Sensex Today | Share Market Live Updates: Markets trading at narrow range

“Motisons Jewellers, although launching at a 98% premium, seems to warrant caution in our view, given its challenges such as underperformance and dependence on third-party suppliers.”

“Suraj Estate Developers, despite listing at a 6% discount, presents a viable hold opportunity for medium to long-term investors, backed by steady growth and its niche in regulation 33(7) of DCPR.”

“Muthoot Microfin Ltd, also listing at a discount of 5.4%, appears to be a solid choice for longer-term investments, with its focused approach on rural microfinance, efficient management of NPAs, and fair valuation based on FY24 earnings expectations.”

The S&P BSE Sensex is trading at narrow range after touching the day’s high of 71,471.29. The Sensex is up 212 points, or 0.3%, at 71,319. Wipro, NTPC, M&M, Tata Steel and Power Grid are the top Sensex gainers. After touching day’s high of 21,477.15, the Nifty 50 is up 94 points, or 0.44%, at 21,443.40. DivisLab tops the list of the Nifty 50 gainers, followed by Hero Motocorp, Adani Enterprises, Wipro and NTPCare Nifty gainers. There are total 23 companies in green and only seven in the red at the Sensex showing the uptrend in the market. In the Nifty 50 basket, there are 41 stocks in the green and nine in the red.

Shares of state-owned defence and aerospace company Bharat Electronics hit an all-time high on Tuesday, after a series of orders the firm received over the past week. The shares were trading at 2.7% higher at ₹182.35 after hitting its all-time high of ₹184.50. So far in 2023, it rose 82% on a cumulative basis. Over the past five years, it accumulated over 500 per cent returns for its shareholders.

Bharat Electronics announced it has signed a contract valued at ₹445 crore with the Uttar Pradesh government. Last week, it received orders worth ₹2,673 crore collectively from Goa Shipyard Ltd ( ₹1,701 crore) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers ( ₹972 crore). The orders entail the supply of 14 types of sensors for use on Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels. The state-owned company has bagged cumulative orders of worth ₹26,613 crore till now in the current financial year 2023-24, says a report by ANI.

State Bank of India has purchased non convertible debentures (NCDs) worth ₹200 crore issued by Muthoot Fincorp.

The flagship company of 136-year-old Muthoot Pappachan Group on Tuesday said the debt issue has a five-year maturity with half-yearly being the frequency of the interest payment. However it didn’t reveal the pricing of the issue.

Shaji Varghese, CEO of the company said the proceeds from the NCD issue will be utilised for onward lending, business operations and further expansion and growth plan, a PTI report said.

Gold ticked higher as the final week of the year got under way, with traders looking ahead to interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in 2024 and a weaker US currency, says a Bloomberg report. Bullion is trading near a record high, heading for its first annual increase in three years, as data showing US price pressures easing reinforces expectations for multiple rate cuts in 2024.

Swaps markets are now pricing in a more than 80% chance of a cut by March, which would be bullish for non-interest bearing assets like gold, though some central bank officials have pushed back on the prospect of early easing.

Gold rose 0.6% to $2,064.45 an ounce as of 6:33 a.m. London time, after climbing 1.7% last week. Bullion closed at a record $2,072.22 on Dec. 1. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was 0.1% lower. Silver and palladium gained, while platinum was steady.

The S&P BSE Sensex is consolidating after touching the day’s high of 71,471.29. The Sensex is up 258.34 points, or 0.37%, at 71,368.21. After touching day’s high of 21,477.15, the Nifty 50 is up 99.70 points, or 0.47%, at 21,449.10. Wipro, NTPC, M&M, Tata Steel and Power Grid are the top Sensex gainers. DivisLab tops the list of Nifty50 gainers, followed by Hero Motocorp, Adani Enterprises, Wipro and NTPCare Nifty gainers. There are total 24 companies in green and only six in the red at the Sensex showing the uptrend in the market. In the Nifty50 basket, there are 40 stocks in the green and nine in the red.

Oil prices nudged higher on Tuesday as investors focused on geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and optimism the U.S. Federal Reserve would soon start cutting interest rates, lifting global economic growth and fuel demand.

