Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is down by 38.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market.
Thursday saw a surge in US stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.87%, the S&P 500 rising 1.03%, and the Nasdaq Composite finishing 1.26% higher, as positive economic data fueled optimism for potential easing of monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve.
On Friday, Asian markets dipped despite Wall Street’s previous rise, with Japan’s inflation marking its slowest growth since July 2022. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and the Topix edged up by 0.36% and 0.51% respectively, while South Korea’s Kospi increased by 0.43% and Kosdaq by 0.33%. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a weaker opening.
Stocks News:
👉 LIC: The Department of Economic Affairs has granted the company 10 years to achieve a minimum of 25% public shareholding instead of the usual three years. It said the decision was taken in the “public interest”.
👉 GMR Airports Infrastructure: Subsidiary GMR Airports has entered into a binding agreement with the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to invest Rs 675 crore in the upcoming airport at Bhogapuram, Andhra Pradesh. This is NIIF’s second investment in a GMR airport after their investment in Goa International Airport.
👉 Bata India: The company announced Pankaj Gupta, Head of Retail and Franchisee Operations, will resign from the post and move to a global position in the Bata Group, effective March 1, 2024. Badri Beriwal, chief strategy and business development officer of the company, will additionally be leading the retail business, including Bata, Hush Puppies, and franchise operations of the company.
👉 MOIL: The state-owned manganese ore mining company announced that production crossed 16 lakh tonnes this calendar year (as of 20 December), 26% higher than the previous record, set in 2019.
👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,636.19 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 1,464.70 crore worth of stocks on December 21, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.
Domestic and International Events
- On December 21, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) disclosed its plan to hold a seven-day variable rate repo auction amounting to Rs 1.75 lakh crore on December 22, addressing a significant banking system deficit of approximately Rs 2.27 lakh crore. This move aligns with the RBI’s response to the ongoing liquidity conditions, with the auction scheduled from 10:30 am to 11:00 am, and fund reversals slated for December 29.
- The US economy expanded at a revised 4.9% annual pace in the third quarter, government data showed. The gross domestic product (GDP) growth reduced from a previously reported 5.2% in the government’s third estimate.
- Oil prices fell by roughly $1 a barrel on December 21 after Angola said it would exit the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), raising questions about the producer group’s efforts to support prices by limiting global supplies. Brent futures fell 94 cents, or 1.18 percent, to $78.76 a barrel at 12:20 pm. (1720 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 96 cents, or 1.29 percent, to $73.26.
- Gold prices gained on December 21 as US Treasury yields retreated after economic data fuelled expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in March next year. Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $2,041.27 per ounce, as of 12:35 pm ET (1735 GMT). US gold futures rose 0.3 percent to $2,053.20.
Key Equity Indices
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 16,621 | 0.0 % |
| Shanghai Composite | 2,919 | 0.6 % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 37,404 | 0.9 % |
| DAX | 16,687 | (0.3) % |
| FTSE 100 | 7,695 | (0.3) % |
| Nikkei | 33,140 | (1.6) % |
| Straits Times | 3,113 | 0.1 % |
