The benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices are likely to open marginally higher on December 29 as trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a positive start for the broader index with a gain of 7 points.
On December 28, the BSE Sensex jumped 372 points to 72,410, while the Nifty 50 climbed 124 points to 21,779 and formed a bullish candlestick pattern on the daily scale, indicating an uptrend continuation pattern.
"Positive chart patterns like higher tops and bottoms continued on the Nifty as per the daily timeframe chart. Though the Nifty is placed at all-time highs, there is no indication of any higher top reversal forming at the new highs," Nagaraj Shetti, senior technical research analyst at HDFC Securities, said.
He feels having moved above the initial hurdle of 21,650, the Nifty is expected to advance towards the next overhead resistance of 22,200 levels in the near term, which is near the 100 percent Fibonacci extension of major bottom-top-bottoms. Immediate support is at 21,550 levels, he said.
The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty is likely to see immediate resistance at 21,800, followed by 21,829 and 21,876 levels, while on the lower side, it can take support at 21,706, followed by 21,676 and 21,629 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 7 points. GIFT Nifty futures stood at 21,958 points after making a high of 21, 958 points.
Trade setup for Friday: Top 15 things to know before the opening bell
US Markets
Stock futures were little changed on Thursday evening as Wall Street looks to end a winning year on a high note and possibly a new milestone. S&P 500 futures rose less than 0.1 percent. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures ticked up 17 points, or less than 0.1 percent, while Nasdaq-100 futures were also marginally higher.
The S&P 500 enters the final trading day of 2023 less than 0.5 percent from a new record high, which could serve as an exclamation point on a rally that has gained strength in the final months of the year.
The S&P 500 is up 24.6 percent in 2023, with the Dow rising 13.8 percent. The Nasdaq Composite has led the way with a gain of 44.2 percent on the year — on pace for its biggest annual increase since 2003.
European Markets
European stocks closed lower on Thursday as global markets searched for new record highs to close out the year. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally closed down about 0.1 percent, with health care stocks adding 0.6% while banks dropped 0.5 percent.
The continental blue-chip index was last trading around the 478.21 mark, not far below the index’s record closing high of 483.44 notched in November 2021. Stateside, US stocks were slightly higher after another day of modest gains on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 benchmark also closing in on a record high.
Asian Markets
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on the last trading day of 2023, with investors assessing prospects of electric vehicle companies after China’s Xiaomi unveiled its first EV.
In the early hours of Friday, Australia S&P/ASX 200 index dipped 0.37 percent, cooling off from two straight sessions of gains, but was still up 7.76 percent for the year.
China and Hong Kong markets will be closely watched after Chinese consumer electronics company Xiaomi on Thursday detailed plans to enter China’s oversaturated electric-vehicle market.
The company seeks to compete with automaker giants Tesla and Porsche with a car model it says it spent more than 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) to develop. Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 17,222, pointing to a higher open compared with the HSI’s close of 17,043.53.
China and Hong Kong indexes rallied more than 2 percent each in the previous session but were still set to be the biggest percentage losers for the year among major Asia-Pacific markets. China’s CSI 300 index is down 11.8 percent for the year, while the Hang Seng has plunged 13.8 percent in 2023.
Binance, 8 others get show-cause notice from India's Financial Intelligence Unit
The Indian finance ministry has sent compliance show-cause notices to nine offshore Virtual Digital Assets service providers, including Binance, and told the information technology ministry to block their URLs for operating illegally in the country without complying with the local money laundering laws. The nine entities are Binance, Kucoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex.
In a statement issued on December 28, the finance ministry said that offshore and onshore Virtual Digital Asset service providers operating in India and involved in activities including exchange between virtual digital assets and fiat currencies, transfer and administration of virtual digital assets or instruments enabling control over them must register with Financial Intelligence Unit-India and comply with the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
N. Chandrasekaran urges employees to brace for increased disruption and volatility in 2024
Tata Sons' Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, on December 28, cautioned employees of the Tata Group about the anticipated volatility and disruption in 2024, driven by the evolving global landscape in data privacy regulations.
In his year-end letter to employees, Chandrasekaran highlighted geopolitics as a potential source of volatility. "The complexity of global governance will reach new heights as the world establishes new rules to safeguard data privacy, address inflation, reduce carbon emissions, and manage perceptions of AI risk." He also noted that 2024 is marked by elections, with 40 nations heading to the polls.
