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

Stock Market

The benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices are likely to open higher on December 20 as trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a positive start for the broader index with a gain of 87.50 points.

The Indian equity benchmarks touched fresh highs on December 19 in a highly volatile session and erased some of the previous session’s losses to end with moderate gains.

At close, the Sensex was up 122.10 points, or 0.17 percent, to 71,437.19, and the Nifty was up 34.40 points, or 0.16 percent, to 21,453.10.

The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty is likely to see immediate resistance at 21,496, followed by21,535 and 21,599, while on the lower side, it can take support at 21,368 followed by 21,329 and 21,265 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

Trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a positive start for the broader index in India, with a gain of 87.50 points or 0.41 percent. The Nifty futures were trading around the 21,615.50 level.

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

US Markets

Wall Street extended its rally on December 19, advancing on the day as last week's dovish policy pivot from the Federal Reserve continued to reverberate and investors looked ahead to crucial inflation data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 251.9 points, or 0.68 percent, to 37,557.92, the S&P 500 gained 27.81 points, or 0.59 percent, to 4,768.37 and the Nasdaq Composite added 98.03 points, or 0.66 percent, to 15,003.22.

Asian Markets

Asian markets were trading higher on Wednesday, with Japan stocks extending gains to another session after the country’s central bank left its ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged at its final meeting this year.

Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.2 percent and Kospi added 1 percent.

BSE to levy additional exposure margin on derivatives

Indian stock exchange operator BSE on Tuesday said its unit Indian Clearing Corporation will impose an additional 15% exposure margin on securities under market wide position limit (MWPL).

The move comes as Indian benchmarks have hit fresh record highs this month, with increased retail participation in the derivatives segment.

The additional margin levy will be effective Jan. 1 and apply to derivatives in which the top 10 clients of brokerages account for more than 20% of MWPL.

MWPL is the maximum number of open futures and options contracts allowed by the exchange for a stock.

Accenture expects revenue in the range of $15.40 billion to $16.00 billion

IT services provider Accenture forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street targets on Tuesday, anticipating cautious spending by clients as macroeconomic uncertainty remains an overhang.

Accenture expects revenue in the range of $15.40 billion to $16.00 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had forecast revenue of $16.29 billion.

Oil Prices

Oil prices rose more than a dollar a barrel on Wednesday, extending the previous session's gains after attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants on ships in the Red Sea disrupted maritime trade and forced more companies to reroute vessels.

Brent crude futures rose $1.28, or 1.6 percent, to settle at $79.23 a barrel, the highest since December 1. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for January delivery, which expired after settlement on Tuesday, rose 97 cents, or 1.3 percent, to settle at $73.44 a barrel, also the highest in over two weeks.

Gold Prices

Gold prices were subdued on Tuesday as a slightly firmer dollar countered support from falling Treasury yields while investors await U.S. economic data that could provide further indications on the outlook for US interest rates.

Spot gold was steady at $2,027.22 an ounce at 1205 GMT. US gold futures were also flat at $2,041.30.

Dollar Index

The US dollar rose against the yen on Tuesday after the Bank of Japan kept rates steady while MSCI's global stock index was gaining ground as investors focused on the prospect of US interest rate cuts in 2024.

The yen lost ground after the Bank of Japan kept its ultra-low interest rates unchanged and maintained its dovish policy guidance, dashing some traders' hopes it would signal a near-term end to negative interest rates.

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 601.52 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 294.35 crore worth of stocks on December 19, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.

Stock under F&O ban on NSE

The NSE has added Delta Corp, Indus Towers, IRCTC, Piramal Enterprises, and RBL Bank, to its F&O ban list for December 20, while retaining Balrampur Chini Mills, Manappuram Finance, National Aluminium Company, SAIL and Zee Entertainment Enterprises in the said list. Hindustan Copper and India Cements were removed from the said list.

With inputs from Reuters and other agencies