Sensex, Nifty end flat after volatile session; PSU banks, realty soar

Sensex, Nifty end flat after volatile session; PSU banks, realty soar

After a volatile session, India’s benchmark indices closed lower on Friday with a negative bias.

Sensex fell 20.46 points or 0.03% to end the day at 58,786.67, and the Nifty was down 5.50 points or 0.03% at 17,511.30. 

Asian Paints, Grasim Industries, SBI, SBI Life Insurance and M&M were among the top gainers on Nifty, while Divis Labs, Titan Company, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Consumer Products fell.

Realty and PSU Bank indices rose over 2.5% percent each, while metal, oil & gas, power indices ended higher. Broader markets were also largely higher.

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Oil prices on track for biggest weekly gain since August

Oil prices were on track for their biggest weekly gain since late August, with market sentiment buoyed by easing concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant’s impact on global economic growth and fuel demand.

The Brent and WTI benchmarks were both on course for gains of about 7% this week, their first weekly gain in seven weeks, despite a brief bout of profit-taking.

Brent crude futures were up 0.2%, or 11 cents, at $74.53 a barrel, after falling 1.9% on Thursday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.4%, to $71.21 after sliding 2% in a volatile session the previous day.

Earlier in the week the oil market had recovered about half the losses suffered since the Omicron outbreak on Nov. 25, with prices lifted by early studies suggesting that three doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine offers protection against the Omicron variant.

Nifty broader markets at this hour

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HDFC twins, Infosys keep Sensex under pressure 

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European stocks drop at open after Asian, US losses: agencies

European stock markets retreated at the start of trading Friday following losses in Asia and overnight on Wall Street, with traders awaiting key US inflation data.

London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 0.3% to 7,301.77 points after official data showed Britain’s economy slowing even before the onset of the Omicron variant.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX index shed 0.4% to 15,578.29 points and the Paris CAC 40 lost 0.5% to 6,975.70.

US sanctions on Iran have no bearing on India’s Chabahar port project, says government: PTI

US sanctions on Iran have not affected India’s Chabahar port project, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told Lok Sabha on Friday.

Replying to a question from BSP member Ritesh Pandey, the minister also clarified that US sanctions are “not relevant” to India’s Chabahar port project in Iran “at all”.

During the Question Hour, Pandey sought to know from the government if US sanctions on Iran had any bearing on India’s project at the Chabahar port, and claimed that the Iranian government is “publicly saying that our Chabahar port project has been miserably delayed” due to sanctions imposed by the US”.

South Africa will offer vaccine boosters from early January: Bloomberg

Nifty Bank under pressure 

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India passenger vehicle sales fall 19% in November due to chip shortage: SIAM 

Wholesales of passenger vehicles in India fell 19% year-on-year to 2,15,626 units in November due the shortage of semiconductor, which impacted vehicle production and subsequent deliveries to dealer partners.

Two-wheeler sales declined 34% YoY to 10,50,616 units last month, while three-wheeler dispatches stood at 22,471 units, down 7%.

Total automobile sales across categories dropped to 12,88,759 units in November from 18,89,348 units a e year ago.

India rupee at 75.71 per dollar, its lowest since June 2020, compared with Thursday’s close of 75.52

Gati-KWE launches its largest Surface Transhipment Centre in Farukh Nagar

Gati-KWE, an Allcargo Group company and express logistics and supply chain solutions provider, on Friday launched its largest Surface Transhipment Centre (STC) spread over 1.5 lakh sqft and connecting to all major national highways, Western Peripheral Expressway in Farukh Nagar.

Lupin’s diagnostics business, Lupin Diagnostics, commences operations: BSE filing 

Sensex gainers/losers at this hour 

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Gold set for fourth weekly fall on U.S. inflation jitters

Gold prices were set for a fourth straight weekly fall on Friday as caution prevailed ahead of U.S. inflation data that could prompt the Federal Reserve to scale back its bond purchases at a faster pace.

Spot gold was flat at $1,774.39 per ounce by 0613 GMT. U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,776.60.

Bullion prices have fallen 0.5% so far in the week as investors exercised caution before the U.S. Consumer Price Index report, due later today, and the Fed policy meeting next week.

