Stock Market LIVE: Sensex sheds at preopen; Wipro, Zee in focus

Geojit Financial Services on today’s market: Investors can wait for the global markets to stabilise before making fresh commitments in this overvalued market

Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services: There is a near-term risk aversion in global equity markets. Following the 50 bp rate hike and hawkish message from the Fed on the 14th, the ECB and BoE also hiked rates on the 15th by 50 bp each and delivered, perhaps, a more hawkish message than the Fed. Other central banks like the Swiss National Bank and Bank of Thailand also have raised rates. This synchronised rate hiking cycle has impacted sentiments leading to sharp cuts of more than 3% in Nasdaq, CAC and DAX. India is likely to be less impacted by the bearish trend but investors can wait for the global markets to stabilise before making fresh commitments in this overvalued market. Moving some money to fixed income makes sense since fixed income returns are turning attractive.

Year-end festive spirits to add sparkle to alcohol sales across genres

The year-end festive holidays will witness 10-25% growth in alcobev sales across categories, industry insiders said.

Nao Spirits & Beverages Pvt. Ltd, which sells Greater Than and Hapusa gins, is expecting 25% more sales over the year- ago, while luxury goods LVMH-owned spirits major Moët Hennessy India, which makes Chandon Brut here as well as sells brands like Moët & Chandon, Glenmorangie and Belvedere vodka is expecting higher consumption this quarter over the same period in 2019. (Read More)

Sensex preopens in red; Wipro, Adani Ports, Zee, Reliance in focus

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Wipro signs multi-year deal with Finastra for corporate banks in Middle East

IT company Wipro on Thursday said it has signed a multi-year digital transformation partnership with fintech firm Finastra for corporate banks in the Middle East.

The multi-year engagement will make Wipro the exclusive implementation and go-to-market partner to deploy Finastra’s trade finance solutions in the region, a company statement said.

“Corporate banks are key players in the sector and are significantly transforming the way they operate to cope with the ever-evolving industry. Reimagining digital services to improve client experiences and rationalizing platform and operations centres to drive efficiencies are key priorities for the sector. (PTI)

India to launch ‘future labs’ to channel R&D capital for semiconductors, deep-tech development: MoS IT

India will soon launch ‘future labs’ at C-DAC that will provide research and development capital for the development of semiconductors and deep-technology, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Thursday.

During his virtual address at IEEE MAPCON (Microwave, Antennas, and Propagation Conference) 2022 being held in Bengaluru, the minister said the government has been giving capital support for research and development efforts for India to take the leap from being a tech consumer and back-office support to becoming a leading tech producer of the world.

According to an official statement, the minister said India will soon launch future labs to channel research and development (R&D) capital for semiconductor and deep tech development. (PTI)

Nykaa stock in focus as Goldman Sachs, Mirae Asset Mutual Fund, other big investors buy stake

Nykaa stock is expected to remain in focus today after some big investors bought a stake in the company via a block deal executed on 15th December 2022. As per the bulk deals news, available on the BSE website, big-ticket investors belonging to FPI and DII categories have bought a fresh stake in the digital retail fashion company. According to BSE block deal details, Goldman Sachs, Mirae Asset Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have bought stake in FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd. (Read More)

Centre cuts windfall tax on domestic crude oil export

The Central government has reduced the windfall tax on domestic crude oil export to ₹1,700 per tonne from the existing ₹4,900 per tonne. The tax on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) has also been slashed to ₹1.5 per litre from ₹5 per litre, according to the finance ministry notification issued on Thursday.

It also stated that the reduction in windfall tax on diesel and ATF will come into force from today, December 16, as per notification quoted by ANI. (Read More)

Stocks to Watch: Wipro, HPCL, Reliance, Adani Ports, Shriram Transport, Zee Entertainment, Hindustan Foods, SJVN Ltd, Kalpataru Power, and GMM Pfaudler

NSE has listed Delta Corp, Bhel, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals, IRCTC, and PNB on the list of banned securities under the F&O segment for Friday trading as they have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit. (Read More)

Buy or sell: Vaishali Parekh recommends 2 stocks to buy today

Vaishali Parekh of Prabhudas Lilladher has recommended two stocks to buy today:

1] Godrej Consumer Products: Buy at ₹903, target ₹935, stop loss ₹975; and

2] Shriram Transport Finance: Buy at ₹1393, target ₹1430, stop loss ₹1370. (Read More)

Budget may seek to curb China imports

The Budget may announce steps to reduce India’s import dependence on China through various tariff and non-tariff measures, pursuing its strategy of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) in a “calibrated” manner, two officials aware of the matter said.

While India will continue to import raw materials and intermediates from its neighbour, it may disincentivise through strict enforcement the entry of finished Chinese goods imported directly into India or shipped in via a third country violating the “rules of origin” norm, they added, requesting anonymity. (Read More)

Adani group inaugurates new warehouse in Andhra Pradesh

Adani group on Thursday inaugurated a warehouse facility at its Gangavaram Port in Andhra Pradesh.

Spread over 11,000 square metres, the new warehouse has a storage capacity of 50,000 MTs. The warehouse will help the agri sector by providing ease of access for sensitive cargo such as fertilizer and agri products, including rice, maize and sugar, the company said in a release.

