Shares of Vodafone Idea (Vi) surged 18 per cent to Rs 7.04 on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Friday, a day after the government introduced a Bill in Parliament to nullify the provision of retrospective tax in the Income Tax Act. With today’s gain, the stock of the telecom services has bounced back 55 per cent from Thursday's intra-day low of Rs 4.55 on the BSE.

At 09:47 am, Vi was trading 16 per cent higher at Rs 6.88, as compared to a 0.04 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

The highly-transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 has now been reported in 135 countries, according to the World Health Organization which said the cumulative number of coronavirus cases reported globally could exceed 200 million by next week.

The COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update dated August 3, released by WHO, said globally 132 countries have reported cases of the Beta variant and 81 countries of the Gamma variant.

Shares of Bharti Airtel hit an over six-month high of Rs 614 as they rallied 7 per cent on the BSE in intra-day trade on Thursday, in an otherwise range-bound market, as analysts believe the favourable industry structure of two players is a good enough kicker for an eventual hike in tariff as well as superior digital play in the medium to long term. The stock of the telecom services provider was trading at its highest level since February 11, 2021. It had hit a 52-week high of Rs 623 on February 4, 2021. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.05 per cent at 54,396 points at 12:10 pm.

Shares of SBI Life Insurance Company hit a record high of Rs 1,174, up 3 per cent on the BSE in intra-day trade on Thursday after US private equity fund CA Emerald Investments, an affiliate of Carlyle Asia Partners, offloaded its entire 1.9 per cent stake in the company via multiple block deals. The stock of the life insurer surpassed its previous high of Rs 1,147.95 touched on July 29, 2021.

At 10:55 am, SBI Life traded 1.2 per cent higher at Rs 1,150.45 on the BSE, as compared to a 0.14 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex.

Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin has received Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliance certificate from Hungary, the vaccine maker said on Thursday in a tweet.

Another milestone in our account as COVAXIN receives GMP certificate from Hungary. This marks the 1st EUDRAGDMP compliance certificate received by Bharat Biotech from European regulatories, the tweet said.

The Delta variant now accounts for an estimated 93.4 per cent of all the new Covid-19 cases in the US that were reported during the last two weeks of July, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday.

In its latest update on Wednesday, the CDC said that this number is even higher in certain parts of the country, showed the updated figures for the week ending July 31, reports Xinhua news agency.

The government might soon reduce the gap between the two doses of Covishield for those above 45 years as vaccine supply improves and criticism mounts over a lack of scientific reasoning behind the current 12-16 weeks interval between the two jabs, says a report in Mint.

The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation in India (NTAGI) has indicated it will decide on the interval at its next meeting, expected to be held in the next fortnight or a month, once it has reviewed the scientific data collected by it.

The global shortage of vaccines and its excess in the United States has quietly resulted in a new kind of tourism in the US, said an official.

Rich people from various countries of the world have been travelling to the United States to get shots of the COVID-19 vaccines, do some shopping and then fly back to their home country after a short stay.

The delta variant is challenging China's costly strategy of isolating cities, prompting warnings that Chinese leaders who were confident they could keep the coronavirus out of the country need a less disruptive approach.

As the highly contagious variant pushes leaders in the United States, Australia and elsewhere to renew restrictions, President Xi Jinping's government is fighting the most serious outbreak since last year's peak in Wuhan.

India saw a single day rise of 42,982 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,18,12,114, while the active cases increased to 4,11,076, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

The death toll climbed to 4,26,290 with 533 fresh fatalities.

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