Brent crude futures rose 26 cents, or 0.3%, to $79.33 a barrel by 0732 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $73.72 a barrel, up 16 cents, or 0.2%.

Trade is thin as some markets are still closed for the Boxing Day public holiday.

Expectations of interest rate cuts and conflict in the Red Sea have led to a recent rebound in oil prices, although Maersk’s announcement of the resumption of shipping routes through the waterway has alleviated supply concerns to a certain extent, CMC Market analyst Leon Li said. Reuters

Premiumization is the key to going forward as India’s appliances and consumer electronics industry is expected to grow around 10% in 2024. Demand for smart appliances, inverter ACs, heavy top-load washing machines, double-door frost-free refrigerators having over 300 litres capacity and large screen 4K LEDs, in which 51 inches screen is seeing the fastest growth in terms of sales, according to a PTI report.

Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) announced the opening of an 80-key new Vivanta hotel in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, situated at a height of 10,000 feet. With the addition of this hotel, IHCL will have 12 hotels in the northeast, including five under construction properties, the company said. However, the company stocks are trading flat on Tuesday.

The S&P BSE Sensex is showing a slight down trend after touching the day’s high of 71,471.29. The Sensex is up 237.10 points, or 0.33%, at 71,344.30. After touching day’s high of 21,477.15, the Nifty 50 is up 80.90 points, or 0.38%, at 21,430.30. Wipro, NTPC, M&M, Tata Steel and Power Grid are the top Sensex gainers. Divis Lab tops the list of Nifty50 gainers, followed by Hero Motocorp, Adani Enterprises, Wipro and NTPCare Nifty gainers. There are total 25 companies in green and only five in the red at the Sensex showing the uptrend in the market. In the Nifty50 basket, there are 42 stocks in the green and eight in the red.

Asian stocks crept higher and the dollar lurked near a five-month low as cooling US inflation bolstered bets the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates early next year, reports Reuters. Oil prices were mixed after both benchmarks – Brent crude and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude – rose 3% last week in the wake of Houthi attacks on ships that disrupted global shipping and trade, as the Israel-Gaza conflict raged on.

Trading was thin on the day after Christmas with several markets, including those in Australia, Hong Kong, Britain and Germany closed for Boxing Day and the holiday curtailed week also likely to see limited moves.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.48% higher and is on course for a nearly 2% gain this year, after dropping 20% in 2022.

Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.16% and remains the best performing major Asian stock market with a 27% rise in 2023. E-mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.15%.

Markets are now pricing in a 75% chance of a 25 basis points rate cut from the Fed in March, according to the CME FedWatch tool, compared with a 21% chance at the end of November. Markets are also pricing in more than 150 basis points of rate cuts next year.

In Asia, China stocks fell 0.47%, weighed down by semiconductor shares, while gaming stocks stabilised after a slew of companies announced share buyback plans. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index remained closed.

In the currency market, moves were muted in holiday thinned trade, with the dollar index at 101.61, not far from the five-month low of 101.42 it touched on Friday. The index is down 1.8% for the year, on course to snap its two-year winning run.

In commodities, U.S. WTI crude futures rose 0.33% to $73.80 per barrel and Brent futures were at $79.33, down 0.08% on the day.

Spot gold added 0.5% to $2,064.02 an ounce. Reuters

Adani Green Energy Ltd. stocks are in focus as it has secured buyers for the entire 8 gigawatts of green power projects it won in a tender more than three years ago, reaching a milestone in its plan to expand generation capacity by more than five-fold by the end of the decade, Bloomberg reports. It signed a 25-year contract with Solar Energy Corp. of India, or Seci, for the remaining 1.8 gigawatts. State-run Seci conducted the auction and is the intermediary between the project developer and buyers of electricity. The stocks are trading at a gain of 1.75% at ₹1,560

Adani Green has 8.4 gigawatts of operating renewables portfolio and plans to invest $22 billion to expand the capacity to 45 gigawatts by 2030. With the latest deal, the company has offtake agreements for 19.8 gigawatts of projects.

Steel stocks are in focus as the central government is working on production linked incentive (PLI) scheme 2.0. The government is also looking at ways to ensure adequate raw material supply for the steel sector in 2024, Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste told PTI. The steel demand in the medium-to-long-term is expected to accelerate at a significantly faster pace than GDP. Tata Steel, JSW Steel and other steel related-companies are green.

