Barometers end at record closing highs; Nifty closes above 21,450

The key equity benchmarks ended with major gains on Friday, rising for the third straight day. The Sensex and the Nifty, both, attained record closing high levels. After opening at 21,287.45, the Nifty 50 index marched higher as the session progressed to settle above the 21,450 mark. IT, PSU bank and metal stocks advanced while realty, FMCG and media shares declined.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex surged 969.55 points or 1.37% to 71,483.75. The Nifty 50 index advanced 273.95 points or 1.29% to 21,456.65.

The Sensex clocked an all-time high of 71,605.76 while the Nifty hit record high of 21,492.30 in late trade.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.07% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.58%. The market breadth was positive.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 6.55% to 13.13.

Economy:

India`s merchandise trade deficit in November stood at $20.58 billion, based on export and import data released by the government on Friday. India`s merchandise exports in November stood at $33.9 billion, while imports were $54.48 billion, government data showed.

In the previous month, merchandise exports were $33.57 billion, while imports stood at $65.03 billion. Services exports in November were $28.68 billion, while imports were $13.4 billion. In October, services exports were $28.70 billion and imports were $14.32 billion.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper declined 0.46% to 7.161 as compared with previous close 7.194.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.0500, compared with its close of 83.3050 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2024 settlement added 0.10% to Rs 62,517.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.08% to 102.03.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.49% to 3.910.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2024 settlement added 46 cents or 0.60% to $77.07 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Markets in Europe and Asia edged higher on Friday as Wall Street continued to rally after the U.S. Federal Reserve held rates and laid out a roadmap for cuts in 2024 and beyond. Investors await key economic data out of China, including November house prices, industrial output, and retail sales data.

Japan�s manufacturing activity contracted in December for the seventh straight month, according to a private survey. A flash reading of the au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing purchasing managers� index shrank to 47.7 in December from 48.3 in November, signaling the quickest deterioration in manufacturing business conditions for ten months. The au Jibun Bank flash services PMI, however, was 52.0 in December versus 50.8 in November, the fastest gain in the three months.

US stocks ended higher on Thursday lifted by optimism that borrowing rates will decrease next year following a dovish pivot by the Federal Reserve. The 10-year Treasury note yield dropped below 4% for the first time since August as traders bet on rate cuts for 2024 mount.

The Bank of England kept interest rates at the highest level in 15 years as its policy makers persisted with their higher-for-longer message despite growing market bets on a wave of cuts in 2024. The Monetary Policy Committee voted 6-3 to keep its key policy rate at 5.25% for the third consecutive meeting, according to minutes of the decision released Thursday.

The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged as expected on Thursday and signalled an early end to its last remaining bond purchase scheme.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index jumped 4.56% to 35,782.45. The index surged 8.21% in two trading sessions.

HCL Technologies (up 5.42%), Persistent Systems (up 5.33%), Tata Consultancy Services (up 5.28%), Infosys (up 5.13%), Coforge (up 4.6%), Tech Mahindra (up 3.27%), L&T Technology Services (up 3.24%), LTIMindtree (up 3.11%), Wipro (up 2.8%) and Mphasis (up 2.23%) rallied.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Vedanta rose 0.94%. The company proposes to hold a meeting of its duly constituted Committee of Directors on 19 December 2023 to consider the proposal for issuance of Non-Convertible Debentures on a private placement basis as part of its routine refinancing that is undertaken in ordinary course of business.

Hero MotoCorp rose 0.34%. The board of directors of the company approved purchase of additional shares of Ather Energy Pvt. Ltd, an existing Associate company for up to Rs 140 crore. After this transaction, Hero`s stake in Ather Energy will increase to 39.7% from 36.7%.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone gained 0.43%. The company has entered into a second strategic partnership with Terminal Investment (TiL) for the operation of Adani Ennore Container Terminal (AECTPL). Terminal Investment, through its fully owned subsidiary Mundi, will acquire a 49% shareholding of AECTPL from APSEZ for a consideration of Rs 247 crore. The total enterprise value of AECTPL is Rs 1,211 crore. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. After the completion of the transaction, APSEZ would hold 51% stake in AECTPL.

Cipla added 0.04%. The pharma major company said that it has agreed to further invest Rs 42 crore in digital tech company GoApptiv. The company said that it is in line with its ambition to strengthen investments in channels of the future, this development will further expand its presence across the healthcare continuum, especially to the underserved population by enabling greater access to lifesaving treatments. With the completion of this deal, the company�s total stake in GoApptiv will increase to 22.99% on a fully diluted basis.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) fell 2.32%. The life insurer said that that it has decreased its stake in Hero Moto Corp to 18,482,495 equity shares from 22,491,571 shares earlier decreasing its shareholding to 9.246% from 11.252% earlier.

Bharat Electronics (BEL) rallied 3.17% after the company announced that it has received an order worth Rs 4,522 crore from Indian Army for the supply of fuses for various calibres.

Genus Power Infrastructures was locked in an upper circuit of 5% after the company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary received a letter of award (LoA) valuing at Rs 1,026.31 crore.

Texmaco Rail & Engineering advanced 2.86% after the company received an order worth around Rs 1,374.41 crore for manufacturing and supply of 3,400 BOXNS wagons. The said order has been received from the Ministry of Railways.

J Kumar Infraprojects jumped 9.96% after the company received letter of acceptance (LoA) worth Rs 582.68 crore from superintending engineer, highway department, construction and maintenance, Chennai circle, Chennai.

IPO Corner:

The initial public offer (IPO) of DOMS Industries received bids for 82,52,92,278 shares as against 88,37,407 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:51 IST on Friday (15 December 2023). The issue was subscribed 93.39 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday (13 December 2023) and it will close on Friday (15 December 2023). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 750-790 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 18 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

The IPO of India Shelter Finance Corporation received bids for 65,58,51,960 shares as against 1,79,10,449 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:51 IST on Friday (15 December 2023). The issue was subscribed 36.62 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday (13 December 2023) and it will close on Friday (15 December 2023). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 469-493 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 30 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

The IPO of INOX India received bids for 10,59,28,988 shares as against 1,54,77,670 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:51 IST on Friday (15 December 2023). The issue was subscribed 6.84 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Thursday (14 December 2023) and it will close on Monday (18 December 2023). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 627-660 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 22 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

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