Despite the cautionary tone, Chandrasekaran presented a silver lining, emphasizing a promising future for India. "In 2023, we performed exceptionally well. We demonstrated commendable leadership at a historic G20 summit. Our economy is thriving, with GDP set to double to USD 7 trillion over the next five years," he stated. Chandrasekaran expressed confidence that India is well-positioned to benefit from the transformative shifts reshaping the world.
Moving towards the boom in artificial intelligence (AI), especially in 2023, Chandrasekaran said, "Generative AI, for example, is a potential antidote to our access and inequality problems—provided we are careful and introduce the right rules."
Banks well capitalised, capable of absorbing macroeconomic shocks: RBI
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Financial Stability Report released on December 28 stated that schedule commercial banks are well capitalised and capable of absorbing macroeconomic shocks over a one-year horizon.
Under the baseline scenario, the aggregate CRAR of 46 major banks is projected to slip from 16.6 per cent in September 2023 to 14.8 per cent by September 2024. The financial stability report is a half-yearly publication that offers insights into the developments in the country's financial sector.
It may go down to 13.5 per cent in the medium stress scenario and to 12.2 per cent under the severe stress scenario by September 2024, which would also remain above the minimum capital requirements, report added.
SEBI grants stockbrokers additional day for settling clients' running accounts
The market regulator has given stockbrokers one more day to settle the running accounts of their clients after hearing representations from their Industry Standards Forum (ISF).
Until now, clients' unutilized funds lying in the trading account had to be transferred back to their bank accounts on the first Friday of every quarter or every month. This was done to safeguard the interest of the investors. However, the brokers' ISF said that a single day of settlement was leading to operational difficulties. Therefore, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed them to settle the accounts even by Saturday.
RBI permits ICICI AMC to acquire up to 9.95% stake in Federal Bank
The Federal Bank on December 28 said that it has received the approval from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to permit ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company (ICICI AMC) for acquiring aggregate holding of up to 9.95 percent of stake in the bank. RBI has given nod to the compliance with the relevant provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The development comes under the leadership of Shyam Srinivasan, MD and CEO of Federal Bank.
Shyam Srinivasan, who took over as the Managing Director (MD) and CEO of Federal Bank MD in 2010 and has been at the helm since then, will see his tenure ending on September 22, 2024.
RBI releases draft rules on bond forwards in government securities
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on December 28 released the draft directions on bond forwards in government securities with an aim to expand interest rate derivative products in the market.
The central bank said they have received suggestions on the need to introduce bond forwards in government securities. The draft directions on contracts to deliver government securities on a forward basis seek to enable market participants, especially long-term investors, to manage their cash flows and interest rate risk.
Comments on the draft directions are invited from banks, market participants, investors and other interested parties by January 25, 2024, RBI said in a release.
Oil Prices
Oil prices fell around 1 percent on Thursday as concerns eased about shipping disruptions along the Red Sea route, even as tensions in the Middle East continue to fester.
Front month February Brent crude futures were down 90 cents, about 1.1%, at $78.75 a barrel in subdued trade ahead of their imminent expiry, while the more active March contract was down 69 cents, about 0.9 percent, at $78.85 a barrel. US WTI crude futures were trading 80 cents, or about 1.1 percent, lower at $73.31 a barrel. Oil prices dropped nearly 2 percent on Wednesday as major shipping firms began returning to the Red Sea.
Dollar Index
The Dollar index traded 0.06 percent higher in futures at 101.32, whereas the value of one dollar hovered near Rs 83.09.
Gold Prices
Gold prices steadied on Thursday, after hitting a more than three-week high earlier, as an uptick in U.S. bond yields undermined the support from expectations of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve early next year.
Spot gold lost 0.15 percent to $2,073.98 per ounce, after earlier rising as high as $2,088.29, the most since Dec. 4, when bullion hit its all-time peak. U.S. gold futures were down 0.4 percent to $2,083.9.
FIIs and DIIs
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 4,358.99 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased Rs 136.64 crore worth of stocks on December 28, provisional data from the NSE showed.
With inputs from Reuters and other agencies.
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