The S&P BSE Sensex was up 327.34 points, or 0.46%, at 71,434.30 at noon. The Nifty50 was up 120 points, or 0.56%, at 21,469.90. Wipro, NTPC, M&M, Tata Steel and Power Grid are the top Sensex gainers. Hero Motocorp, Divis Lab, Adani Enterprises, Wipro and NTPCare Nifty gainers. There are total 24 companies in green and only six in the red at the Sensex showing the uptrend in the market. In the Nifty50 basket, there are 41 stocks in the green and nine in the red. 

GMR group expects the debt cost for its airports to decline, ensuring significant inflow from the passive funds, as well as foreign fund managers following its merger with GMR Airport Infrastructure Ltd, Saurabh Chawla, executive director, finance and strategy at GMR Airport Infrastructure, told Mint. The merger is expected to be concluded around March, but the procedures indicate that the company may complete the merger by February, he added. The group stocks are trading in green in the early trade. 

Asian markets were steady in holiday-thinned trading on Tuesday, with some markets in the region closed for holidays. US futures and oil prices edged higher.

Shanghai’s benchmark led losses in Asia on heavy selling of technology and computer chip-related shares as worries revived over trade tensions with the US and other western countries. The Shanghai Composite index sank 0.8% to 2,894.72. In Shenzhen, where relatively more high-tech companies are listed, the A-share index lost 1.3%.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped less than 0.1% to 33,244.50. In South Korea, the Kospi added 0.1%, to 2,601.67. Bangkok’s SET rose 0.2% and Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.7%.

Markets in Australia and Hong Kong were closed. US and European markets were closed on Monday and some in Europe will remain closed for Boxing Day. On Friday, Wall Street closed its eighth straight winning week with a quiet finish following reports showing inflation is on the decline even as the economy appears stronger than expected.

On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to sit less than 1% below its record set nearly two years ago, at 4,754.63. The Dow slipped less than 0.1% to 37,385.97, and the Nasdaq gained 0.2% to 14,992.97. AP

The S&P BSE Sensex was up 294.97 points, or 0.41%, at 71,401. 93 at 11 am in the morning trade. The Nifty50 was up 99. 70 points, or 0.47%, at 21,449.10. Wipro, NTPC, M&M, Tata Steel and Power Grid are the top Sensex gainers. Hero Motocorp, Divis Lab, Adani Enterprises, Wipro and NTPCare Nifty gainers.

There was a mixed reactions to the stock debuts at the market today. Muthoot Microfin shares listed at 5% discount to issue price. Suraj Estate Developers shares also debuted at 5% discount. But Motisons Jewellers shares listed at around 98% premium over its issue price.

In the losers and gainers, NTPC, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro and State Bank of India were the major gainers among the Sensex firms. Tata Motors, Wipro, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services and Maruti were among the laggards. There were 22 companies in green and 8 declines in the Sensex.

Among the Nifty firms, there were 38 advances and 12 declines, showcasing a predominantly positive market breadth. Notable gainers in the early trading session included Hero Motocorp, NTPC, Tata Steel, Tata Consumer Products, and UPL.Infosys, Wipro, Maruti, HCL Technologies and TCS were among the top losers.

The S&P BSE Sensex was up 121.77points, or 0.17%, at 71,261.92 at the morning trade. The Nifty50 was up 68.20 points, or 0.32%, at 21,417.60. Top Nifty50 gainers are HeroMotoCorp (+3.27%), Adani Enterprises (+2.98%), NTPC (+2), Coal India (+1.98%) and M&M (+1.87%). Sensex top gainers are NTPC, M&M, Tata Steel, PowerGrid and Titan.

The rupee appreciated 3 paise to 83.13 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, tracking positive cues from domestic equity markets and a weak American currency against major overseas rivals.

However, forex traders said the Indian currency remained under pressure due to selling of equities from foreign institutional investors amid volatility in crude prices.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at 83.17 and touched the highest level of 83.10 against the greenback. The unit later traded at 83.13 against the dollar, registering a rise of 3 paise from its previous close.

