Closing Bell: Sensex, Nifty marginally down; metal, power drag, FMCG, autos gain

Market Close | Sensex, Nifty marginally lower

Indian equity indices ended marginally lower in the volatile session on December 24. At close, the Sensex was down 67.30 points or 0.09 percent at 78,472.87, and the Nifty was down 25.80 points or 0.11 percent at 23,727.65.

We wrap up today's edition of the Moneycontrol live market blog, and will be back Thursday morning with all the latest updates and alerts. Please visit https://www.moneycontrol.com/markets/global-indices for all the global market action.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities

The Nifty remained mostly rangebound throughout the day before closing flat. On the daily chart, the index closed below the 200-DMA for the first time in three days, confirming a short-term bearish trend.

The RSI is in a bearish crossover and continues to decline, reinforcing the negative outlook. On the downside, support is placed at the 23,500-23,400 zone, while resistance is seen at 23,860.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services

The domestic market concluded flat ahead of the holiday, with metal and power stocks dragging performance while FMCG and auto sectors gained from recent corrections. The near-term market trajectory hinges on the outcome of Q3 results and the Union budget, but caution prevails due to a strong dollar, high bond yields, and concerns over rate cuts. The INR hitting an all-time low, further evoked the caution.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities:

Today, the benchmark indices continued to exhibit narrow range-bound activity, with the Nifty ends 26 points lower and the Sensex down by 67 points. Among sectors, selective auto stocks saw buying interest at lower levels, while the metal and PSU bank indices experienced intraday profit booking at higher levels.

Technically, after a muted opening, the market witnessed range-bound activity throughout the day, it also formed a small inside body candle on the daily charts. We believe that the current market texture is non-directional, as traders seem to be waiting for a breakout in either direction.

On the upside, 23850/78800 would be the immediate breakout level for the bulls. If surpassed, the market could rally up to 23950-24000/79100-79300. Conversely, selling pressure is likely to accelerate below 23600/78200, with the market potentially slipping to 23500-23475/78000-77800.

Aditya Gaggar Director of Progressive Shares

After a subdued opening, the Index soared higher under the leadership of the Auto and IT counters but however once again, the level of 23,850 worked as a strong hurdle and the Index reversed to settle the trade at 23,727.65 with a loss of 25.80 points. Auto and FMCG were the top performers on a sectoral front while Metal and PSU Banks corrected the most.

The disparity was seen in the Broader markets where Midcaps moved in tandem with the Frontline Index while Smallcaps marginally outperformed by ending the day in green.

The Index is oscillating in a well-maintained range of 23,650-23,850 and a breakout on either sides is necessary for a concrete inference.

Currency Check | Rupee closes at a fresh record low

Indian rupee ended 9 paise lower at fresh record low at 85.20 per dollar on Tuesday versus Monday's close of 85.11.

Market Close | Sensex, Nifty marginally down; metal, power drag, FMCG, autos gain

Indian equity indices ended marginally lower in the volatile session on December 24.

At close, the Sensex was down 67.30 points or 0.09 percent at 78,472.87, and the Nifty was down 25.80 points or 0.11 percent at 23,727.65. About 1907 shares advanced, 1926 shares declined, and 94 shares unchanged.

Power Grid Corp, JSW Steel, SBI Life Insurance, Titan Company and SBI were among major losers on the Nifty, while gainers were Tata Motors, Adani Enterprises, Eicher Motors, BPCL and ITC.

Among sectors, buying was seen in the auto, FMCG, oil & gas, while selling was seen in the IT, media, metal, PSU Bank.

The BSE midcap index ended on flat note, while smallcap index was up 0.3 percent.

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Stock Market LIVE Updates | Dollar Industries to consider proposal of fund raising

A meeting of the Board of Directors of the company is scheduled to be held on Thursday, 2 nd January, 2025 to consider the proposal for raising of funds, by way of, issue of one or more instruments including equity shares/convertible securities either by way of Preferential Issue/Qualified Institutional Placement or combination thereof of through any other mode stipulated under the applicable framework and subject to such approvals as may be deemed necessary.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Biocon gets EIR with VAI status from USFDA

The company has received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) with a Voluntary Action Indicated (VAI) status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA), for our API facility (Site 1), located at Bengaluru, Karnataka, and the inspection stands closed.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Aarti Drugs receives Establishment Inspection Report from USFD

The company received the Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from USFDA concluding the inspection as Closed

Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan

Indian Rupee fell to a fresh all-time low today on weak domestic markets and a strong US Dollar. Surge in crude oil prices and dollar demand also pressured the Rupee. There is demand for Dollars from importers.

We expect Rupee to trade with a negative bias on strength in the US Dollar and geopolitical tensions. Hawkish tone of the Fed and improved US economy may further support the Dollar. FII outflows may also weigh on the Rupee.

