SBI to raise additional tier 1 (AT1) capital of Rs 10,000 crore.

Opening Bell:

SGX Nifty is down by 67.5 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market.

Asia-Pacific markets traded lower after the US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to the highest level in 15 years. The Japanese Nikkei is down by 0.23 percent. South Korea’s Kospi is down by 0.77 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined by 1.83 percent in the early morning trades.

US stocks closed lower in volatile trading on Wednesday following a policy announcement by the Federal Reserve that raised interest rates by an expected 50 basis points, but its economic projections see higher rates for a longer period. S&P 500 was down 0.61 percent whereas Nasdaq composite declined by 0.78 percent.

Stocks News:

?The government will sell up to 2.5 percent stake in Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) through an offer for sale (OFS) on December 15 and 16. The floor price for the OFS is set at Rs 680 per share.

?State Bank of India to raise additional tier 1 (AT1) capital of Rs 10,000 crore. SBI board has approved raising capital by way of issuance of Basel III compliant debt instrument in INR and / or any other convertible currency. The sum that can be raised till FY24 is up to Rs 10,000 crore. This is subject to concurrence from Government of India.

?Wipro announced the launch of new financial services advisory company, Capco, in the Middle East. Wipro announced the launch of new financial services advisory company, Capco, in the Middle East. Capco will offer strategic management and technology consulting capabilities to financial services firms in the Middle East to enable their transformation, digitization, and business consolidation initiatives.

?NTPC declared commencement of commercial operation of second part capacity of 67.73 MW out of 230 MW Ettayapuram Solar PV Project from December 15. The first part capacity of 162.27 MW has already been declared to be on commercial operation from December 10. With this, standalone installed and commercial capacity of NTPC will become 58109 MW, while group installed and commercial capacity of NTPC will become 70724 MW.

?Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 372.16 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth Rs 926.45 crore on December 14, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Domestic and International Events

• The Federal Reserve reinforced its inflation fight Wednesday by raising its key interest rate for the seventh time this year and signalling more hikes to come. But the Fed announced a smaller hike than it had in its past four meetings at a time when inflation is showing signs of easing.
• The Fed boosted its benchmark rate a half-point to a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, its highest level in 15 years. Though smaller than its previous three-quarter-point hikes, the latest move will further heighten the costs of many consumer and business loans and the risk of a recession.
• Oil prices rose more than $2 on Wednesday after OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) both forecast a rebound in demand over the course of next year and as U.S. rate hikes are expected to ease alongside slowing inflation.
• British inflation fell more than expected in November after it hit a 41-year high in October, raising hopes that the price surge has peaked and offering some comfort to the Bank of England as it prepares to raise interest rates again.

Key Equity Indices