Stock Market Closing Updates: Sensex, Nifty Close Lower; Power Grid, ITC Top Loser

The Indian benchmark indices ended lower on Monday after setting a new high last week. At market close, the Sensex was down 0.24% at 71,315.09 points, while Nifty 50 was down 0.18% at 21,418.65 points. Negative trading was seen on Dalal Street today as investors took profits amidst an overall weak trend in Asian markets.

The benchmark indices traded flat in the afternoon trade on Wednesday. At 2:25 pm IST, Sensex was down 0.16% at 71,371.83 points, while Nifty 50 was down 0.1% at 21,435.60 points.

On December 18, Indian indices commenced slightly lower, influenced by mixed global cues. The Sensex saw a decline of 276.77 points or 0.39 percent, reaching 71,206.98, while the Nifty was down by 72.40 points or 0.34 percent, settling at 21,384.30. In terms of market breadth, 1495 shares advanced, 915 shares declined, and 188 shares remained unchanged.

Among the notable gainers on the Nifty were Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto, Nestle India, Titan Company, and Dr Reddy's Labs. On the flip side, JSW Steel, Power Grid Corporation, ICICI Bank, ITC, and Cipla were among the major losers.

Amid global market fluctuations, the Nifty 50 continues its winning streak, gaining nearly 700 points in the last three weeks and marking a seven-week consecutive rise. With a surge in IT stocks and substantial gains in the banking sector, the Indian market braces for new trading.

Last week witnessed a boost from the IT sector, with the Nifty IT index soaring by 7.2%, its most significant weekly rise in three years. This surge, propelled by a two-day jump, contributed significantly to the overall market rally.

One of the key contributors to the Nifty's recent outperformance has been the banking sector, particularly the Nifty Bank, which has seen a massive four-week winning streak, gaining close to 5,000 points and surpassing the 48,000 mark on Friday.

As investors gear up for the upcoming trading session, several stocks are under the spotlight:

Zee Entertainment seeks an extension for its merger with Sony. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders secures a substantial $42 million contract with a European client. Vedanta gears up for a board meeting to discuss an interim dividend. Insecticides India receives a patent grant for its Isoxazole Compound.

Tata Power subsidiary signs a significant Rs 418 crore contract with NTPC. PB Fintech witnesses a major sell-off by Softbank fund. Welspun Corp subsidiary's substantial investment of up to Rs 807 crore for a manufacturing unit in Telangana. Landmark Cars received a Letter of Intent from MG Motor for a dealership in Ahmedabad. Granules India receives observations from the US FDA post-inspection.

However, the market is expected to open with cuts as GIFT Nifty was seen trading nearly 80 points lower against Nifty Futures Friday close.

Globally, the S&P 500 marks its longest winning streak since 2017, showing a steady rise of 3.3% for the month. Meanwhile, the Dow and Nasdaq indices see gains of 3.8% and 4.1%, respectively.

Amidst these market movements, the bond market experiences shifts, with the 10-year Treasury yield dropping to 3.905%, hitting its lowest levels since July. The 2-year Treasury yield is closely watched, hitting 4.45% on Thursday, levels unseen since May.

Looking toward the Asia-Pacific region, markets started the penultimate week of 2023 on a mixed note. After last week's rally fueled by the US Federal Reserve's decision on rates, markets now see a slight dip. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 breaks a six-day winning streak, while Japan's Nikkei 225 and Topix indices experience notable declines. South Korea's Kospi struggles, but the Kosdaq manages a rise. Hong Kong's Hang Seng and China's CSI 300 indices also record dips.

As the Bank of Japan concludes its final meeting for the year, market expectations align with the maintenance of current policy settings, but a potential shift in the tone about future policies could be on the horizon.

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Dec 18, 2023, 3:01 pm IST

SpiceJet Shares Soar 19% After Report Highlights Airline Interested In Acquiring Go First

The share price of SpiceJet Ltd surged 19.19% at Rs 63.86 per share at 2:55 pm IST on Monday after a news report suggested that the airline along with Sky One company, and Africa-focused Safrik Investments have reportedly shown interest in buying the cash-strapped carrier Go First.

Dec 18, 2023, 2:17 pm IST

Edelweiss Financial Commences Equity Monetisation Via Planned Stake Sale Of 10 - 20% In Unit

Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd informed on Monday that it has commenced equity monetisation through a planned stake sale of 10 - 20% in Edelweiss Alternative Asset Management (EAAA), a wholly-owned subsidiary. The company expects to raise Rs. 1,500 – 2,000 crores. We are receiving significant interest; the process is likely to be concluded in 4- 5 months. The stock was up 0.63% at Rs 76.46 per share at 2:02 pm IST.

