Market Update
New Intra-day Highs In Sensex and Nifty Indexes
Arjun Pandit
28 Dec, 2023
Mumbai
Stocks in Mumbai traded higher for the third day in a row amid volatile crude oil prices in international markets.
The Sensex and the Nifty indexes advanced and extended their weekly gains amid positive market sentiment and steady investment flows from domestic and international investors.
Crude oil prices remained volatile amid worries about the prospect of a wider conflict in the Middle East after the U.S. military targeted several installations in Iraq controlled by Iran-backed rebels.
Market indexes in Hong Kong and Shanghai advanced after foreign investors purchased stocks worth $790 million on Wednesday, according to Stock Connect data available from exchanges.
In broader Asian trading, benchmark indexes in South Korea and Australia advanced around 0.4% but declined 0.3% in Tokyo.
India Indexes and Yields
The Sensex index increased 137.95 points to 72,176.38, and the Nifty index rose 41.40 points to 21,696.15.
On the Mumbai stock exchange, 266 stocks traded at their 52-week highs and 13 stocks traded at their 52-week lows.
The yield on the 10-year Indian government bonds held firm at 7.20%, and the Indian rupee hovered near ₹83.27 against the U.S. dollar.
The gold price increased by 0.2% to ₹63,821 per ten grams, and silver edged up by 0.08% to ₹75,707 per kilo.
Crude oil decreased by 0.5% to ₹6,181 per barrel, and natural gas fell by 1.0% to ₹205.30 per thermal unit.
India Stock Movers
Among the widely held stocks, Asian Paints, Bajaj Auto, and Dr. Reddy's Labs were among the decliners.
Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Coal India, Trent, Bajaj FinServ, Mahindra &Mahindra, SBI Life, Hero Motocorp, and NTPC traded higher.
Zomato decreased 3% to ₹123.20 after the delivery company received ₹402 crore demand for unpaid GST from the regulatory authorities.
Housing & Urban Development Corp. soared 17% to ₹134.15 after the company signed an investment agreement worth 14,500 crore with the Gujarat government.
Azad Engineering increased to ₹714.20 after the company priced its initial public offering at ₹524 per share.
KPI Green Energy advanced 4.9% to ₹1,341.45 after the company board is scheduled to meet on December 30 to consider a bonus share issue to shareholders.
Prospects of Wider Conflict In the Middle East Keep Oil Volatile, U.S. Stocks Retain Upward Bias
Barry Adams
27 Dec, 2023
New York City
Stocks rested in Wednesday's trading, and benchmark indexes hovered near recent highs.
The S&P 500 index traded less than 0.5% from its peak, and the Nasdaq 100 index closed at a new high in the previous session.
Crude oil was in focus amid rising tensions in the Middle East, and traders grappled with a wider fallout in the region after the U.S. military targeted Iran-backed rebels' installations in Iraq.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels continued their attacks on ships traveling in the Red Sea as the conflict between Hamas and Israel showed no sign of ebbing.
Benchmark indexes are likely to close higher in the final week of 2023 and extend their rally to the ninth week in a row as tech stocks lead market gainers.
Market indexes in the U.S. advanced 0.5% in Tuesday's trading, and investors bid up stocks in the hopes of a rate cut as early as March.
The Federal Reserve is widely anticipated to leave rates steady after the first policy meeting in 2024 at the end of January, but investors are hoping that the policymakers may begin to ease in March.
The rate-cut optimism is largely driven by the steady decline in overall inflation, powered by the fall in energy prices from higher base prices.
Moreover, the Federal Reserve is signaling that the lagging effect of the 500 basis point rate increase since March 2022 has still not been felt by the wider economy.
Investors are hoping that the Federal Reserve will be able to bring down inflation to its target rate of 2% while keeping the economy growing at 2% without significantly increasing unemployment.
U.S. Indexes and Yields
Benchmark indexes continued their advance in December and in the fourth quarter.
