End-Session

Domestic equity indices concluded Monday's trading session with modest declines. The Nifty 50 index closed below the 24,700 mark, reflecting a cautious sentiment among investors. While the realty sector rallied, metal and IT stocks experienced downward pressure. Global markets were muted as investors braced for potential rate decisions by the Federal Reserve and other central banks this week.

The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 384.55 points or 0.47% to 81,748.57. The Nifty 50 index fell 100.05 points or 0.40% to 24,668.25.

Titan Company (down 2.04%), TCS (down 1.29%) and Infosys (down 1.01%) were major drags.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 0.73% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.47%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,346 shares rose and 1,796 shares fell. A total of 98 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 7.41% to 14.02.

Economy:

India's wholesale price inflation eased to 1.89% in November, as prices of food items, especially vegetables turned cheaper. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation was 2.36% in October 2024. It was 0.39% in November, last year.

The HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index registered a value of 60.7 at the end of December 2024. This marked an increase from the final reading of 58.6 in November, indicating the strongest growth rate observed in four months. The rise was driven by faster growth in both the manufacturing and services sectors.

The HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI stood at 57.4 in December as compared with 56.5 in November 2024, this pointed to an improvement in manufacturing sector conditions that was substantial and stronger than seen on average across the series history.

The HSBC Flash India Services PMI business was at 60.8 in December 2024 as against 58.4 in November 2024.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal grew 1.77% to 6.848 as compared with the previous close of 6.730.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 84.8850 compared with its close of 84.8050 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for the 5 December 2024 settlement rose 0.10% to Rs 77,212.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.10% to 106.90.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.45% to 4.379.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2025 settlement declined 56 cents or 0.75% to $73.93 a barrel.

Global Markets:

European stocks declined while most Asian stocks ended lower on Monday as investors readied themselves for the final full week of trading this year with a series of central bank meetings, including the Fed, Bank of Japan, and Bank of England.

South Korea's shares and the won rose after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached on the weekend.

Meanwhile, the Au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing PMI read 49.5 in the first two weeks of December, compared to expectations of 49.2. The reading improved from 49.0 seen in the prior month.

The au Jibun Bank Japan Services PMI rose to 51.4 in December from 50.5 in the prior month, pushing further into expansion territory.

A reading below 50 indicates contraction, with the manufacturing PMI now shrinking for a sixth straight month.

U.S. stocks witnessed a subdued session on Friday as recent economic data showed inflation remaining sticky in November'a trend that could limit the Fed's plans to lower interest rates.

The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the conclusion of a two-day meeting on Wednesday, after the central bank kicked off an easing cycle earlier in the year. The move will bring rates down by a total of 100 bps in 2024.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 86.06 points, or 0.20%, to 43,828.06, the S&P 500 lost 0.16 points, or 0.00%, to 6,051.09, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 23.88 points, or 0.12%, to 19,926.72.

Stocks in Spotlight:

JSW Energy added 1.42% after the company announced that it has secured multiple renewable energy (RE) projects in the commercial and industrial (C&I) power market.

HBL Power Systems rose 1.19% after the company has received an order worth Rs 1,522.40 crore from Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for the supply, installation and commissioning of the KAVACH equipment in locomotives.

NBCC (India) added 1.74% after the company announced that it has received multiple orders from Department of Tribal and Scheduled Caste, Chhattisgarh and PDUNIPPD, New Delhi aggregating to Rs 489.60 crore.

Alphageo (India) hit an upper circuit of 20% after the company received contracts from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for 2D seismic data acquisition aggregating to Rs 118.63 crore.

Jindal Worldwide surged 10.50% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 35.92% to Rs 17.33 crore on 45.68% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 570.80 crore in Q2 FY25 over Q2 FY24. Meanwhile, its board will consider bonus share issue on 7 January 2025.

RMC Switchgears hit an upper circuit of 5%, after the company announced its plans to set up a Rs 100-crore solar products manufacturing facility in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Vakrangee surged 9.97% after the company's board will meet on Saturday, 21 December 2024 to consider raising funds through various modes.

Best Agrolife rallied 4.57% after the company informed that it has been assigned a patent by the Indian Government for an invention entitled 'synergistic pesticidal composition' for the term of 20 years commencing from 29 June 2023.

PPAP Automotive surged 8.64% after the company stated that it has received substantial orders for multiple years with worth Rs 118 crore.

Afcons Infrastructure advanced 3.42% after the company received letter of acceptance (LoA) from Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Company for construction Package BH-05 of Bhopal Metro Rail Project of Rs 1,006.74 crore.

SBEC Sugar hit an upper circuit of 10% after the company said that it has received 'consent to establish (CTE)' for expansion of the plant capacity to 10,000 tons of cane crushed per day (TCD).

PVR Inox rose 1.24% after the company announced the opening of a new 6-screen cinema at Mall of Dehradun.

GE Power India rallied 3.72% after the company announced that it has received an order worth Rs 18.27 crore from MP Power Generating Company (MPPGCL).

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Inventurus Knowledge Solutions received bids for 54,60,81,998 shares as against 1,03,66,780 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on 16 December 2024. The issue was subscribed to 52.68 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 12 December 2024 and it will close on 16 December 2024. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 1,265 and Rs 1,329 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 11 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

International Gemmological Institute (India)'s IPO received bids for 4,24,06,035 shares as against 5,85,60,902 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:0 IST on 16 December 2024. The issue was subscribed to 0.72 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 13 December 2024 and it will close on 17 December 2024. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 397 and Rs 417 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 35 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

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