Dec 18, 2023, 1:50 pm IST

Union Bank of India Goes Live With Intellect’s Cash Management System Built On eMACH.ai

Union Bank of India (UBI) has gone live with its Cash Management System, which is based on eMACH.ai for end-to-end transaction completion and stability, according to a statement released by Intellect Global Transaction Banking (iGTB), the transaction banking expert from Intellect Design Arena Ltd. The UBI solution was created and put into place to manage the large number of mandate and payment transactions. Starting on June 19, 2023, PWT was successfully implemented and went online in around five months, creating a new benchmark for the industry. Eight of the top ten Indian banks are among the more than 60% of the world's top corporate banks that #winwithiGTB and are supported by Intellect's transaction banking products and solutions.

Dec 18, 2023, 1:38 pm IST

Shalby In Focus

The Board of Directors of the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Mars Medical Devices Limited (MMDL) has, at its meeting held today i.e. December 18, 2023 approved to invest 2,00,000 Preference Shares of SGD 1 each in Shalby Global Technologies Pte. Ltd., Singapore (SGTPL). SGTPL is a subsidiary of Mars Medical Devices Limited and a step‐down subsidiary of the company. With the aforesaid investment, the preference shareholding of MMDL in SGTPL will be 100% while equity shareholding remains at 99.33% as per a stock exchange filing.

Dec 18, 2023, 1:32 pm IST

Kotak Mahindra Bank Announces Change In Directorate

Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited on Monday appointed Mr. Eli Leenaars (full name: Mr. Cornelis Petrus Adrianus Joseph Leenaars) as an additional director and an independent director of the bank for a period of four years with effect from January 1, 2024.

Dec 18, 2023, 1:05 pm IST

SIX PartnersWith TCS To Transform Its Swiss Post Trade Market Infrastructure

SIX, the operator of the financial market infrastructures in Spain and Switzerland, has benefited from Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) assistance in updating its post-trade platform for the Swiss market. As a result, the post-trade market infrastructure is now more stable and strong, and SIX's ascent to prominence in the global securities services sector has accelerated. With this TCS has streamlined SIX's clearing, settlement, and custody platform to enable business expansion in both domestic and foreign markets.

Dec 18, 2023, 12:54 pm IST

NBCC In Focus

On Monday, NBCC received an order worth Rs 150 Cr from SAIL DSP, Durgapur for various construction and renovation work. The project is going to be executed in 3 years.

Dec 18, 2023, 12:33 pm IST

LIC Announces Sale Of Equity Shares Of Dixon Technologies India

LIC said on Monday that its shareholding in "Dixon Technologies India Limited” has decreased from 29,97,913 to 17,94,395 equity shares, decreasing its shareholding from 5.012% to 3.000% at an average cost of Rs 5877.65 of the paid-up capital of the said company.

Dec 18, 2023, 11:54 am IST

USD Losses Against INR Amidst Robust Indian Capital Market Performance

Today the USD Dec Futures are currently around Rs. 83 levels, a fall of more than 40 paise since Thursday's closing price and 69 paise lower than six-month highs. Indian markets currently float at a record-high range, around 16% higher since the beginning of this year. A stable capital market performance indicates the home currency value to increase against the global currency ahead of the next year.

Dec 18, 2023, 11:50 am IST

Reliance Communication CoC meeting, Kalyan Capitals Enters A Tripartite Agreement

Reliance Communication's 44th meeting of the Committee of Creditors of Reliance Communications Limited is scheduled to be convened on Tuesday, December 19, 2023. Kalyan Capitals Limited has entered into Tripartite Agreement dated 12th December, 2023 with M/s. Skyline Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. (New RTA) and M/s. Indus Portfolio Pvt. Ltd. (Old RTA) and the same was duly executed on December 15th, 2023.

Dec 18, 2023, 11:34 am IST

NBCC Gains Contract from SAIL, TCS To Transform Swiss Post Trade Market Infra

NBCC, a Navratna CPSE company is awarded a contract of Rs. 150 crores for various construction and renovation work at SAIL DSP, Durgapur. SIX Partners with TCS to Transform its Swiss Post Trade Market Infrastructure in the Swizz market. Uma Rijhwani, Head of the Business unit of TCS in Central Europe stated, “TCS and SIX have achieved a major feat by modernizing the Swiss post-trade platform of SIX in record time. The new, state-of-the-art system brings to bear the power of digital technologies to transform the Swiss post-trade market infrastructure while providing a solid foundation for SIX’s expansion into global markets.”

Dec 18, 2023, 11:15 am IST

Man Infra Notification, Nuvama Group clarifies Exchanges regarding collateral attachment

Man Infra converting Share warrants, Man Infrastructure Limited has informed regarding the Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) for seeking approval of the conversion of share warrants into preferential equities. Nuvama Capital received a Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) order dated 15-Dec-2023, with a comprehensive review, the company declares a collateral of Rs. 236/- crores to NCL against the selling order for securities amounting to Rs. 460/- crores.