In December, the S&P 500 advanced 4.5% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 6%, and in the fourth quarter, the indexes gained 11.4% and 14%, respectively.
In Wednesday's trading, the S&P 500 index gained 0.03% to 4,768.13, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.02% to 15,041.07.
The yield on 2-year Treasury notes increased to 4.29%, 10-year Treasury notes inched higher to 3.86%, and 30-year Treasury bonds eased to 4.01%.
WTI crude oil decreased $1.41 to $74.20 a barrel, and natural gas prices increased 6 cents to $2.48 a thermal unit.
Gold advanced $0.56 to $2,067.18 an ounce and extended this year's gains to 14.6%.
The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 101.37.
U.S. Stock Movers
Ascent Industries soared 10% to $8.92 after the company said it agreed to sell its carbon steel pipe and tubing business for $55 million.
The company plans to use some of the proceeds to pay down debt.
Coherus Biosciences soared 34.7% to $2.94 after the company won approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its UDENYCA ONBODY injection system for patients using chemotherapy to prevent infection.
China-based online gaming companies were in focus after a Chinese regulator said it plans to "further modify and improve" a recently released proposal to curb excessive gaming.
NetEase declined 4% to $88.68, and Tencent Holdings ADR decreased 2.7% to $36.71.
The New York Times traded at $46.11, and the publishing company sued Microsoft and the parent company of ChatGPT operator Open AI for infringing on its copyright and using its intellectual property without its permission.
Rate Cut Hopes Dominate European Stock Markets Sentiment
Bridgette Randall
27 Dec, 2023
Frankfurt
Stock market indexes in Europe struggled to gain traction, and investors debated the rate path and economic outlook for the next year.
Market indexes in Frankfurt, Paris, and London edged up after investors returned from a four-day holiday, and in the absence of domestic news, focus shifted to international markets.
Despite the weakening economic backdrop, stock market indexes in Germany are up nearly 19% and in France are up 15% in the year so far.
Stocks powered ahead in the last seven weeks after the European Central Bank held its rates for the first time after the policy meeting on October 26 and extended the rate pause again on December 14.
The European Central Bank is also expected to leave its policy rates on hold on January 25, but investors are hoping that policymakers will lower rates at the end of the subsequent meeting on March 7.
Market indexes in the U.S. advanced 0.5% in Tuesday's trading, and investors bid up stocks in the hopes of a rate cut as early as March.
The Federal Reserve is widely anticipated to leave rates steady after the first policy meeting in 2024 at the end of January.
Europe Indexes and Yields
The DAX index increased 0.04% to 16,714.72, the CAC-40 index advanced 0.2% to 7,582.97, and the FTSE 100 index inched higher by 0.4% to 7,731.84.
The yield on 10-year German bonds decreased to 1.93%; French bonds inched lower to 2.44%; the UK gilts inched lower to 3.47%; and Italian bonds inched lower to 3.50%.
The euro traded higher to $1.10, the British pound inched higher to $1.27, and the U.S. dollar eased to 85.26 Swiss cents.
Brent crude decreased $0.27 to $80.81 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas increased by €2.65 to €36.85 per MWh.
Europe Stock Movers
Banks traded mixed, and investors debated a possible rate cut as early as 2024.
Deutsche Bank edged down 0.2% to €12.35, Societe Generale advanced 0.7% to €24.25, UniCredit declined 0.1% to €24.39, and Barclays jumped 1.4% to 153.86 pence.
Energy companies were in focus after uncertainties rose in the Red Sea and tensions remained high between the U.S., Iran, and Israel.
The U.S. military targeted strikes at installations operated by Iran-backed non-state groups following the Houthi rebel attack on ships in the Red Sea.
The prospect of a wider war involving Iran-backed Hamas-controlled groups and U.S.-backed Israel also kept investors on edge.
