Equity benchmark indices settled in red on Monday due to profit booking by investors after three days of record-breaking gains and a largely weak trend in Asian markets. Global markets were also trading cautiously ahead of Bank of Japan’s meeting on Tuesday, where the central bank may announce the plan to end its ultra-loose monetary policy.
The BSE Sensex fell 168.66 points or 0.24 per cent to settle at 71,315.09. The NSE Nifty fell by 38 points or 0.18 per cent to close at 21,418.65.
“Sector wise it was a mixed bag with Pharma, Auto, Metals, Infra being marginal gainers. Banking and IT stocks took a breather as the sentiment was dampened after several Fed officials hinted that the U.S. Federal Reserve might not cut rates next year. Niche sectors like sugar, shipping and defense stocks were in focus today. Sugar stocks bounced back after the government allowed sugar mills to use both sugarcane juice and B-heavy molasses to produce ethanol while strong domestic order lifted defense stocks,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
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“Overall we remain bullish on the market given the robust domestic economic data, healthy corporate earnings, and strong FII flows. However, given the recent strong rally, bouts of volatility can’t be ruled out. Apart from BoJ policy meet, European CPI data and China’s trade balance would be important events to track on Tuesday,” he added.
Top Stocks To Watch On 19 December:
HDFC Bank
India’s largest private bank has raised Rs 7,425 crore through its maiden 10-year infrastructure bond on Monday, at the coupon rate of 7.71 per cent. This was the first debt sale by the banking major after its merger with Housing Development Finance Corp. in July.
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Sun Pharma
The pharma major signed an agreement to acquire 16.7 per cent stake in Massachusetts-based Lyndra Therapeutics Inc for $30 million. Lyndra is involved in the business of developing novel delivery technology for long-acting oral (LAO) therapies.
Nestle India
The FMCG major has set 5 January 2024 as the record date 1:10 stock split, determining the equity shareholders’ entitlement for sub-division for existing equity shares of the company. One equity share having a face value of Rs 10 each will be subdivided into 10 equity shares having a face value of Rs 1 each.
Vedanta
The mining conglomerate has announced it second interim dividend worth Rs 1 per share. The record date has been fixed as 27 December. The total amount spent on the interim dividend will be Rs 4,089 crore.
Apollo Tyres
White Iris Investment (Warburg Pincus entity) is likely to offload a 3 per cent stake or 1.88 crore shares in tyre manufacturer, with an option to upsize the deal, reported CNBC-TV18. The investment firm aims to raise $100 million through this deal.
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