Sensex Today: Equity benchmarks today remained almost flat; Sensex up by 32 points & Nifty settles at 11,935

Sensex Today: Benchmark indices ended a tad above the flat line on Tuesday, October 13, 2020. However, the key indices added marginally to extend gains for the ninth session in a row amid mixed global cues. The BSE 30-share index, Sensex, gained 31.71 points, or 0.08 per cent, to settle at 40,625.51. The NSE Nifty 50 index also rose 3.55 points, or 0.03 per cent, to settle at 11,934.50. However, Nifty Bank fell 220.60 points, or 0.93 per cent, to 23,492.20.

On the other hand, the broader market at BSE declined, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.29 per cent and the BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.12 per cent.

Sellers outpaced the buyers. On the BSE, 1157 shares rose and 1477 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 block, 22 shares advanced and 28 shares declined. The major gainers on the block were HCL Tech (up 4.05 per cent), Infosys (up 2.46 per cent), Kotak Bank (up 2.15 per cent), Reliance (up 1.88 per cent) and UltraTech Cement (1.73 per cent). The losers were Cipla (down 3.58 per cent), Titan (down 2.58 per cent), Adani Ports (down 2.53 per cent), Divis Lab (down 2.24 per cent) and ICICI Bank (down 2.13 per cent).

Trading was volatile as investors assessed the latest government measures announced by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to stimulate consumer demand in the COVID pandemic-hit economy.

COVID-19 Update

India reported 838,729 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 109,856 deaths while 6,227,295 patients have been discharged, data showed. Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 37,745,942 with 1,079,963 deaths, data showed.

India's IIP numbers

India's industrial output contracted for the sixth straight month in August, due to lower output of manufacturing, mining and power generation sectors. Index of industrial production (IIP) data on Monday showed the index had contracted 8 per cent in August vs. a fall 10.77 per cent in July. Data further showed that manufacturing sector production had registered a decline of 8.6 per cent while the output of mining and power segments fell 9.8 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively.

India's Retail Inflation numbers

India's retail inflation jumped to its highest in eight months in September on the back of rising food prices. The Consumer Price Index-based inflation was at 7.34 per cent in September compared with 6.69 per cent in August. Inflation in the food and beverages category was at 9.73 per cent in September against 8.29 per cent in August, led by higher prices of vegetables, pulses, meat and fish.

China's Trade Data

China reported strong trade data in September. For September, China's imports surged 13.2 per cent in US dollar terms, data showed. Exports rose 9.9 per cent from a year ago. In the third quarter, China's exports rose 10.2 per cent from a year ago to 5 trillion yuan ($742.9 billion).