However, any intervention by the RBI may support Rupee at lower levels. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 85 to Rs 85.40.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Finolex Cables shares break three-day fall

Stock Market LIVE Updates | TCI Express gets GST demand order of Rs 51.36 crore for period of FY2017-18 to 2021-22

Ram Prakash resigns as COO of Hester Biosciences w.e.f. December 23, 2024

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Stock Market LIVE Updates | Adani Ports shares down in 6 out of last 7 sessions

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Lead consortium lender approves one-time settlement proposal

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Triveni Engineering shares jump to highest levels in 14 weeks

Brokerage Call | Continue to expect Bharti & Jio to gain market share in near term: Jefferies

#1 In October 2024, sector's active subscriber base jumped sharply by 6.8 mn MoM

#2 4G/5G subscriber base fell in October, led by Jio, suggesting company weeding out inactive 4G customers

#3 Bharti led data subscriber additions in October implying better & premium customer mix

Sensex Today| HCC falls for sixth straight sessions

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Sensex Today| Ami Organics up 7.5%, most in two months

Sensex Today| Finolex Cables up 8%, most in three months

Sensex Today| Newgen Software Tech's Saudi Arabia unit wins $2.27 mln order

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Markets@2 | Sensex, Nifty trade flat

The Sensex was down 12.71 points or 0.02 percent at 78,527.46, and the Nifty was down 4.30 points or 0.02 percent at 23,749.15. About 1828 shares advanced, 1634 shares declined, and 82 shares unchanged.

Global Markets | European Markets trade higher

Brokerage Call | BHEL & Data Patterns top picks in defence sapce: Nuvama

#1 Stay optimistic on India defence space

#2 There is huge localisation push to reduce dependence on disrupted global supply chains

#3 Continued modernisation efforts with larger programs coming ahead of expected timelines

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Kwality Pharmaceuticals receives product approval for Tamoxifen 20mg tablet in South Africa

Kwality Pharmaceuticals has obtained product approval in South Africa (SAHPRA) for our prominent oncology oral solid dosage (OSD) product,

Tamoxifen 20mg Tablet, through a site transfer process.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | HFCL opens defence manufacturing facility at Hosur

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Interglobe Aviation shares extend gains on second day

Interglobe Aviation shares gain most in more than four months.

Sensex Today | Interarch Building stock soars to record high on solid growth outlook

Shares of Interarch Building Products soared over 10 percent and hit a record high of Rs 1,869.75 on December 24 as investors rejoiced the management's solid growth outlook.

The management projected to deliver 50 percent growth in North India over FY25, with the majority of this growth coming from Uttar Pradesh. The North India region is expected to contribute 30 percent to the company’s overall business volume during this period.

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Brokerage Call | Nuvama maintains 'buy' rating on Greenlam Industries, target cut to Rs 615

#1 Company reiterates 18–20 percent overall growth guidance for FY25

#2 Immense scope to gain market share in both domestic and exports markets

#3 Plywood segment is likely to break even at 35–40 percent utilisation by FY26

#4 Particle board operations—due to start in Q3FY25—shall be 50 percent utilised by FY26

#5 Taking cognisance of near-term challenges, cutting FY25/26/27 EPS by 16 percent/12 percent/11 percent

Global Markets | Asian markets end mixed; Hang Seng up, Nikkei down

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Central Bank of Sri Lanka's Financial Intelligence Unit imposes monetary penalty on Indian Bank

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka's Financial Intelligence Unit has imposed a monetary penalty of Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR) 2 million (Rs 5.85 lakh) on Indian Bank for failure to comply with the provisions of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006 (FTRA) of Sri Lanka. Indian Bank operates in Sri Lanka through its two branches.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Symphony enters into second addendum to loan agreement with Symphony AU Pty

The company has entered into a second addendum to the loan agreement (dated June 28, 2023) with its Australia-based subsidiary, Symphony AU Pty. The agreement size has increased to A$ 15 million from A$ 10 million. The loans will be provided in one or more tranches to meet the working capital requirements of Symphony AU Pty and for general corporate purposes.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Kohinoor Foods shares extend gains on second day

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Dr Reddy’s Laboratories’ arm incorporates new subsidiary in Finland

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories SA, Switzerland, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, has incorporated a new wholly owned subsidiary in Finland, Dr Reddy's Finland Oy. Accordingly, Dr Reddy's Finland Oy is now a step-down wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Castrol India's CFO resigns

Deepesh Baxi  will relinquish his office as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Wholetime Director of the Company, with effect from close of business hours on 13 March 2025 to pursue opportunities outside the organization.

