Nifty and Sensex Indexes Turned Lower, BoJ Left Rates Unrevised

Arjun Pandit
19 Dec, 2023
Mumbai

Stocks in Mumbai traded higher, and investors reacted to domestic corporate news.

Benchmark stock indexes edged slightly higher as investors stayed optimistic about the economic growth prospects and steady flow of funds from domestic and international investors.

The Bank of Japan held its short-term rate at -0.1% and 10-year bond yields near zero percent in a unanimous vote in the final meeting of the year.

The rate decision was widely anticipated, and the policy committee also held its loose upper band of 1% set for the long-term government bond yield.

Japan is the only major advanced country with interest rates near zero, despite the central banks in the U.S. and Europe lifting rates by as much as 500 basis points over the last eighteen months.

The Japanese yen edged up 0.5% to 143.46 after the rate decision announcement.

The Nikkei index in Tokyo advanced 1%, but the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong declined 0.6% on the ongoing property market worries.

Shanghai Composite index is set to close lower for the third year in a row and the Hong Kong index is likely to extend losses to the fourth consecutive year. 

Electric vehicle maker Nio jumped 4.7% after the company secured an additional investment of $2.2 billion from funds controlled by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, following the earlier investment of $738 million in June.

Authorities on the mainland China also grappled with an earthquake in the Gansu-Qinghai border region.

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck the northwestern Chinese province late last night, killing at least 110 people and injuring more than 230.

 

India Indexes and Yields

The Sensex index decreased 168.07 points to 71,144.04, and the Nifty index fell 57.75 points to 21,360.25.

On the Mumbai stock exchange, 181 stocks traded at their 52-week highs and 8 stocks traded at their 52-week lows.

The yield on the 10-year Indian government bonds held firm at 7.16%, and the Indian rupee hovered near ₹82.10 against the U.S. dollar.

The gold price decreased by 0.2% to ₹61,965 per ten grams, and silver edged down by 0.01% to ₹74,405 per kilo.

Crude oil increased by 2.1% to ₹6,138 per barrel, and natural gas fell by 0.1% to ₹207.20 per thermal unit.

 

India Stock Movers

Nestle India decreased 0.3% to ₹24,300.0, and the company set January 5, 2024, as the record date for its 1-to-10 stock split.

Vedanta Ltd. advanced 1.6% to ₹264.45 after the company announced a second interim dividend of ₹11 per share, or ₹4,089 crore, to shareholders on record on December 27.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries increased 0.4% to ₹1,259.40, and the company agreed to acquire a 16.7% stake in the U.S.-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Lyndra Therapeutics for $30 million.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises increased 1.1% to ₹281.10, and Sony India is not likely to accept the company's request to extend its merger deadline.

Apollo Tyres rose 3.1% to ₹464.50, and a Bloomberg report suggested that an affiliate of Warburg Pincus is looking to sell a 3% stake in the company for $100 million with a floor price of ₹440 per share.

Devyani International gained 7.5% to ₹196.50 after the company acquired 274 KFC stores in Thailand for ₹1,066.10 crore and approved an investment of 340 crore in its international markets-focused subsidiary, Devyani DMCC, Dubai.

Vakrangee Limited gained 0.5% to ₹19.40 after the company agreed to acquire 8.8% of Vortex Engineering from the International Finance Corporation.