Nifty 50 closed at 21,517.35 (-148.5, -0.7%), BSE Sensex closed at 71,356.60 (-535.9, -0.8%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 19,367.15 (-51.3, -0.3%), of the 2,036 stocks traded today, 1,104 showed gains, and 898 showed losses.
Indian indices extended their losses from the afternoon session and closed in the red, with the benchmark Nifty 50 index closing at 21,517.4 points. The Indian volatility index, Nifty VIX, fell 3.3% and closed at 14.1 points. Rail Vikas Nigam closed in the green after it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with REC to finance projects undertaken by the construction & engineering company.
Nifty Smallcap 100 closed flat while the Nifty Midcap 100 closed higher, despite the benchmark index closing in the red. Nifty Media and Nifty Pharma closed higher than their Tuesday close. According to Trendlyne's sector dashboard, Utilities was the top-performing sector of the day as it rose 2.4%.
Major Asian indices closed in the red, except for China’s Shanghai Composite index, which closed marginally higher. Most European indices traded lower amid weak global cues. US index futures traded in the red, indicating a negative start to the trading session. Brent crude oil futures traded lower for a fifth consecutive trading session.
Relative strength index (RSI) indicates that stocks like Gujarat Fluorochemicals, Tata Consumer Products, Godrej Industries and MRF are in the overbought zone.
Strides Pharma Science rises 1.5% in trade and reaches a new 52-week high of Rs 696.3. The company ranks medium on Trendlyne’s Checklist, scoring 36.4%. It also features in a screener of companies with strong momentum.
Rail Tel Corporation hits a new 52-week high of Rs 364.9 after bagging an order worth Rs 35 crore from Rail Vidyut Nigam. The contract includes providing application support and data center hosting services.
Grasim Industries is falling as its joint venture (JV), AV Terrace Bay, in which it holds a 40% stake, pauses its pulp operations. The company says that the pulp mill will be put under a warm idle for an easy future restart. The mill produces 3.2 lakh air-dry metric tonnes of northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) paper-grade pulp.
Bajaj Auto rises to an all-time high of Rs 7,059.8 as its board will consider a share buy-back on January 8. The company appears in a screener of stocks with improving book value per share
- Amrit Lal Meena, Secretary of the Ministry of Coal, reports a 23% YoY increase in India’s coal stock, reaching 94 MT in December. He highlights that Coal India has achieved 84% of its capex target by December. He also affirms that there will be sufficient supply of coal for the coming summer season.
Adani Total Gas signs an MoU with Shigan Quantum Technologies to decarbonize the supply chain and modify ICE engines to run on cleaner fuels like CNG.
ONGC rises amid reports that its subsidiary, ONGC Videsh, is in talks with Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) to recover $600 million (approx. Rs 4,995.7 crore) in accrued dividends. This move comes after the easing of trade sanctions on Venezuela by the USA.
Rail Vikas Nigam surges more than 4% as it signs a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with REC to finance projects undertaken by the construction & engineering company. As per the MoU, REC will receive a part of the revenue/returns earned by RVNL for providing the finances.
- Samvardhana Motherson International is falling as reports suggest that 63.5 lakh shares (0.1% equity), amounting to approximately Rs 39 crore, change hands.
PSU bank stocks like Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, UCO Bankand Central Bankof India rise more than 2% in trade. All constituents of the broader Nifty PSU Bankindex are also trading in the green.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is rising as it launches Lirafit, the first bio-similar of the anti-diabetes drug Liraglutide. Priced at Rs 100 for a 1.2 mg dose, the drug improves glycemic control in type 2 diabetes patients with comorbidities like cardiovascular diseases.
Citi Research maintains a 'sell' rating on Avenue Supermarts with a target price of Rs 3,100. This implies a downside of 21.6% from its current market price. The brokerage points to a weakness in the company's third-quarter earnings due to revenue impacts from an inferior product mix and the addition of new stores in smaller towns.
- SBI Securities predicts the Nifty 50 to reach around 23,500-24,300 in 2024. The brokerage has a positive outlook on Nifty IT, Metal and Pharma indices, as well as chemical, realty, railways, and PSU stocks.