BP plc increased 0.4% to 468.92 pence, Shell plc added 0.2% to 2,572.50 pence, and TotalEnergies advanced 0.7% to €62.73.
Automakers traded generally higher in the hopes that lower interest rates in 2024 will spur higher demand for vehicles.
Mercedes Benz decreased 0.1% to €62.78, Volkswagen dropped 0.6% to €111.96, Renault Group declined 0.4% to €37.55, but Stellantis advanced 0.1% to €21.26.
Movers: Adani Energy Solutions, AGEL, Power Grid, Power Finance, SJVN, Tata Motor, Vishnu Prakash
Arun Goswami
27 Dec, 2023
Mumbai
Stocks in Mumbai advanced, and benchmark indexes extended their gains in the final week of 2023.
The Sensex index increased 366.83 points to 71,703.68, and the Nifty index rose 110.40 points to 21,551.75.
On the Mumbai stock exchange, 233 stocks traded at their 52-week highs and 12 stocks traded at their 52-week lows.
Adani Green Energy increased 1.8% to ₹1,630.0, and the company said it completed the transfer of assets to a joint venture with the France-based TotalEnergies.
TotalEnergies contributed $300 million, and Adani Green transferred a portfolio of renewable power generation assets with a capacity to produce 1.05 GW of power.
Adani Energy Solutions soared 2.1% to ₹1,062.0, and the company said it received a letter of intent from PFC Consulting to acquire the Halvad Transmission project.
The Halvad project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
SJVN Ltd. gained 2.9% to ₹94.25 after the company was awarded a 100 MW solar power project from Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam for an estimated value of ₹550 crore.
Power Grid Corporation increased 2% to ₹235.35 after the company said it launched operations at its 500 MW wind energy zone in Tamil Nadu.
Power Finance declined 1.1% to ₹387.85, and the company sold Vataman Transmission for ₹18.20 crore and the Koppal-Gadag transmission SPV in Karnataka for ₹18.40 crore to Power Grid.
Tata Motors rose 2.2% to ₹735.55 after the company struck a deal to supply 1,350 units of the LPO version of the diesel bus chassis to Uttar Pradesh State Road Transportation Corporation.
Zee Learn was unchanged at ₹6.50, and the company said it will review the claims filed by Axis Bank in its recent petition with the National Company Law Tribunal seeking insolvency proceedings against the company.
Vishnu Prakash R. Punglia advanced 5% to ₹230.10 after the company won an 899 crore contract from the Uttarakhand government for several development projects.
India Stocks Advance In the Final Week of 2023
Arjun Pandit
27 Dec, 2023
Mumbai
Stocks opened higher, and positive sentiment prevailed in trading on Dalal Street.
The Sensex and the Nifty indexes advanced and extended their gains for the second day this week in a broad rally that lifted stocks across all market caps.
Current Account Gap Narrows In September Quarter
The current account deficit in the September quarter narrowed to $8.3 billion from $30.9 billion a year ago, the Reserve Bank of India reported late Tuesday.
The decline in the international trade deficit supported the current account gap improvement.
The merchandise goods deficit in the quarter shrank to $61.0 billion from $78.3 billion, and the service surplus rose to $40.0 billion from $34.4 billion.
Meanwhile, the primary income gap increased to $12.2 billion from $11.8 billion, and the secondary income edged higher to $25 billion from $24.8 billion a year ago.
There was an accretion of foreign exchange reserves by $2.5 billion compared to a depletion of $30.4 billion in the quarter a year ago.
In the first half of fiscal 2024, the current account gap shrank to $17.5 billion from $48.8 billion a year ago, largely reflecting lower energy costs.
India Indexes and Yields
The Sensex index increased 366.83 points to 71,703.68, and the Nifty index rose 110.40 points to 21,551.75.
On the Mumbai stock exchange, 233 stocks traded at their 52-week highs and 12 stocks traded at their 52-week lows.
