Stock market indices open flat: Sensex down, Nifty below 17,200

Stock market indices open flat: Sensex down, Nifty below 17,200

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Wednesday, December 29, 2021, 09:27 AM IST
article-image
Among early losers on the Nifty at the opening bell were HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Consumer Products and UPL. Major gainers were IndusInd Bank, Cipla, Dr Reddys Labs, Sun Pharma and Bajaj Auto./Bombay Stock Exchange | File

The stock markets opened on a negative note on December 29 amid negative global cues. The benchmark indices opened weak at the opening bell. At 09:16 AM, the Sensex was down 136.33 points or 0.24 percent at 57,761.15. The broader Nifty was down 39.50 points or 0.23 percent at 17,193.80. About 1,371 shares have advanced, 660 shares declined, and 94 shares are unchanged.

Among early losers on the Nifty at the opening bell were HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Consumer Products and UPL. Major gainers were IndusInd Bank, Cipla, Dr Reddys Labs, Sun Pharma and Bajaj Auto.

On December 28, Sensex was up 477.24 points or 0.83 percent at 57,897.48. The Nifty was up 147 points or 0.86 percent at 17,233.30. About 2,519 shares have advanced, 773 shares declined, and 99 shares are unchanged.

Stocks to watch out for

Some stock-specific actions can be witnessed in stocks such as Cipla (to launch to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 after receiving DCGI approval), GR Infraprojects (emerged as L-1 bidder in financial bid for a tender invited by Noida Metro Rail Corporation), Vakrangee (tied up with Nayara Energy Ltd).

Asian stocks slip in early trade

Asian stocks slipped on Wednesday, following a mixed Wall Street session. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.25 percent, after six sessions of gains, following volatile US trade, Reuters said. The MSCI world equities index is up more than 17 percent so far this year.

There were losses in Hong Kong, down 0.6 percent hurt by declines in mainland tech stocks while Chinese blue chips shed 0.25 percent. Japan's Nikkei slid 0.58 percent Wednesday after hitting a one-month high on Tuesday.

In Australia, the ASX 200 was up 1 percent early in the session even though the country's most populous state New South Wales announced 11,201 new coronavirus cases.

US stocks close lower

S&P 500 closed slightly lower after hitting a record intraday high on Tuesday, as a four-day rally lost steam in thin trading and investors weighed Omicron-driven travel disruptions and store closures, Reuters said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.26 percent on Tuedsay. The S&P 500 hit a record intraday high during the session but weakened to end the day off 0.10 percent. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.56 percent.

The S&P 500 posted 81 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 105 new highs and 264 new lows.

Oil prices settle high

Oil prices settled higher on Tuesday, with Brent crude ending the session near $80 a barrel despite the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, supported by supply outages and expectations that US inventories fell last week. US crude rose 0.75 percent to $76.14 per barrel andBrent was at $79.17, up 0.73 percent on the day.

Fuel prices unchanged

Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged for over a month on Wednesday.

Earlier, the Delhi government had reduced the value-added tax on petrol from 30 per cent to 19.40 percent. As a result, petrol prices in the national capital were slashed by Rs 8.56 per litre.

Accordingly, diesel and petrol prices in Delhi stood at Rs 86.67 per litre and Rs 95.41 per litre on Wednesday, respectively.

In Mumbai, petrol is retailed at Rs 109.98 per litre, while diesel is being sold at Rs 94.14 per litre. Among the metro cities, fuel rates are still the highest in the financial capital.

Diesel and petrol prices also remained static in Kolkata at Rs 89.79 and Rs 104.67. In Chennai too, they remained unchanged at Rs 91.43 and Rs 101.40.

Sebi tightens IPO fund utilisation norms

Tightening rules for initial public offering (IPO), Sebi on Tuesday decided to put a cap on the usage of issue proceeds for unidentified future acquisitions and restricted the number of shares that can be offered by selling shareholders.

The regulator has decided to bring under monitoring the funds reserved for general corporate purposes and extended anchor investors' lock-in period to 90 days and ruled out interfering either with the pricing or valuation of IPOs, Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi told reporters in Mumbai on December 28. It has decided to revise the allocation methodology for non-institutional investors (NIIs).

The decision came amid a slew of new-age technology companies are filing draft papers with Sebi to raise funds through IPOs.

Dollar up

The dollar firmed slightly in early Asian trade on Wednesday as a recent rally in shares showed signs of petering out, but holiday-thinned trading meant markets were showing little real direction, Reuters said. The euro lost 0.14 percent overnight to $1.1307 and the pound slipped from a five-week high, helping to take the dollar index, which measures the greenback against major peers, to 96.165 from as low as 95.958 on Friday.

India GDP to maintain 9% growth rate in 2022-23

The country's real gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to maintain a 9%c growth rate in fiscal 2022 and 2023, amid concerns over the Omicron variant of COVID-19, according to a report. The Indian economy grew at 8.4 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal, as against a growth of 20.1 per cent in the April-June quarter.

"We are maintaining our forecast of a 9 per cent GDP expansion in FY2022, with a clear K-shaped divergence amongst the formal and informal parts of the economy, and the large gaining at the cost of the small. Looking ahead, we expect the economy to maintain a similar 9 per cent growth in FY2023," domestic rating agency Icra Ltd Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said in the report.

Three stocks under F&O ban

Three stocks - Indiabulls Housing Finance, Vodafone Idea, and RBL Bank - are under the F&O ban for December 29.

RECENT STORIES

Trade With Speed: India Launches World's Fastest T+0 Trade Settlement; Check Out The 25 Listed...

Trade With Speed: India Launches World's Fastest T+0 Trade Settlement; Check Out The 25 Listed...

Century Textile Shares Rocket Bullishly; Surge Over 10%

Century Textile Shares Rocket Bullishly; Surge Over 10%

Adani's Copper Unit In Mundra Begins Operations

Adani's Copper Unit In Mundra Begins Operations

Renault Duster and Nissan SUV Teasers Released, Set To Debut In India In 2025

Renault Duster and Nissan SUV Teasers Released, Set To Debut In India In 2025

Maruti Suzuki India Announces Major Senior Management Reshuffle

Maruti Suzuki India Announces Major Senior Management Reshuffle