SBI Acquires Stake in Canpac Trends, PVR Inox Stake Sale Expected

Opening Bell:

Gift Nifty is down by 19.5 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market.

Asian markets surged on Friday, following Wall Street’s upward trajectory after the US Federal Reserve maintained rates and outlined a plan for rate cuts in 2024. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed by 0.70%, and the Topix increased by 0.40%. South Korea’s Kospi surged by 0.77%, while the Kosdaq saw a rise of 0.47%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a robust opening. Australian shares hit a four-month high, propelled by stronger-than-anticipated job data and optimism regarding an anticipated US Federal Reserve interest rate cut next year. The S&P/ASX 200 index surged by 0.8% to reach 7,434.0, marking its highest level since August 2nd.

US stocks ended firmer on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average notching its second straight record high close, lifted by optimism that borrowing rates will decrease next year following a dovish pivot by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 climbed 0.26%. It remains down less than 2% from its record high close in January 2022. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.19%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43%.

Stocks News:

👉 State Bank of India: The country’s largest public sector lender has executed transaction documents for the purchase of 3,70,644 shares, or 6.35% stake, in Canpac Trends, which provides paper-based packaging solutions, for nearly Rs 50 crore. The stake will be bought at a price of Rs 1,349 per share.

👉 PVR Inox: Plenty PE Fund and Multiples PE Fund Group are likely to offload a 2.33% stake in the multiplex operator in a bulk deal, according to CNBC TV-18. The offer price for the sale is likely to be between ₹1,750 and ₹1,769.5 per share.

👉 PB Fintech: Income Tax officials visited Paisabazaar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, on Thursday and Friday and enquired about certain vendors of the company. PB Fintech said it said has provided the required information to the officials.

👉 Bharat Heavy Electricals: BHEL has partnered with the Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI) under the Ministry of Heavy Industries to develop technologies in the fields of the hydrogen value chain and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions.

👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 3,570.07 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased Rs 553.17 crore worth of stocks on December 14, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.         

Domestic and International Events

• The Wholesale price index registered a 0.26% increase in November, compared with 0.5% deflation in October, according to data released Thursday. Experts indicate that while wholesale inflation will likely remain positive, it will stay below 2% for the remainder of the year as energy and manufacturing costs remain contained.
• The net tax collection for April-November stood at Rs 10.64 lakh crore, which is 23.4% higher than the corresponding period of last year, the Ministry of Finance said. Gross collections, before issuing refunds, grew 17.7 per cent to Rs 12.67 lakh crore in the April-November period. Refunds amounting to Rs 2.03 lakh crore issued from April to November of the current fiscal.

• The Bank of England kept its main interest rate unchanged at a 15-year high of 5.25%, where it has stood since August following the end of nearly two years of hikes. Six of the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep rates on hold while three wanted a quarter-point hike.

• Oil prices rose 3% on Thursday, extending the previous session’s gains, boosted by a weaker dollar and as the International Energy Agency (IEA) lifted its oil demand forecast for next year. Brent futures settled $2.35 higher, or 3.2%, at $76.61 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed $2.11, or 3%, to $71.58.

• Gold prices touched a 10-day high on Thursday as the US dollar and Treasury yields slipped after the Federal Reserve signalled an end to its monetary policy tightening cycle. Spot gold rose 0.4% to $2,034.31 per ounce by 3:17 p.m. ET (2017 GMT). U.S. gold futures settled 2.4% higher at $2,044.90.

Key Equity Indices

EMERGING	LATEST	% 1D
Hang Seng	16,402	1.1 %
Shanghai Composite	2,959	(0.3) %

DEVELOPED	LATEST	% 1D
Dow Jones	37,248	0.4 %
DAX	16,752	(0.1) %
FTSE 100	7,649	1.3 %
Nikkei	32,686	(0.7) %
Straits Times	3,123	0.6 %