The yield on the 10-year Indian government bonds held firm at 7.18%, and the Indian rupee hovered near ₹83.21 against the U.S. dollar.
The gold price increased by 0.03% to ₹62,740 per ten grams, and silver edged up by 0.01% to ₹75,025 per kilo.
Crude oil increased by 2.3% to ₹6,306 per barrel, and natural gas fell by 0.2% to ₹201.80 per thermal unit.
India Stock Movers
Adani Green Energy increased 1.8% to ₹1,630.0, and the company said it completed the transfer of assets to a joint venture with the France-based TotalEnergies.
TotalEnergies contributed $300 million, and Adani Green transferred a portfolio of renewable power generation assets with a capacity to produce 1.05 GW of power.
Adani Energy Solutions soared 2.1% to ₹1,062.0, and the company said it received a letter of intent from PFC Consulting to acquire the Halvad Transmission project.
The Halvad project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
SJVN Ltd. gained 2.9% to ₹94.25 after the company was awarded a 100 MW solar power project from Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam for an estimated value of ₹550 crore.
U.S. Stock Indexes Trade Higher and Treasury Yields Hold Steady
Barry Adams
26 Dec, 2023
New York City
Stocks on Wall Street advanced in a holiday-shortened week of thin trading.
The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite extended their eight-week rally as trading for the final week began.
Stocks have been rallying for the last eight weeks in a row after inflation continued to drift lower over the last nine months and economic growth stayed above 2%, giving room to the Federal Reserve to engineer a soft landing.
Investors are hoping that the Fed will pause a rate hike at the end of its first policy meeting on January 31, 2024.
However, central bankers have pushed back against the rate-cut scenario over the last two weeks, but market indexes have continued to advance.
U.S. Indexes and Yields
The S&P 500 index gained 0.1% to 4,762.36, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.3% to 15,037.67.
The yield on 2-year Treasury notes increased to 4.37%, 10-year Treasury notes inched higher to 3.90%, and 30-year Treasury bonds eased to 4.05%.
WTI crude oil increased $1.70 to $75.25 a barrel, and natural gas prices increased 1 cent to $2.53 a thermal unit.
Gold advanced $5.96 to $2,058.98 an ounce and extended this year's gains to 13.5%.
The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 101.67.
U.S. Stock Movers
RayzBio Inc. jumped 100% to $61.30 after Bristol Myers Squibb said it agreed to acquire the radiopharmaceutical therapeutics for $62.50 a share, or $4.1 billion.
Gracell Biotechnology Inc. soared 60% to $9.92 after Astra Zeneca said it would acquire the China-based cell therapy company for $10 per share, or $1.2 billion.
Intel Corporation gained 2.2% to $49.05 after the advanced semiconductor chipmaker received $3.2 billion from the Israeli government to build a $25 billion plant in southern Israel.
Manchester United PLC increased 1.3% to $20.10 after UK investor Jim Ratcliffe finalized his agreement to acquire a 25% stake in the football club for $33 a share.
Movers: Adani Green, Adani Wilmar, Anupam Rasayan, Infosys, Motisons, Muthoot Microfin, Suraj Estates
Arun Goswami
26 Dec, 2023
Mumbai
Stocks in Mumbai opened higher in the final week of 2023, and three companies listed their shares after completing their initial public offerings.
The Sensex index increased 16.98 points to 71,123.94, and the Nifty index rose 26.80 points to 21,376.20.
In the previous week, the Sensex eased 0.2% and the Nifty decreased 0.4%.
On the Mumbai stock exchange, 185 stocks traded at their 52-week highs and 16 stocks traded at their 52-week lows.
Banks, financial services providers, and vehicle makers were among the leading gainers in Tuesday's trading.
The State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank gained between 0.4% and 0.7%.
Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Hero Motocorp, Eicher Motors, Tata Motors, and Ashok Leyland gained between 0.1% and 3.5%.
