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%.