Bajaj Electricals to review corporate structure

Angel One on Star Health 

On listing day, Star Health and Allied Insurance Company stock is down ~2% mainly due to fear of new Covid variant omicron (further impact of the Covid-19 pandemic could increase claim). 

However, the company has strong growth rates (~32% Gross Written Premium CAGR over FY18-21) and better operational performance which is reflected in pre-Covid numbers for the company (~93% combined ratio). We are positive on stock and every dip in share prices provides buying opportunities to long term investors, said Amarjeet Maurya, AVP – Mid Caps, Angel One.

India Post Payments Bank, NPCI tie-up to launch doorstep bill payments service

JSW steel to benefit from volume growth helped by ongoing expansions

JSW Steel Ltd’s crude steel output for November rose 10% year-on-year. The company’s flat steel production was up 4% year-on-year while long products saw a strong 13% growth. These numbers exclude trial production from Phase II expansion of Dolvi works for part November.

It is the expansions that are likely to drive growth for the company, going ahead. 

FMCG stocks under pressure 

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Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Star Health rises after tepid listing 

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TVS Motor Company launches TVS Apache RR 310, TVS NTORQ 125 in the Philippines

India reports 8,503 new COVID-19 cases in last 24 hours

Sameet Chavan, Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives, Angel One

In last couple of sessions, markets have witnessed a remarkable recovery from sub-17000 territory. This positivity was carried over Thursday at the start as we witnessed a gap up opening with a small margin above 17500. In the initial hour, we witnessed a strong bout of profit booking to not only erase opening gains but also went on to slide below 17,400. Fortunately the initial nerves settled down immediately which resulted in a complete recovery during the remaining part of the day to conclude the weekly expiry on a positive note tad above the 17500 mark.

Barring first couple of hours, there was not much action seen in market yesterday. In fact the kind of stock specific activity we witnessed in last two sessions, it was also missing barring few exceptions. So we would rather consider this as a muted weekly expiry. If we take a glance at the overall price movement in last 7-8 sessions, markets has been gyrating in a slightly wider range where both ends got tested with immense volatility. So market has decided to take some breather after nearing the cluster of resistance i.e. 17500–17600–17700.

Directionally, we are still a bit skeptical whether market has enough strength to surpass the higher boundary of this range. Hence, one needs to now start lightening up longs if Nifty extends the relief move in the coming session. On the flipside, 17400 followed by 17300 are to be seen as key supports.

Zydus Cadila announces EPICS-IIITM Phase 2(b)/3 adaptive pivotal clinical trial of Saroglitazar

Zydus today said it has received permission from the US FDA to initiate Phase 2(b)/3 Prospective, multi-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled adaptive clinical trial to evaluate Efficacy and Safety of Saroglitazar Magnesium in subjects with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).

LTI stock down as management cautious of near-term supply-side pressures

Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI) back on investors’ radar after its management said it remains confident of cloud, data and digital services to drive revenue growth.

The management aims to boost revenues by mining existing clients and investing in new high potential verticals and markets, among other measures. Demand continues to be strong across verticals, markets and service lines with a new large deal pipeline at $2.07 billion, a growth of 9% year-on-year, the management said, adding demand has been shifting to medium-sized short cycle deals, which is driven by discretionary spends. 

Further, LTI retained its margin guidance at 14-15% and said that the company continues to focus on reinvesting to capture incremental market share rather than the margin uptick. 

“We see this as an indication of the company’s willingness to absorb pricing pressure, unlike peer commentary on price hikes,” analysts at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd said in a report.

Star Health shares make weak debut on exchanges, list at 6% discount

Shares of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd made a weak debut on the stock exchanges on Friday, listing at a 5.8% discount to their issue price of ₹900 apiece.

The stock opened at ₹848.80 and touched a high and a low of ₹899 and ₹827.50 respectively. At 10.05am, the scrip was at ₹875 on the BSE.

“We believe Star will continue to grow at a faster pace than industry. However, we find valuations at an expensive end from a near term perspective, not leaving much upside on the table. In addition, hospitalisation of non-covid cases could be a negative surprise in forthcoming months,” said Aditya Birla Capital in a note to its investors.