One 97 Communications Ltd., parent of Paytm, decreased 1.3% to ₹633.50 after the company laid off 1,000 employees.
The company blamed the layoff on the recent tightening of rules by the Reserve Bank of India and the adoption of AI-driven technology tools.
Muthoot Microfin and Suraj Estates traded down compared to their initial public issue prices.
Suraj Estates traded ₹346.15 after pricing its initial public offering at ₹360 per share.
Muthoot Microfin declined to ₹273.14, and the company priced its initial public offering at ₹291 per share.
Motisons Jewellers opened at ₹103.90 and eased to ₹99.25 after the company priced its initial public offering at ₹55 per share.
Infosys declined 1.3% to ₹1,542.50 after the company said it lost a contract with a global client worth $1.3 billion over several years.
Anupam Rasayan Limited declined 0.5% to ₹1,004.0 after the company signed a ₹507 crore contract with a Japanese firm to supply a polymer intermediate for the next nine years.
Adani Green Energy increased 1.6% to ₹1,558.0 after the company signed an agreement to supply 1.8 GW of solar power to the Solar Energy Corporation of India.
With the latest agreement, the company has signed a total of 19.8 GW of power supply agreements.
Adani Wilmar declined 0.5% to ₹363.45, and the promoters plan to sell a 1.24% stake in the company before January 31 to comply with the SEBI requirements.
ONGC increased 1.6% to ₹207.30 after the company's wholly owned subsidiary, ONGC Videsh, plans to raise ₹5,000 crore through the sale of non-convertible bonds and finance its capital expenditure and debt refinancing.
India Stocks Advanced In Volatile Trading, Coronavirus and Crude Oil In Focus
Arjun Pandit
26 Dec, 2023
Mumbai
Stocks opened higher in Mumbai trading in the final week of 2023, and crude oil prices were in focus.
Benchmark indexes edged up about 0.1% in early trading, and markets in Tokyo and Shanghai traded lower in thin trading amid a lack of market-moving events.
Volatility is expected to be higher than normal this week because of the expiry of derivative contracts and the lack of international investor participation in Mumbai trading.
Stocks in Mumbai were under pressure after 628 new coronavirus cases were registered and total active cases rose to 4,054, according to India's health ministry.
Crude oil prices were volatile in international trading after prices rose 3% in the previous week amid rising tensions in the Red Sea.
Supply chain worries were in focus after more shipping companies announced their plans to divert cargo from the Red Sea to sea lanes along southern Africa.
Financial markets in Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand were closed to celebrate the Christmas holiday.
The jobless rate in Japan in November was 2.5%, unchanged from the previous month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Monday.
The jobless rate declined to the lowest since January after the number of employed persons increased by 560,000 to 67.8 million, surpassing the increase in the number of unemployed people by 40,000 to 1.69 million.
India Indexes and Yields
The Sensex index increased 16.98 points to 71,123.94, and the Nifty index rose 26.80 points to 21,376.20.
In the previous week, the Sensex eased 0.2% and the Nifty decreased 0.4%.
On the Mumbai stock exchange, 185 stocks traded at their 52-week highs and 16 stocks traded at their 52-week lows.
The yield on the 10-year Indian government bonds held firm at 7.18%, and the Indian rupee hovered near ₹83.15 against the U.S. dollar.
The gold price increased by 0.3% to ₹63,165 per ten grams, and silver edged up by 0.3% to ₹75,626 per kilo.
Crude oil decreased by 0.4% to ₹6,140 per barrel, and natural gas fell by 3.4% to ₹200.40 per thermal unit.
India Stock Movers
One 97 Communications Ltd. decreased 1.3% to ₹633.50 after the company laid off 1,000 employees.
The company blamed the layoff on the recent tightening of rules by the Reserve Bank of India and the adoption of AI-driven technology tools.
Banks, financial services providers, and vehicle makers were among the leading gainers in Tuesday's trading.
