Key barometers continued extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered above 14,000 level. Barring the Nifty FMCG index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE declined.

At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 638.85 points or 1.32% at 47,708.74. The Nifty 50 index lost 178.05 points or 1.25% at 14,060.85.

The broader indices declined lesser than the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.96%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.32%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 1,059 shares rose and 1,718 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 15 stocks advanced while 35 stocks declined.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 765.30 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 387.76 crore in the Indian equity market on 25 January 2021, provisional data showed.

Investor sentiment was dented after the new coronavirus variant resulted in fresh lockdowns and other restrictions on movement in certain counties across the globe. Domestic shares were also under pressure ahead of monthly derivatives expiry on Thursday and the upcoming Union Budget.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 10,02,70,602 with 21,57,355 deaths. India reported 1,76,498 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,53,724 deaths while 1,03,59,305 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

A total of 20,29,424 beneficiaries have so far been vaccinated for COVID-19 through 36,572 sessions held till the evening of 26 January 2021, the eleventh day of the immunisation drive, according to a provisional report of the Union Health Ministry.

Economy:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday raised its forecast for global economic growth in 2021 and said the coronavirus-triggered downturn in 2020 would be almost a full percentage point less severe than expected. It said multiple vaccine approvals and the unveiling of vaccinations in some countries in December had boosted hopes of an eventual end to the pandemic.

IMF projected an impressive 11.5% growth rate for India in 2021, making the country the only major economy of the world to register a double-digit growth this year amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

The IMF's growth projections for India in its latest World Economic Outlook Update released on Tuesday reflected a strong rebound in the economy, which is estimated to have contracted by 8% in 2020 due to the pandemic.

India's economy, the IMF said, is projected to grow by 6.8% in 2022 and that of China by 5.6%. With the latest projections, India regains the tag of the fastest developing economies of the world.

Gainers & Losers:

Wipro (up 2.81%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.64%), Ultratech Cement (up 2.47%), SBI Life Insurance Company (up 2.43%) and HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 2.06%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.

Tata Motors (down 3.39%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 2.90%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 2.86%), and Tata Steel (down 2.81%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.

Nifty Results Today:

Axis Bank (down 3.31%) and Hindustan Unilever (down 1.43%) will announce quarterly results today.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Affle (India) fell 0.38%. The company intimated the transfer agreement to acquire the business assets of Discover Tech. The company, through its wholly-owned step down subsidiary Affle MEA FZ-LLC (AMEA, a subsidiary of Affle International), has entered into a definitive business transfer agreement to acquire the business assets of Discover Tech, a company registered in Israel. The fixed consideration for business transfer is $1.15 million in cash and a maximum success fee of $3.37 million will be paid over a period of a maximum of four years. The company expects to complete the transaction in 90 days.

Sterling and Wilson Solar (SWSL) gained 1.46% after the solar EPC solutions provider commissioned its second project in Oman. The 25 mega-watt (MW) solar project was awarded by Shell. The project, located on a 50-hectare site within Sohar Freezone, will save 25,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually, thus reducing the dependency of natural gas resources and unlocking large scale solar opportunities for the country.

Tejas Networks advanced 2.92% after the company announced that it has signed a multi-year contract with Asia Consultancy Group (ACG) to provide telecommunications infrastructure, managed & engineering services across Afghanistan. ACG, with its headquarters in USA, is a full life-cycle managed network service provider in Afghanistan for last many years. As part of this contract, Tejas Networks will supply its state of the art 100G - 600G capable DWDM/OTN and PTN products to establish a high-capacity national backbone and packet access network in Afghanistan.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia were trading mixed on Wednesday, amid the investors' uncertainty surrounding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In US, the S&P and Nasdaq slipped on Tuesday from record closing levels as investors digested a batch of corporate earnings results, while an expected policy announcement from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday helped to limit moves.

The Biden administration signaled Tuesday that it could be open to tweaking eligibility for future stimulus checks. President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion proposal calls for $1,400 direct deposits, but the plan has drawn critiques from a bipartisan group of lawmakers because of its lofty price tag.

Investors were also waiting for a new policy statement from the Federal Reserve as the central bank began its two-day meeting on Tuesday. Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen was confirmed as Treasury secretary, becoming the first woman to hold the position.

On the coronavirus front, Moderna said on Monday that its vaccine does provide some protection against a variant found in South Africa, while officials in Minnesota reported the first U.S. confirmed case of a strain found in Brazil.

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