GAIL (India) and TruAlt Bioenergy form a joint venture (JV) with 49% and 51% stakes, respectively. The JV will set up CBG plants worth over $72 million, funded through a combination of debt and equity.
Maruti Suzuki India declines as its total passenger vehicle wholesales in December decline by 3.7% YoY to 1,19,518 units. However, its total export sales rise by 23.3% YoY to 26,884 units over the same period.
SBI raises a $1 billion (approximately Rs 8,333 crores) syndicated loan, underwritten by HSBC Bank, with tenures of five and three years. The loan proceeds are earmarked for supporting long-term loan growth for liability management.
- India’s manufacturing PMI falls to an 18-month low of 54.9 in December from 56 in November due to a softer increase in new orders and output. The PMI reading remains above 50 for the 30th consecutive month.
Tech stocks like MphasiS, Coforge, LTIMindtreeand Wiprofall more than 2% in trade. All constituents of the broader Nifty ITindex are also trading in the red, leading it to plunge more than 2%.
Sun Pharmaceuticals hits a 10-year high of Rs 1,304.6 after it acquires 100% ownership in Israel-based Libra Merger to consolidate business in Israel.
Bank of Maharashtra rises following its Q3FY24 business update. Its total deposits improve 17.9% YoY to Rs 2,45,738 crore, while gross advances increase 20.3% YoY to Rs 1,88,796 crore.
- Suvankar Sen, MD and CEO of Senco Gold, reports a 20-25% revenue growth in Q3FY24 and maintains an 18-20% revenue growth guidance for FY24. He expects rising gold prices to impact demand. Sen adds that the company’s margins will improve in H2 and outlines plans to open 18-20 stores.
Gensol Engineering is rising as it bags an order worth Rs 138.7 crore from Sarda Energy & Minerals to establish a 33 MW solar power project. The project, which will be located in Chhattisgarh, aims to power Sarda Energy & Minerals' Khalora plant and is expected to be completed in the next six months.
Radhakishan Damani buys a 1.4% stake in VST Industries for approx Rs 75.6 crore in a bulk deal on Tuesday.
Adani Group stocks like Adani Enterprises, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Total Gas and Adani Green Energy surges following reports that the Supreme Court will pronounce its judgement in the Adani Group-Hindenburg case on Wednesday.
Shyam Metalics and Energy rises as it opens a qualified institutional placement to raise Rs 3,600 crore. The company has set a floor price of Rs 597.6, indicating a discount of 7.1% to its current market price.
Riding High:
Largecap and midcap gainers today include Adani Energy Solutions Ltd. (1,183.20, 11.37%), Adani Total Gas Ltd. (1,099.30, 9.83%) and Biocon Ltd. (282.35, 6.07%).
Downers:
Largecap and midcap losers today include Avenue Supermarts Ltd. (3,932.35, -4.17%), 3M India Ltd. (34,236.75, -3.92%) and Hindalco Industries Ltd. (593.05, -3.88%).
Crowd Puller Stocks
32 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.
Top high volume gainers on BSE included Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Ltd. (387.25, 14.44%), Adani Energy Solutions Ltd. (1,183.20, 11.37%) and Sobha Ltd. (1119.50, 10.78%).
Top high volume losers on BSE were Kaynes Technology India Ltd. (2,555.95, -4.03%), VST Industries Ltd. (4,034.60, -0.63%) and Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd. (546.15, -0.10%).
FDC Ltd. (411.70, 3.29%) was trading at 34.7 times of weekly average. Vaibhav Global Ltd. (432.20, 6.23%) and Adani Wilmar Ltd. (380.95, 3.91%) were trading with volumes 27.0 and 9.1 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.
BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages
58 stocks hit their 52 week highs,
Stocks touching their year highs included - Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. (1,094.25, 1.47%), Ajanta Pharma Ltd. (2,220.25, 1.39%) and Ambuja Cements Ltd. (536.10, 0.98%).
10 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Borosil Renewables Ltd. (466.00, 7.97%) and Adani Wilmar Ltd. (380.95, 3.91%). 5 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including GMM Pfaudler Ltd. (1557.55, -2.43%) and Data Patterns (India) Ltd. (1,855.95, -2.26%).