• Relative strength index (RSI) indicates that stocks like Aster DM Healthcare, Indian Hotels Co, and United Spirits are in the overbought zone.

• Chemical companies like Tata Chemicals and GHCL rise sharply after the Centre imposes a minimum import price of Rs 20,108 per tonne on disodium carbonate (soda ash) up to June 30,2025.

• MedPlus Health Services declines after its subsidiary, Optival Health Solutions, experiences temporary suspensions of drug licenses for several stores in Karnataka and Maharashtra by the Food & Drugs Control Administration.

• ITD Cementation India is rising as it reportedly secures a contract worth Rs 1,648 crore for the Vadhvan Port project in Maharashtra. The project includes near-shore reclamation and shore protection works under an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) model.

• Satish Wagh, Chairman and Whole-Time Director of Supriya Lifescience, announces the launch of the company’s new manufacturing block with a capacity of 575 kilolitres per day. With an investment of Rs 120 crore, the facility will produce unique products currently dominated by Chinese manufacturers. He also reaffirms his revenue growth guidance of 22% YoY for both CY24 and CY25.

  #SupriyaLifescience eyes 22% #revenue growth over the next two years driven by new capacities@latha_venkatesh @Reematendulkar https://t.co/aG63E2T6l8

  — CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) December 31, 2024

• Mahindra Lifespace Developers (MLDL) is rising as it invests Rs 126 crore in its step-down subsidiary Mahindra Industrial Park Chennai (MIPCL) to expand the existing industrial park in Tamil Nadu.

• Indo Farm Equipment's Rs 260.2 crore IPO receives bids for 10X the available 84.7 lakh shares on offer on the first day of bidding. The retail investor quota gets bids for 13.1X the available 42.4 lakh shares.

• Waaree Renewable Technologies rises to its 5% upper limit as it secures a 2 GW solar project from Sunbreeze Renewables Nine, Jindal Renewables' special purpose vehicle (SPV). The project, located in Bikaner, Rajasthan, aims to improve energy efficiency and maximize power generation. Waaree will manage the design, engineering, procurement, supply, construction, testing, and commissioning of the solar PV project.

• ITC plans to transfer cash worth Rs 1,500 crore to its demerged hotel business, ITC Hotels, which will take effect from January 1. The newly formed ITC Hotels will invest in renovations and ongoing projects, allocating 8-10% of its revenue for capital expenditures. ITC will retain trademarks for its iconic hotel restaurants, including Bukhara, Dum Pukht, and Dakshin, and transfer them to ITC Hotels under a trademark license agreement.

  #ITC to transfer Rs 1,500 crore to its demerged hotel unithttps://t.co/Lf2QDOyWTd

  — Economic Times (@EconomicTimes) December 31, 2024

• KP Green Energy wins multiple orders relating to solar & energy projects along with power components worth Rs 165.7 crore.

• IT stocks like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Wipro, and LTIMindtree are falling in trade. All constituents of the broader Nifty IT index are also trading in the red.

• Jubilant Ingrevia is rising as its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jubilant Infrastructure's board, approves acquiring a 6.7% stake in Forum I Aviation (FAPL) from Hero Fincorp and Sunil Kant Munjal. Post-acquisition, the company will hold a 15.8% stake in FAPL.

• India's Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, highlights the surge in defence exports to a record Rs 21,000 crore, up from Rs 2,000 crore a decade ago. He has set a target of Rs 50,000 crore by 2029. Singh underlines the evolving nature of warfare, emphasizing challenges such as information warfare, AI-driven tactics, proxy conflicts, electromagnetic warfare, space warfare, and cyber-attacks while stressing the need for a well-prepared and equipped military.

  #India | India’s defence exports crossed record ?21,000 crore over decade, Rajnath sets ?50,000 crore target for 2029 ????????
  
  Tap to the reason behind increase in defence exports??https://t.co/elxI8eZhNP#DefenceExports #RajnathSingh #DefenceMinister pic.twitter.com/H7CRxL5LJh

  — Moneycontrol (@moneycontrolcom) December 31, 2024

• Adani Green Energy is falling as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Amit Singh, resigns effective March 31. The company appoints Ashish Khanna, CEO of the International Energy Business, as his successor.

• Prataap Snacks is falling as it faces disruption following a major fire at its manufacturing facility in Kartholi, Jammu. The company has announced its collaboration with third-party manufacturers in Hisar and Karnal to cater to the northern market.

• Clean Science & Technology is rising as its wholly-owned subsidiary, Clean Fino-Chem (CFCL), commences commercial production of 2,5-Dihydroxy-1,4-Dithiane (DHDT) in a dedicated production block.

