Nifty50: 17,196 ▼-204.9 (-1.1%)
Sensex: 57,696 ▼-764.8 (-1.3%)

Important Points

• After a gap-up opening, the markets witnessed intense selling pressure
• Of the Nifty50 pack, 38 stocks declined. 
• Among the Nifty sectoral indices, Financial Services (-1.1%) and Oil and Gas (-1.0%) were the top losers. 
• Whereas, Media (+1.7%) was the only gainer.

L&T to tap green hydrogen market

The engineering giant will partner with a renewable energy company, ReNew for green hydrogen projects in India. 

Meanwhile, L&T also entered into a distribution agreement with Germany-based Kemroc. Under the agreement, it will facilitate the distribution and promotion of Kemroc products in the Indian markets. Kroc is a global manufacturer of attachments for excavators, backhoe loaders and chain cutters. Shares of L&T were up 3% intraday. 

KEC jumps on new orders

The infrastructure company bagged new orders worth ₹1,065 crores across its various business verticals such as transmission and distribution, railways, etc.  

With the announcement of this order, their year-to-date order intake now stands at nearly ₹11,000 crore, which is 2.5 times higher than the last year. The company is currently executing infrastructure projects in 30 plus countries. Its stock rose about 4% intraday but erased all gains amidst a weak market. 

Unichem surges on USFDA nod

Shares of the pharmaceutical company surged today after it received approval for its Aripiprazole tablets from the USFDA. Aripiprazole tablets are used to treat schizophrenia and irritability associated with Autism.

The new product will be commercialized from the company’s Ghaziabad plant. Meanwhile, the company is facing pricing pressures in its key export market – the US – which impacted the profitability in the first half of the current fiscal.

Closing bell

After falling for two consecutive weeks, the markets gained 1% this week. The bounce-back was driven by the IT stocks, without much help from banks or heavy-weight Reliance Industries. The services PMI showed expansion of activities, which is a boost for investor sentiments.

Meanwhile, companies across various sectors are reportedly passing higher input costs to the customers. This could fuel the risk of higher inflation. Next week, the RBI will announce its interest rate decision. The challenge for the central bank would be to strike a balance between its pro-growth stance (amid virus uncertainty) and controlling the rising inflation risk.