Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is down by 2.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market.
Asia-Pacific markets rose on Monday as China’s November inflation numbers showed sharper declines than expected. The consumer price index fell 0.5% year-on-year, more than economists predicted 0.1% drop, while the producer price index dropped 3%, exceeding expectations of a 2.8% decline. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged, while South Korea’s Kospi and Kosdaq also saw gains. However, futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index indicated a weaker opening compared to its previous close.
US Treasury yields rose following a robust jobs report, prompting a reassessment of Federal Reserve rate cut expectations. Global stocks, as per Reuters, edged up on Friday, set for a sixth consecutive week of gains. Amid an oil price rebound, energy shares drove the S&P 500 to a four-month high amidst fluctuating market activity. The S&P 500 climbed 0.35%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.44%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.30%.
European markets held in positive territory on Friday, as traders around the world assessed key November jobs report out of the US. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed up 0.7%. Travel and leisure stocks added 1.5% to lead gains while mining stocks fell 2.3%.
Stocks News:
👉 Tata Motors: The automotive company has announced its plan to increase the prices of commercial vehicles by up to 3%, starting 1 January, 2024. This decision, communicated to the stock exchanges, is intended to counterbalance the impact of rise in the cost of materials.
👉 Zomato: SVF Growth (Singapore) Pte Ltd, a venture capital fund owned by Japan’s Softbank, has exited the food delivery giant by selling the remaining 9.35 crore equity shares through open market transactions. These shares were sold at an average price of Rs 120.5 each, amounting to Rs 1,127.5 crore. On October 20 of this year, it had sold 9.35 crore shares at an average price of Rs 111.2 per share.
👉 Cipla: The pharmaceutical company said its subsidiary, InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc in the USA, is conducting a voluntary recall of one batch of Vigabatrin for Oral Solution, USP. This recall was initiated due to issues with seal that may cause powder to leak from the pouch, potentially leading to a discrepancy between the actual medicine content in the pack and what is stated on the label.
👉 GMR: Following GQG Partners’ acquisition of a 4.7% stake in GMR Airport Infrastructure Ltd. through a bulk deal, the company’s subsidiary, GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Ltd., secured ₹3,215 crore in funding. This capital, raised from a consortium of five banks/financial institutions, is allocated for the first phase of development of Bhogapuram International Airport. This financing agreement marks a significant step in the expansion plans of GMR Airport.
👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 3,632.30 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold Rs 434.02 crore worth of stocks on December 8, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.
Domestic and International Events
- According to the latest projections provided by the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee, consumer price index inflation is seen at 4% in July-September and 4.7% in October-December of the next financial year. The central bank has repeatedly emphasized that it needs to see a durable return to 4% inflation before it can consider any change in its current tight policy.
- China’s November saw the steepest consumer price drop in three years, paired with increased factory-gate deflation. This highlight growing deflationary pressures amid weak domestic demand, sparking worries about the economic recovery. The National Bureau of Statistics’ report on December 9 revealed a 0.5% year-on-year and month-on-month decline in the consumer price index (CPI). These figures surpassed Reuters predicted 0.1% drops, marking the largest year-on-year CPI decrease since November 2020. These numbers compound concerns raised by recent mixed trade data and manufacturing surveys, prompting calls for additional policy measures to bolster growth.
- Oil prices rallied Friday, but still booked the seventh straight week of losses as record production and demand worries weigh on prices. The West Texas Intermediate contract for January rose $1.89, or 2.73%, to settle at $71.23 a barrel. The Brent crude contract for February gained $1.79, or 2.42%, to settle at $75.84 a barrel. US crude and the global benchmark lost about 4% for the week despite Friday’s rebound. The last time WTI booked a seven-week losing streak was five years ago.
- Gold retreated back under $2,000 an ounce on Friday as the dollar and Treasury yields strengthened after traders trimmed bets for US interest rate cuts to materialise by March following stronger-than-expected jobs data. Spot gold fell 1.3% to $2,002.80 per ounce after hitting a session low of $1,994.49 earlier. Prices were down 3.4% so far for their worst week in ten. US gold futures settled 1.3% lower at $2,019.1.
Key Equity Indices
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 16,334 | 0.1 % |
| Shanghai Composite | 2,970 | 0.1 % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 36,248 | 0.4 % |
| DAX | 16,759 | 0.8 % |
| FTSE 100 | 7,554 | 0.5 % |
| Nikkei | 32,308 | 1.7 % |
| Straits Times | 3,111 | 1.2 % |