• Ather Energy, the electric two-wheeler maker, gets its final approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch its initial public offering (IPO). The IPO will consist of a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 3,100 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 2.2 crore equity shares by promoters and investors.

  #AtherEnergy, the electric two-wheeler manufacturer, has received final approval from capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (#SEBI) to float its initial public offering (#IPO). #AtherIPO #AtherEnergyIPO
  
  Read more: https://t.co/F0z4XqP9Xb pic.twitter.com/ciV9l66A1e

  — Mint (@livemint) December 31, 2024

• Gokul Agro Resources is rising as it acquires fixed assets of an edible oil refinery in Mangalore from Sri Anagha Refineries for Rs 105.5 crore. This acquisition aims to increase the market presence in Southern India.

• Easy Trip Planners falls sharply as 3.4 crore shares (1% stake) worth approximately Rs 54 crore reportedly change hands in a block deal at an average price of Rs 15.5 per share. Co-founder Nishant Pitti is likely the seller in the transaction.

• Lupin hits a new all-time high of Rs 2,342.6 as it announces the acquisition of Huminsulin in India from Eli Lilly and Co to enhance its diabetes portfolio. Huminsulin is used to treat type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus and improve blood sugar control in adults and children.

• Nuvama maintains a 'Buy' rating on Jindal Steel & Power with a target price of Rs 1,292. The brokerage believes Q4FY25 looks promising due to higher steel prices and increased volumes. However, it has lowered its FY25 and FY26 EBITDA estimates by 6% and 4%, respectively, due to weaker-than-expected volumes in the near term. Despite this, Nuvama remains positive about JSPL’s medium to long term growth prospects.

  #Nuvama maintains 'Buy' rating on #JindalSteel & Power.
  
  For more, visit our Research Reports section: https://t.co/x9gNkEkYp6 pic.twitter.com/IQco8lgdBK

  — NDTV Profit (@NDTVProfitIndia) December 31, 2024

• Unimech Aerospace and Manufacturing’s shares debut on the bourses at an 86% premium to the issue price of Rs 1,460. The Rs 500 crore IPO received bids for 175.3 times the total shares on offer.

• Rail Vikas Nigam is rising as it emerges as the lowest bidder for a Rs 137.2 crore order from Central Railway. The project involves building a traction substation and related systems in the Bhusaval-Khandwa section to meet the 3,000 metric tonnes loading target.

• Adani Wilmar is falling as Adani Enterprises (AEL) announces the sale of its entire 44% stake in the joint venture to partner Wilmar International for $2 billion.

• Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders rises sharply as it signs a contract worth Rs 1,990 crore with the Ministry of Defence. The contract involves building an air-independent propulsion (AIP) plug for submarines, a technology that enables submarines to stay underwater for longer.

• Markets opened on a low note. Nifty 50 was trading at 23,554.75 (-90.2, -0.4%) , BSE Sensex was trading at 77,826.94 (-421.2, -0.5%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 22,273.95 (-83.2, -0.4%)

• Market breadth is holding steady. Of the 1,930 stocks traded today, 984 showed gains, and 905 showed losses.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Torrent Power Ltd. (1,485.95, 5.4%), Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (422.70, 3.5%) and UCO Bank (43.87, 3.5%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Adani Wilmar Ltd. (308.05, -6.3%), Bajaj Holdings & Investment Ltd. (11,886.75, -5.9%) and Bharti Hexacom Ltd. (1,456.90, -4.1%).

Volume Shockers

21 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included KIOCL Ltd. (400.30, 16.6%), Rites Ltd. (291.65, 9.2%) and Crisil Ltd. (6,448, 7.6%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Easy Trip Planners Ltd. (15.86, -6.9%), Westlife Foodworld Ltd. (792.45, -3.0%) and Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Ltd. (598, -0.8%).

Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (625.80, 5.7%) was trading at 22.5 times of weekly average. Concord Biotech Ltd. (2,210.75, 0.8%) and Redington Ltd. (200.07, 6.5%) were trading with volumes 19.5 and 18.4 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

8 stocks took off, crossing 52 week highs, while 6 stocks tanked below their 52 week lows.

Stocks touching their year highs included - Crisil Ltd. (6,448, 7.6%), Lupin Ltd. (2,355.70, 1.9%) and Muthoot Finance Ltd. (2,136.15, 1.7%).

Stocks making new 52 weeks lows included - Astral Ltd. (1,652.25, -0.5%) and Relaxo Footwears Ltd. (621.25, 0.0%).

21 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. (5,227.70, 8.5%) and Redington Ltd. (200.07, 6.5%). 19 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Phoenix Mills Ltd. (1,634, -2.1%) and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (4,094.80, -1.5%).