The key barometers were trading near flat line in afternoon trade. The Nifty index hovered near 15,650 mark. Negative global cues impacted sentiment in the domestic market.

At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 20.68 points or 0.04% at 52,365.13. The Nifty 50 index lost 37 points or 0.24% at 15,646.35.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) (up 1.08%), HDFC Bank (up 0.27%) and Reliance Industries (RIL) (up 0.05%) supported the indices.

The broader indices outperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.29%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.40%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,785 shares rose and 1,377 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,680.57 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 446.20 crore in the Indian equity market on 18 June 2021, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 17,84,91,809 with 38,66,201 deaths. India reported 7,02,887 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 3,88,135 deaths while 2,88,44,199 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India reported 53,256 new coronavirus infections, the lowest in 88 days, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,99,35,221, while the active cases further reduced to 7,02,887, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday, 21 June 2021. The death toll climbed to 3,88,135 with 1,422 fresh fatalities, the lowest in 65 days.

The active cases now comprise 2.35% of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 96.36%, the data updated at 8 A.M. showed. A net decline of 26,356 cases has been recorded in the COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

Economy:

India's unemployment rate declined to 8.7% in the week ended 13 June 2021 from the monthly unemployment rate of 14.7% in May 2021 as COVID-19 cases continue to decline. Data from the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) indicate that the improvement in the unemployment rate over the past weeks is due to the easing of restrictions in various parts of the country.

According to CMIE, the monthly unemployment rate in May 2021 was 14.7%. The current urban employment rate has come down 8.18 percentage points from 17.88% in the last week of May 2021 to 9.7% in the week ended on 13 June 2021.

Rural India has also seen a decline in the unemployment rate. By the end of the second week of June 2021, this rate has come down to 8.4% as compared to 10.63% in May 2021.

Gainers & Losers:

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) (up 6.74%), NTPC (up 2.69%), UltraTech Cement Co. (up 1.21%), Hindustan Unilever (HUL) (up 1.08%) and Asian Paints (up 0.72%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.

UPL (down 4.68%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.98%), Tata Motors (down 1.75%), Wipro (down 1.56%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (down 1.48%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.

NTPC advanced 2.69% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 185.3% to Rs 4,649.49 crore on 0.9% slip in net sales to Rs 30,102.60 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020. Profit before tax skid 14.38% to Rs 4,017.72 crore in Q4 FY21 as against Rs 4,692.53 crore in Q4 FY20. The board of NTPC has approved the enhancement of borrowing limit of the company to Rs 2,25,000 crore from Rs 2,00,000 crore.

NTPC in notes to account said it had created an additional tax provision amounting to Rs 2,661.47 crore during previous years as it proposed to settle all pending income tax disputes. During the year, the company decided to settle its pending disputes for three years under the Vivad se Vishwas Scheme. Accordingly, excess tax provision amounting to Rs 1,889.05 crore has been written back during the quarter ended March 2021.

Earnings Impact:

Hinduja Global Solutions hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 2,476.15 after the company's consolidated net profit surged 203% to Rs 131.25 crore in Q4 FY21 from Rs 43.27 crore in Q4 FY20. Net sales during the quarter increased 21.6% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1,563.59 crore. While the company's interest payments declined 17.5% to Rs 20.44 crore, depreciation costs fell 12.5% to Rs 73.40 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. Profit before tax in Q4 FY21 stood at Rs 167.57 crore, up 88% from Rs 89.14 crore in Q4 FY20. Current tax outgo rose by 26.2% Y-o-Y to Rs 40.28 crore in the fourth quarter.

Timken India rose 1.59%. The company's net profit dropped 13.6% to Rs 52.93 crore on 17.3% rise in net sales to Rs 475.36 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020. Profit before tax declined 9.4% to Rs 74.66 crore in Q4 FY21 as against Rs 82.38 crore in Q4 FY20.

Info Edge (India) slipped 1.94%. The company reported 60.2% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 66.68 crore on 10.2% fall in net sales to Rs 290.04 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. The company's revenue from Recruitment Solutions segment was at Rs 198.64 crore (down 13.9% Y-o-Y), revenue from 99acres for real estate was at Rs 50.09 crore (down 11.1% Y-o-Y) in Q4 FY21. Billing in the fourth quarter was at Rs 415.7 crore, up by 25.2% over the corresponding quarter in FY 2019-20. Operating EBITDA declined 44.9% to Rs 53.20 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. The deferred sales revenue (amount collected in advance) as at 31 March 2021 is Rs 520.80 crore, up 11.9% over the balance as at 31 March 2020.

Stock in Spotlight:

Maruti Suzuki India fell 0.92%. The car major on Monday announced that it has planned price hike in the second quarter due to higher input costs. Maruti Suzuki India in an exchange filing said, The company's vehicles continue to be adversely impacted due to increase in various input costs. Hence, it has become imperative for the company to pass on some impact of the above additional cost to customers through a price rise.

Global Markets:

Most shares in Europe and Asia declined on Monday, 21 June 2021, as investors mulled the implications of a surprise hawkish shift last week by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Meanwhile, China kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged. China on Monday announced that the one-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) was kept unchanged at 3.85% while the five-year LPR was also held steady at 4.65%.

US stocks fell sharply on Friday as traders worried the Federal Reserve could start raising rates sooner than expected.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President Jim Bullard offered a fresh dose of hawkishness, saying Friday that he thinks the Fed should lift its benchmark interest rate as early as late 2022.

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