Consequently, he will cease to be the Director & CFO of the Company from such date.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Allcargo Gati board approve to sale its fuel station at Belagavi, Karnataka

The board has approved the sale of the company's fuel station at Belagavi, Karnataka, for Rs 3 crore. The agreement for sale will be executed by January 2025.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Akums Drugs to supply of selected pharmaceutical formulations in European market

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Stock Market LIVE Updates | Renaissance Global raises Rs 163.49 cr through preferential allotment of equity shares

Renaissance Global raised  Rs 1,63,49,30,850 through a preferential allotment of 1,08,99,539 equity shares at Rs 150 per share.

Brokerage Call | Avendus retains 'buy' rating on PVR Inox, target at Rs 1,910

#1 CY25 release calendar shows hollywood movie lineup & bollywood capitalising sequels standout

#2 Hollywood studios lining up 25 mega budget movies, well spread across next 12 months

#3 Bollywood capitalising sequels to already successful franchises & proven genres

#4 Strong content creates room for price hikes

#5 There is continued focus on correcting cost structure with help of favourable ind structure

Stock Market LIVE Updates | SPML Infra board meeting on December 30

The Board will meet on December 30 to consider the re-appointment of Subhash Chand Sethi as Chairman and Whole-Time Director of the company.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | MIC Electronics gains on Competent Authority approval

The Competent Authority has approved the capacity and capability assessment (CCA) of the company for GPS location-based Public Address & Passenger Information System (PAPIS) and LED destination boards in AC and Non-AC ICF & LHB coaches.

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Stock Market LIVE Updates | Gulf Oil Lubricants India, Nayara Energy partner for automotive lubricants

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works approves stock split

The company board approved the proposal for sub-division of existing one equity share of the company having face value of Rs 10  each into two equity shares having face value of Rs 5 each fully paid up was approved by the Board of Directors, subject to approval of the shareholders of the company and other regulatory/statutory approvals as may be required.

IPO Check | Ganesh Consumer Products files DRHP

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Kirloskar Brothers’ CFO resigns

Ravish Mittal has resigned as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance and Accounts of the company, effective December 23.

Markets@12 | Sensex up 200 points, Nifty above 23800

The Sensex was up 209.22 points or 0.27 percent at 78,749.39, and the Nifty was up 65.35 points or 0.28 percent at 23,818.80. About 2014 shares advanced, 1353 shares declined, and 94 shares unchanged.

Currency Check | Rupee hits fresh record low 85.20

The Indian rupee falls to a fresh record, weighed by a stronger dollar and firm demand for the greenback from importers. Bonds edge slightly lower.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | 0.6% equity of Amber Enterprises exchanged hands

Stock Market LIVE Updates | UNO Minda shares in focus on fun raising approbal

The NCD Committee at its meeting held today, considered and approved fund raising in 3rd Tranche for an amount of Rs 150 crore (out of approved size of Rs 400 crores) by way of issuance of Unsecured, Listed, Rated, Redeemable, Non-Convertible, Non-Cumulative, Taxable Debentures (NCDs), on a private placement basis.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | BPCL to commence pre-project activities to set up greenfield refinery in Andhra Pradesh

The company board has accorded its approval to commence pre project activities for setting up of a green field Refinery cum Petrochemical complex in East Coast at Andhra Pradesh at an estimated cost of Rs 6100 crore.

The pre project activities consists of various initial studies, land identification and acquisition, preparation of Detailed Feasibility report, Environment Impact Assessment, Basic Design Engineering package, Front End Engineering Design etc.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Tata Investment shares gain 12% after group initiated work on a mega Rs 15,000-crore IPO of Tata Capital

Stock Market LIVE Updates | TVS Holdings arm completes acquisition of stake in Radial (Phase II) IT Park and Radial (Phase III) IT Park

The company's subsidiary, TVS Emerald, has completed the acquisition of 100% equity shares and compulsorily convertible debentures in Radial (Phase II) IT Park and Radial (Phase III) IT Park. With this, both entities have become wholly owned subsidiaries of TVS Emerald and, consequently, step-down subsidiaries of the company.

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Stock Market LIVE Updates | Astra Microwave incorporates Navictronics as JVC with Manjeera Digital

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Stock Market LIVE Updates | TVS Motor completes acquisition of stake in DriveX

The company has completed the acquisition of 7,914 equity shares (or a 39.11% stake) in DriveX from its existing shareholder. With this, the company's shareholding in DriveX has increased to 87.38%, and consequently, DriveX has become a subsidiary of the company.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Bharat Forge gets board approval to infuse capital in subsidiary

The company has received approval from the Board to infuse USD 64.50 million in its subsidiary Bharat Forge America Inc. The entire infused amount will be utilized for repaying debt.