On Friday, the domestic currency settled at 83.16 against the dollar. Forex markets were closed on Monday on account of Christmas. PTI

Rupee turns flat at 83.16 against US dollar in early trade.

Shares of Infosys fell 2% after the company said that an unnamed global company, which had signed a $1.5 billion deal focused on artificial intelligence solutions, decided to terminate the MoU with the IT giant.

Nifty was up 15.50 points, or 0.07%, at 21,364.90 in the early trade

Sensex was up 17.32 points, or 0.02%, at 71,124.28.

S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 open flat after the weekend and Christmas holidays.  

Markets up in pre-open trade. Both Sensex and Nifty open in green after the Christmas weekend.

Reliance Industries Ltd and Walt Disney have signed a non-binding term sheet to merge their Indian media operations, according to a report by the Economic Times.

NSE Nifty 50 is likely to start with slight gains, tracking gains in some Asian stocks. GIFT Nifty was trading at 21,423.50 as of 8:04 am, indicating the NSE Nifty 50 will likely open above its Friday’s close of 21,349.40.

Both the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex lost about 0.5% last week, snapping their longest weekly winning streak in six years as some investors booked profits.

Still, the blue-chip indexes have gained 12.65% and 12.07% over the last seven weeks, helped by strong domestic macroeconomic data, a return of foreign inflows, and moderation in oil prices, reports Reuters. Asian stocks started the week higher, with MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rising 0.18%.

US stocks gyrated to a mixed close on Friday as investors headed into the Christmas holiday weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18.38 points, or 0.05%, to 37,385.97, the S&P 500 gained 7.88 points, or 0.17%, at 4,754.63 and the Nasdaq Composite added 29.11 points, or 0.19%, at 14,992.97. For the Nasdaq and the Dow, it marks the longest streak of consecutive weekly gains since the beginning of 2019.

The Indian rupee will take cues from Asian currencies and US Treasuries, and is likely to remain rangebound in the year’s last trading week shortened by the Christmas holiday. The rupee ended 0.17% stronger at 83.14 against the dollar on Friday, aided by strength in its Asian peers and dollar sales by large foreign banks, reports Reuters. The dollar index fell to a low of 101.42 on Friday, its weakest level since late July, and notched a weekly loss of over 0.8%. Despite the dollar index remaining under pressure amid rising bets on rate cuts in the United States, the rupee ended the week lower by 0.16%.

Gold prices inched higher in holiday-thinned trade. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $2,056.80 per ounce, as of 0118 GMT. Spot silver rose 0.3% to $24.23 per ounce, while platinum was steady at $970.63. Palladium climbed 0.8% to $1,212.34. U.S. gold futures were steady at $2,068.60 per ounce.

The dollar was trying to find a floor on Tuesday in holiday-thinned trade, pressured by signs that inflation in the world’s largest economy is cooling that will likely give the Federal Reserve room to ease interest rates next year.

The yen meanwhile steadied near its recent five-month peak on the prospect that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could soon mark an end to its ultra-easy policy. For most of 2022 and 2023, the policy has kept the Japanese currency under pressure as other major central banks globally embarked on aggressive rate-hike cycles.

Currency moves were largely muted in the day after Christmas, with markets in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong still out for the Boxing Day public holiday.

Against the greenback, the euro slipped 0.06% to $1.1019, but was not too far from a more than four-month top of $1.1040 hit last week.

Sterling was little changed at $1.2701, while the Australian and New Zealand dollars were huddled near their recent five-month peaks.

The dollar index languished near a five-month low of 101.42 hit last week, and was last at 101.65. Reuters

The GIFT Nifty is trading at a premium of around10 points over Nifty Futures’ Friday close, indicating a start in the green for the Indian market.

India’s currency, debt and equity markets were closed on Monday, 25 December, for the Christmas holiday. Nifty 50 climbed 0.44% to 21,349.40 on Friday, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.34% to 71,106.96. The benchmarks snapped a seven-week winning run, their longest in six years, as profit booking at record high levels earlier in the week weighed. Indian markets are expected to start flat as many of the Asian markets are closed for the extended Christmas holiday on Boxing Day. Oil prices were little changed in the early trade on Tuesday. Markets in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and New Zealand are closed.