Dec 18, 2023, 11:01 am IST

Sectoral Performance and Top Volume Stocks On Monday Early Session

Bajaj Auto Gains more than 2.90% today, floating around Rs. 6,458/-, which have gained more than 22% since past three months. Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra among top gainers in Nifty Fifty. Shipbuilding, Agriculture, and Aviation are among the sectors in green ahead of this week while beverages and real-estate posting red indices. Tata Steel, SBIN, Powergrid are among the top volume grabbers so far.

Dec 18, 2023, 10:44 am IST

Gold Prices In India Today Staring To Climb Back Again This Week

The strong capital market hike last week has led precious metal prices to remain stable. The yellow metal prices today in India for 10 grams of 24-carat is today around Rs. 62,620/- and Rs. 57,400/- for 10 grams of 22-carat gold. Silver prices are also shining with an increase of Rs. 300/- to reach Rs. 78,000/- per kg today.

Dec 18, 2023, 10:02 am IST

Solar Industries Shares Witness a 4% Decline

After two consecutive days of losses, Solar Industries shares have experienced a downturn of over 4%. This decline follows a tragic incident at the company's explosives and manufacturing facility in Bazargaon village, Nagpur, where nine people lost their lives and several others sustained injuries. Despite this setback, the stock has shown a remarkable 71.9% increase in the past six months.

Dec 18, 2023, 9:51 am IST

Zee Entertainment Shares Extend Losses, Slide Nearly 4%

Zee Entertainment shares continue to slide for the fourth consecutive day, registering a nearly 3.5% decline. In a stock exchange filing on Sunday, the company revealed its request for an extended merger deadline from Sony Group's Indian arm "to make the scheme effective." In a separate filing on Saturday, Zee Entertainment disclosed that independent board directors Vivek Mehra and Sasha Mirchandani did not secure the votes required for their reappointment before the December 21 deadline for completing the merger. The reappointment of these two independent directors was closely monitored, as it could have influenced the selection of the head of the newly merged entity. Despite the recent losses, the stock has shown a significant gain of 44.89% in the last six months and 10.43% year-to-date.

Dec 18, 2023, 9:25 am IST

Market Opens With Mild Cuts, Nifty Below 21,400 Mark

On December 18, Indian indices commenced slightly lower, influenced by mixed global cues. The Sensex saw a decline of 276.77 points or 0.39 percent, reaching 71,206.98, while the Nifty was down by 72.40 points or 0.34 percent, settling at 21,384.30. In terms of market breadth, 1495 shares advanced, 915 shares declined, and 188 shares remained unchanged.

Dec 18, 2023, 9:19 am IST

Rupee Opens Highes Agains Previous Close Of 83/$

On Monday, the Indian Rupee commenced slightly higher at 82.96 per dollar compared to Friday's closing rate of 83.00.

Dec 18, 2023, 9:12 am IST

Tata Power Arm Signs Rs 418 Crore Deal With NTPC

Tata Power's subsidiary, Tata Power Solar Systems, has inked a Rs 418 crore deal with NTPC. The contract entails the supply of 152 MWp DCR solar PV modules for NTPC's Nokh Solar Park in Rajasthan.

Dec 18, 2023, 9:10 am IST

US FDA Concludes Inspection At Granules India's Virginia Arm

Granules India will be in focus today as the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has concluded its examination of the pharmaceutical company's Virginia Arm, noting five observations. The inspection, which took place from December 11 to 15, has been completed.

Dec 18, 2023, 8:57 am IST

Zee Ent Requests Sony To Extend Effective Date Of Merger

Today, attention is on Zee Entertainment, as the company has formally requested Sony to prolong the effective date of their proposed merger.

Dec 18, 2023, 8:56 am IST

Crude Prices Continue The Run Marking First Weekly Gains Since October

Oil continued to climb this week, marking its first weekly increase since late October. The surge was driven by significant shipping companies halting passage through the Red Sea, drawing attention to the potential threat to this crucial route for global crude oil transportation. The Brent global benchmark surpassed per barrel, recording a 0.9% gain last week and breaking a seven-week streak of declines. West Texas Intermediate hovered around . The Suez Canal Authority in Egypt expressed vigilance over tensions in the Red Sea, particularly after the US reported shooting down 14 drones launched from areas in Yemen controlled by Iran-backed Houthi forces.

Dec 18, 2023, 8:43 am IST

Asian Markets Open Lower Following 6-Day Rally In US Market

Asian stocks experienced a decline in the initial trading session following a six-day winning streak in US shares. This shift came as Federal Reserve officials resisted expectations of substantial interest rate cuts in the coming year. Early trading witnessed a drop in Australian and Japanese equities, and Hong Kong futures indicated potential losses. Meanwhile, US contracts showed a slight increase, despite the S&P 500 finishing marginally lower. The Nasdaq 100, focused on technology stocks, achieved a new record high. The dollar displayed mixed performance against major currencies, and Treasury yields continued their ascent. This movement followed remarks from New York Fed President John Williams, who emphasized that it is premature for officials to consider reducing borrowing costs.