This newest addition brings the total covered storage space at the port to over 1.3 lakh sq mts, it added.

The warehousing space at the port is connected directly to railway lines and roads that enable direct loading and unloading, which minimises cargo loss and costs to the customers, among others, the port operator said. (PTI)

Deepak Fertilisers to demerge its mining chemicals, fertiliser businesses

Industrial chemicals and fertilisers manufacturer Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation (DFPCL) on Thursday announced a corporate restructuring plan under which it will demerge its mining chemicals and fertilisers businesses. The company said that the corporate restructuring plan will help unlock the growth potential of each of the businesses.

The board of Smartchem Technologies (STL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of DFPCL, in a meeting on Thursday approved the plan. (Read More)

Porinju Veliyath buys stake in Nomura-owned stock that has risen 50% in 6 months

Ace Indian stock market investor Porinju Veliyath has bought a fresh stake in Max India Ltd. As per the NSE bulk deals details available on the official NSE website, the czar of small-cap stock has bought 2.30 lakh company shares in a bulk deal executed on 15th December 2022. The market magnet bought these 2.30 lakh shares paying ₹100.31 apiece. This means the Indian investor and fund manager has invested ₹2,30,71,300 or ₹2.30 crore in the small-cap stock.

Max India shares are one of those shares on Dalal Street that have delivered a stellar return to its positional shareholders. In the last one month, this small-cap Porinju Veliyath stock has risen from around ₹95 to ₹102.50 apiece levels, delivering around a 7.50 per cent return to its shareholders. (Read More)

Gold falls ₹420; silver tumbles ₹869

Gold price fell ₹420 to ₹54,554 per 10 grams in the national capital on Thursday amid weak global trends, according to HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at ₹54,974 per 10 grams.

Silver also tumbled ₹869 per kg to ₹68,254 per kilogram.

In the international market, gold was trading in red at USD 1,788 per ounce while silver was down at USD 23.14 per ounce. (PTI)

IPO pipeline in India seen active in 2023 on smaller deals

India is expected to see a steady flow of small-to-mid-sized deals next year as investors grow wary about large listings after the disastrous performance of some major technology initial public offerings.

Several of the country’s major startups shed billions of dollars in value since their listing as concerns over high valuations and rising interest rates globally dented demand for technology stocks. The selloff worsened as early investors pared stakes after the end of lock-up periods. (Read More)

IDBI Bank files insolvency application against Zee Ent

IDBI Bank on Thursday filed an insolvency application against Zee Entertainment Enterprises for initiating a corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP). The lender has filed the petition under Section 7 that allows a financial creditor to file an application for initiating CIRP against a corporate debtor before the adjudicating authority, an exchange filing by Zee said.

IDBI Bank is one of the financial creditors of the company and said that it had filed an insolvency application claiming a default of ₹149 crore. (Read More)

Oil set for weekly gain on signs of tight supply, China comeback

Oil headed for the biggest weekly gain since early October on signs of tightening supply and the prospect for improved Chinese demand, despite downward pressure from interest-rate hikes.

West Texas Intermediate futures edged toward $77 a barrel and are up over 7% this week. There are indications that Russian flows to Asia are dipping because of the price cap, while the International Energy Agency predicted this week that oil prices could rally next year as sanctions squeeze the nation’s supply. (Read More)

Exports flat at $31.99 billion in Nov, trade deficit at $23.89 billion

India’s merchandise exports recorded a flat growth at $31.99 billion in November as against $31.8 billion in the same month last year, while the merchandise trade deficit stood at $23.89 billion from $26.91 billion in the previous month, data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry showed on Thursday. Meanwhile, imports surged to $55.88 billion in November as against $53 billion in same month last year. (Read More)

Rupee falls 27 paise to 82.76 against US dollar

The rupee declined by 27 paise to close at 82.76 against the US dollar on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike and its hawkish stance dented investor sentiments.

A massive sell-off in domestic equities and a strong greenback overseas also weighed on the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened sharply lower at 82.63 against the greenback and witnessed a high of 82.41 and a low of 82.77. (PTI)

Wall Street tocks slump, greenback gains on Friday as central banks continue inflation battle

Global shares slumped on Thursday, while the U.S. dollar gained and Treasury yields ticked down, after major central banks hiked interest rates in their final policy decisions of the year.

A day after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it expected rates to stay higher for longer, U.S. retail sales fell more than expected in November, while the labor market remained tight.

Stocks fell sharply, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipping 2.25%, the S&P 500 down about 2.5% and the Nasdaq Composite off 3.2%.

In Europe, the Bank of England (BoE) delivered its ninth straight rate rise and the eighth of 2022, saying even though UK inflation has peaked, it believes more increases will be necessary.

The European Central Bank (ECB) also raised rates by half a percentage point, its fourth successive hike, and outlined plans to shrink its bloated balance sheet from March.

The dollar, which has lost almost 7% in value in the fourth quarter, gained on the hawkish Fed view and investor risk-aversion, up nearly 1%. (Reuters)