Stock Market Today: Top 10 things to know before the market opens

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The benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices are likely to open marginally higher on December 27 as trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a positive start for the broader index with a gain of 15 points.

The benchmark indices continued their upward momentum for three days in a row. On December 26, the BSE Sensex climbed 230 points to 71,337, while the Nifty 50 was up 92 points at 21,441 and formed a bullish candlestick pattern on the daily charts with higher highs and higher low for yet another session.

Overall, the Nifty has now retraced a good portion of the significant losses seen on December 20. "The Nifty would need to cross the recent highs of 21,593 to reverse the current downtrend. Crucial supports to watch for re-emergence of weakness are at 21,329-21,232," Subash Gangadharan, senior technical and derivative analyst at HDFC Securities said.

Rajesh Bhosale, technical analyst at Angel One also feels the upcoming sessions around the 21,550 - 21,600 range are critical, representing a formidable resistance formed by the reciprocal retracement of the October decline.

The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty is likely to see immediate resistance at 21,455, followed by 21,507 and 21,564 levels, while on the lower side, it can take support at 21,360, followed by 21,325 and 21,268 levels.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in the currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms, which could impact Indian as well as international markets.

GIFT Nifty

The GIFT Nifty indicates a marginally positive start for the broader index with a gain of 15 points. GIFT Nifty futures stood at 21,503 points after making a high of 21,540 points.

Trade setup for Wednesday: Top 15 things to know before the opening bell

US Markets

Stocks rose to start the last week of the year, pushing the S&P 500 closer to record levels. The S&P 500 climbed 0.42 percent to end at 4,774.75, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.54 percent to settle at 15,074.57. The Dow Jones industrial Average gained 159.36 points, or about 0.43 percent, to close at 37,545.33.

The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.6 percent and notched an all-time high and record close, ending the session at 16,878.46. Despite weaker volume, Tuesday’s moves likely signal a continuation of the positive market trends boosting major indices in recent weeks, said Keith Lerner, Truist’s co-chief investment officer.

“You still have money dripping in even though it’s weakened, and a solid bid underneath the surface as we head into year end,” he said. “That’s likely to continue.”

European Markets

European stocks rose slightly Friday, after US stocks strongly rebounded from their worst session in months. The Stoxx 600 index inched up 0.114 percent in London, as the technology sector dropped 1.3 percent. Oil and gas stocks rose on Friday, as investors continue to digest news that Angola is quitting the OPEC alliance.

London markets closed early, with the FTSE 100 index ending 0.04 percent higher. Sportswear retailers crowded round the bottom of Stoxx losses, with Adidas and Puma both down by more than 5 percent after Nike on Thursday lowered its sales outlook and announced a massive cost-cutting program.

Despite some shakiness in recent sessions, it has been a solid December for Europe’s Stoxx 600 index, which has gained 3.32 percent in the month to date, according to LSEG data. That’s down from a 6.45 percent rise in November.

Asian Markets

Asia-Pacific stocks bounced Wednesday, with Australia stocks hitting a near two-year high, as more markets return from a Christmas break. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index gained 0.8 percent to hit its highest level since late April 2022, as trading resumed for the week. The index is eying yearly gains of over 7 percent.

Aussie stocks have been buoyed by hopes that the Reserve Bank of Australia will no longer be hiking interest rates after the central bank held rates steady at its last meeting of the year, partly driven by the Federal Reserve’s more dovish tilt.

With fewer data points on the economic calendar and all major central bank meetings out of the way, trading volumes are expected to be thin. Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened nearly 1 percent higher, while the broader Topix index added 0.68 percent. The Topix is headed for its fourth straight day of gains.

The Nikkei 225 has gained more than 27 percent so far this year, making it Asia’s top performing index for 2023. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3 percent by open, and the smaller Kosdaq index jumped 1.33 percent. Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 16,635, pointing to a much higher open compared with the HSI’s close of 16,340.41. This will be the first trading day of the week for Hong Kong markets.

India's current account deficit narrows to $8.3 billion in July-September

India's current account deficit (CAD) narrowed to $8.3 billion in the second quarter of 2023-24, according to data released on December 26 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

As per the data, the CAD in July-September amounted to 1.0 percent of India's GDP. "Underlying the lower current account deficit on a year-on-year basis in July-September 2023 was the narrowing of merchandise trade deficit to $61.0 billion from $78.3 billion in July-September 2022," the RBI said.

The CAD in April-June 2023 was $9.2 billion, or 1.1 percent of GDP. In July-September 2022, the deficit stood at a huge $30.9 billion, or 3.8 percent of GDP.

Axis Bank files insolvency petition against Zee Learn

Axis Bank has approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) with a plea seeking insolvency proceeding against Zee Learn, the education services provider said on December 26.

"This is to inform you that a petition under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 has been filed by Axis Bank Limited to initiate Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the Company, before the Hon'ble National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai," a regulatory filing stated.