Rupee falls 5 paise to 75.65 against US dollar in opening trade

U.S. considers banning key exports to Chinese chipmaker SMIC – WSJ

RBI allows LIC to double its stake in IndusInd Bank: BSE filing 

The Reserve Bank of India has allowed Life Insurance Corp. of India to double its stake in IndusInd Bank Ltd., the lender said in a filing to the stock exchanges today.

LIC can raise its stake in the bank to up to 9.99% from the current 4.95%, the private sector lender said. The approval to raise holdings is valid for one year, according to the filing.

RIL raises stake in HFCL to 5% via QIP

Reliance Industries Ltd has raised its stake in HFCL, the country’s largest integrated telecom network provider, to 5% by investing ₹138 crore in the latter’s qualified institutional placement (QIP) that concluded on Thursday, according to a report in the Economic Times.

RIL, through its subsidiary Reliance Strategic Business Ventures, held a 3.76% stake in the company as of 30 September.

Top Nifty gainers/losers at this hour 

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Sensex stocks in opening deals 

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Nifty below 17,500 at open 

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Sensex in pre-open 

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Nifty below 17,500 in pre-open 

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Sensex stocks at pre-open

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Petrol, diesel prices kept unchanged for more than a month

Oil prices slip on profit-taking, but head for strong weekly gain

Oil prices drifted down on Friday as traders locked in profits from a strong run-up this week, stoked by growing confidence that the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant would not hit global growth and fuel demand.

Benchmark Brent and WTI were both on course to rise more than 6% this week, even after the profit-taking, their first weekly gain in seven weeks.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $70.87 a barrel, after sliding 2% in a volatile session the previous day.

Brent crude futures slipped 4 cents to $74.38 a barrel after falling 1.9% on Thursday.

Adani Group opens cargo traffic from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan at Mundra port

The Adani Group has removed a ban on exports and imports to and from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran at its Mundra port NSE 1.10 %, reversing an order made in October.

The company said it removed the ban after consultations with terminal and vessel operators, customs broker associations and importers who had agreed to adhere to security compliances.

The Adani Group had banned the import and export of containerised cargo from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan at its Mundra port on October 11.

SGX NIFTY futures were down 0.06% at 17,535.00 in early deals on Friday

Sebi proposes regulatory checks for algorithm trading

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday issued a discussion paper to prevent the rise of unregulated use of algorithms, or computer programs, for trading and their growing usage by retail investors.

Algorithm trading is the practice of investors authorizing or using an algorithm or computer programme to set buy and sell orders. The computer program automatically generates orders, and some also come with the option to send them to exchange directly to manage their current positions. Algo trading allows investors to execute trades at high speed.

Institutional investors have been using algorithmic trading and the so-called co-location facility (placing their servers in exchange premises to reduce latency), giving them an advantage. However, the growing trend of unregulated algos and the associated risks were a potential grey area. Sebi had constituted a working group to deliberate on the use of unregulated algos and ways to prevent it.

Asian stocks on back foot tracking Wall Street’s losses

Asian stocks followed their U.S. peers lower on Thursday as traders weighed the economic threat of virus restrictions against optimism about the efficacy of vaccines. Treasuries gained.

Equity markets saw modest losses across the region. 

Chinese markets are in focus after China Evergrande Group and Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd. officially defaulted on their dollar debt. Evergrande shares fell over 1% at the start of trading. Kaisa’s shares, which are traded in Hong Kong, were suspended.

Japan’s Topix fell 0.4%, Hang Seng dropped 0.4%, Shanghai Composite declined 0.4%, The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.5%, and South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.6%.

Overnight, Wall Street closed lower as investors banked some profits after three straight days of gains and turned their focus toward upcoming inflation data and how it might influence the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week.

Investors were in a waiting game ahead of U.S. consumer prices index (CPI) inflation data due Friday morning. A higher-than-expected reading would strengthen the case for a policy tightening decision at the U.S. central bank’s meeting.

A Reuters poll of economists has forecast that the Fed would raise rates by 25 basis points to 0.25-0.50% in the third quarter of next year. However, most saw the risk that a hike comes even sooner.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.06 points to 35,754.69, the S&P 500 lost 33.76 points, or 0.72%, to 4,667.45 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 269.62 points, or 1.71%, to 15,517.37.