas! It is our long-lost enemy - Coronavirus. Just when we thought COVID is a thing of the past, it's back, almost with a vengeance, in China, parts of the U.S., and in a few other countries. No prizes for guessing, the concerns related to COVID resurgence rubbed off on Indian markets as well.
BTW, this galling virus should for once, take a chill pill just like bank employees would in January… Why, you ask? Well, there are, hold your breath, 14 bank holidays in the first month of 2023 itself! Now while you figure how to get your bank-related stuff done, read on to know how and why traders were morose on D-Street today.
- Nifty & Sensex tank again, volatility marks the day.
- 38 companies of NIFTY50 see decline.
- COVID spurt in world’s 2nd biggest economy stokes demand fall fears.
Among the Nifty sectoral indices, Pharma (+2.3%) and IT (+0.5%) were the top gainers, while Media (-3.0%) and PSU Bank (-2.8%) were the top losers.
| Top gainers | Today's change |
| Divi's Lab | 3,515 ▲ 163 (+4.8%) |
| Cipla | 1,129 ▲ 38 (+3.5%) |
| Apollo Hospitals | 4,750 ▲ 153 (+3.3%) |
| Top losers | Today's change |
| Adani Enterprises | 3,909 ▼ 256 (-6.1%) |
| Adani Ports | 858 ▼ 25 (-2.8%) |
| UltraTech Cement | 6,928 ▼ 170 (-2.4%) |
What’s trending
⭐ NPA woes pull down City Union Bank
CUB (NSE): 179 ▼ 9.6 (-5.1%)
Shares of City Union Bank declined over 8% today after the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) inspection revealed that the company has a divergence in its gross non-performing assets (NPA). There was a difference of ₹259 crore between reported gross NPAs by the bank and gross NPAs as assessed by RBI for FY22. This includes 13 borrower accounts with an outstanding balance of above ₹1 crore, amounting to ₹230 crore.
⭐ Now, pizza in 20 minutes!
JUBLFOOD (NSE): 520 ▼ 0.6 (-0.1%)
Shares of Jubilant FoodWorks, franchisee of Domino's Pizza, rose by 2.6% intraday after it announced the launch of 20-minute delivery in 20 zones across 14 cities. The company also plans to significantly ramp up its retail store network by adding 1,300 stores in the next 4-5 years. Jubilant FoodWorks had 1,701 outlets across 371 cities as of 30 September 2022.
⭐ BPCL’s CAPEX plan
BPCL (NSE): 333 ▼ 7 (-2.0%)
The Board of state-run oil refinery, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) approved a capital expenditure plan worth ₹35,355 crore on Wednesday. The Capex will be spent in a phased manner on laying a piped gas network and building and operating eight city gas distribution (CGD) projects. The company is developing a network of CGD in 25 geographical areas across 14 states.
⭐ Anti-dumping duty on China’s steel
WELCORP (NSE): 219 ▼ 5.8 (-2.6%), HITECH (NSE): 848 ▼ 28 (-3.2%)
India has imposed an anti-dumping duty on stainless steel tubes and pipe imports from China. The anti-dumping duty ranges from $114 to $3,801 per tonne and will be in force for five years. As per industry experts, the move will help domestic manufacturers and give them equal footing with foreign producers and exporters.
In Focus
Healthcare stocks surge on Covid fears
Shares of diagnostic service providers and hospital operators rose between 4%- 16% intraday despite a fall in the overall market. Wondering why this is happening… Let’s find out:
Amid a COVID spike in China and a few other countries, the Indian government has asked all states and union territories to ramp up Covid testing and genome sequencing of all positive samples. This could help in the early detection of any new variants. Any increase in testing will mean a boost in earnings for diagnostic companies.
As per India’s Health Ministry, around 35 lakh cases are being reported on a weekly basis worldwide with countries like China, Japan, USA posing a major threat. In fact, authorities in China, which is the world's 2nd biggest economy, have warned of successive waves of Covid in the coming months. If this happens, the demand and supply chain could get significantly impacted.
For now, the covid situation in India is largely under control with only 131 new cases in the last 24 hours Still, the Centre has warned against letting the guard down. It is here noteworthy that India has not placed any travel restrictions yet which is a relief to the aviation and hospitality sectors, as they look to make the most of the holiday season.
IPO corner
The IPO of financial service provider, KFin Technologies sailed through on its last day as the IPO received overall subscription of 2.5 times on Day 3. Meanwhile, the IPO of Elin Electronics, an electronics manufacturing service provider, was subscribed 95% on Day 2. Click here to apply to these IPOs on Upstox.
Good to know
What is NPA?
Non-performing asset or NPA can be a loan or an advance whose principal or interest has not been paid for 90 days. For banks, a loan is an asset and is the most important source of income. When a borrower stops payments, the loan becomes a non-performing asset. Banks are mandated to set aside an amount from their profits or earnings as provisions for non-performing assets. This helps in maintaining the bank's financial health in the long run. Thus, an increase in NPAs could dent the profits and credibility of banks.
Click here to join us on Telegram for trading and investment-related videos, daily market updates, details on upcoming IPOs and more.