The State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank gained between 0.4% and 0.7%.
Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Hero Motocorp, Eicher Motors, Tata Motors, and Ashok Leyland gained between 0.1% and 3.5%.
New Home Sales Plunged to a One-year Low In November
Brian Turner
22 Dec, 2023
New York City
Sales of new single-family houses in November declined to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated in a report released on Friday.
New home sales declined 12.2% from the revised October rate of 672,000, but were 1.4% higher than the 582,000 estimate in the month a year ago.
The media price of new homes sold in November was $434,700, and the average price was $488,900.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of November was 451,000. This represents a supply of 9.2 months at the current sales rate.
Seasonally adjusted private home sales peaked in July at an annual pace of 728,000 and dropped below 600,000 for the first time in 2023.
The monthly supply of available homes for sale jumped above 9 months for the first time in 2023 after dropping to a low of 7.1 in July.
The percentage of all homes sold above $750,000 dropped below 7% from 10% in October and from 15% in the month a year ago.
Meanwhile, housing starts and completions continued to rise at a healthy pace in November, according to a separate report released by the government agency on Tuesday.
Seasonally adjusted single-family housing starts in November increased 18% from the previous month to a rate of 1.14 million.
Seasonally adjusted single-family housing completion declined 3.2% from the previous month to a rate of 960,000.
Newly built homes have become an increasingly attractive option for home buyers after existing home sales are hovering at a 30-year low and new home sales are estimated to jump at least 9% this year.
New home sales, which account for about 14% of all home sales, are generally priced higher than existing homes, and about 76% of all new home sales were priced between $300,000 and $749,00 in November.
New homes are generally priced higher than existing ones.
Despite the median home price declining 6% from a year ago to $434,700, the new homes are still priced higher than the $391,800 median home price of existing homes in November.
The popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate has edged slightly lower after peaking at a 23-year high of 7.79% in late October to just below 7%, according to the data available from the government-owned mortgage lender Freddie Mac.
PCE Price Index Slows, Personal Income and Outlays Rise In November
Brian Turner
22 Dec, 2023
New York City
Personal income increased 0.4% from the previous month to $81.6 billion in November, according to estimates released Friday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Disposable personal income, or personal income less personal current taxes, increased by 0.4% to $71.9 billion, and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased by 0.2% to $46.7 billion.
Personal outlays, the sum of PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments, increased $47.8 billion in November.
Personal saving was $839.8 billion in November and the personal saving rate—personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 4.1%.
The PCE price index, an alternative measure of inflation preferred by policymakers, cooled more than expected.
The PCE price index decreased by 0.1%, and excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased by 0.1% from the previous month, respectively.
The PCE price index declined to the lowest level since February 2021, to 2.6% from 2.9% in October, and the core PCE price index eased to 3.2% from 3.4% in the previous month, the lowest since mid-2021.
Real DPI increased 0.4% in November, and real PCE increased 0.3%; goods increased 0.5%, and services increased 0.2%.
The Federal Reserve, in its latest assessment on December 13, estimated the PCE price index at 2.8% and the core PCE price index at 3.2% in 2023.
Bristol Myers Agreed to Acquire Karuna Therapeutics
Scott Peters
22 Dec, 2023
New York City
Karuna Therapeutics soared 47.4% to $317.22 after Bristol Myers agreed to pay $330 per share, or $14 billion, to acquire the maker of the schizophrenia drug KarXT.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted KarXT for a review.
Bristol-Myers declined 1.7% to $50.36.
U.S. Steel Accepts $14.9 Billion Deal from Nippon Steel
Scott Peters
18 Dec, 2023
New York City
U.S. Steel Corporation surged 28.2% to $50.33 after the steelmaker accepted the $55 per share offer from Japan-based Nippon Steel in cash.
The offer values the steel company at $14.9 billion in enterprise value, and the deal is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2024.