Zee Learn said that, in this context, it has received a notice from the Mumbai-bench of the NCLT. The company said it is compiling information to verify the facts claimed in said petition filed by Axis Bank, adding that it will keep the exchanges updated of the further developments in the matter.

Ola Electric plans to deploy Rs 1,226.43 crore of IPO proceeds on cell production capacity expansion

IPO-bound Ola Electric Mobility Ltd plans to utilise Rs 1,226.43 crore out of the proceeds of its Rs 5,500-crore public issue on capacity expansion of its cell manufacturing plant to 6.4 GWh from 5 GWh, according to preliminary papers filed by the company with capital markets regulator Sebi. The company, which had filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) last week is also looking to use Rs 1,600 crore from the public fund raising on research and product development, while another Rs 800 crore will be deployed to repay debt.

Ola Electric Mobility (OEM) which had on August 15, 2023 announced a line-up of electric motorcycles — Cruiser, Adventure, Roadster and Diamondhead — expects to begin delivery of the motorcycles in the first half of fiscal 2026. In its DRHP, the company said the Phase 1 (a) and Phase 1 (b) of the set up and expansion of the Ola Gigafactory at Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu will be funded from internal accruals and long term borrowings availed by its arm Ola Cell Technologies Pvt Ltd (OCT).

Mufti Menswear likely to see strong listing gains on December 27

The much-awaited debut of Credo Brands Marketing (Mufti Menswear) will take place on December 27. Experts see the strong double-digit listing gains, citing the healthy financial performance in the past years, strong brand image, robust subscription numbers, reasonable valuations and positive market conditions.

The Rs 550-crore public issue has seen healthy demand from investors, subscribing 51.85 times during December 19-21. Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) seem to be very bullish compared to other investors, buying 104.95 times the portion set aside for them, while the allotted quota for high networth individuals (HNIs) was subscribed 55.52 times and that of retail investors 19.94 times.

Mufti IPO shares also attracted strong interest in the grey market, trading at around 35-40 percent over the issue price of Rs 280 per share, analysts on anonymity said. The grey market is an unofficial platform wherein IPO shares can be bought and sold till the listing. Dhruv Mudaraddi, research analyst at StoxBox expects the stock to list at a premium of around 45 percent to the issue price of Rs 280 per share.

Adani Group to invest Rs 9,350-crore equity in Adani Green Energy

Adani Green Energy (AGEL) on December 26 said its board of directors have approved a preferential issuance of warrants to the promoters for a quantum of Rs 9,350 crore, at a per share price of Rs 1,480.75. The funds shall be utilised for deleveraging and accelerated capital expenditure, the company said. It added that AGEL is now fully equipped to achieve its stated target of 45 GW by 2030, with 20.6 GW locked in capacity, secured land of over 2,00,000 acres (equivalent to over 40 GW of additional capacity) in resource rich areas of India, and additional equity infusion of Rs 9,350 crore which fully funds this stated target.

"India is on the cusp of becoming a global leader in renewable energy and Adani Green Energy is in the vanguard of this revolution,” said Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group.

Oil Prices

Oil jumped over 2 percent on Tuesday to the highest in almost a month, supported by the Middle East strife and investor optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve would soon start cutting interest rates, boosting global economic growth and fuel demand.

The rally, in thin trade with some markets closed for public holidays, added to last week’s gains of about 3 percent after Houthi attacks on ships disrupted global shipping and trade while the Israel-Hamas conflict shows no sign of easing. Brent crude futures were up by $1.79, or 2.3 percent, at $80.86 a barrel and earlier reached $81.23, the highest since December 1. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose by $1.89, or 2.6 percent, to $75.45.

Despite concern about the Middle East and the re-routing of ships, actual supply has not yet been affected. Maersk on Sunday announced the restart of shipping routes through the Red Sea, easing the concerns to some extent.

Dollar Index

The Dollar index traded 0.06 percent lower in futures at 103.32, whereas the value of one dollar hovered near Rs 83.09.

Gold Prices

Gold prices rose on Tuesday, helped by a weaker US dollar and lower Treasury yields on expectations that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates next year. Spot gold was up 0.4 percent at $2,062.63 an ounce near 7:30am ET after hitting a more than two-week high of $2,070.39 in the previous session. US gold futures rose 0.2 percent to $2,073.20.

Trading was thin on the day after Christmas with several markets closed for public holidays, and was expected to remain muted across the shortened week. “The main factor supporting gold is still the expectation of dovish central banks and falling rates in the next few years,” said Kinesis Money analyst Carlo Alberto De Casa. There is a good chance gold could stay above $2,000 in 2024, De Casa added, pointing to continuing geopolitical tensions.

Stock under F&O ban on NSE

The NSE has added RBL Bank to its F&O ban list for December 27, while retaining Balrampur Chini Mills, Delta Corp, Hindustan Copper, and National Aluminium Company on the list. Ashok Leyland, India Cements, and SAIL were removed from the list. Securities banned under the F&O segment include companies where derivative contracts cross 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.

FIIs and DIIs

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 95.20 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 167.04 crore worth of stocks on December 26, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.

With inputs from Reuters and other agencies.