Sensex, Nifty End Lower for Second Day Ahead Of F&O Expiry; RIL, HDFC Twins Top Losers

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower for the second consecutive trading session ahead of F&O expiry, led by the declines in Reliance Industries Ltd., HDFC Ltd. and HDFC Bank Ltd.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.44 percent to close at 41,461.26 and the NSE Nifty 50 fell 0.39 percent to end at 12,214.55. The broader markets represented by the NSE Nifty 500 Index fell 0.3 percent.

The markets will remain shut on Wednesday on account of Christmas Day.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. About 964 stocks declined and 813 shares advanced on National Stock Exchange.

Seven out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE ended lower, led by the NSE Nifty IT Index’s 0.55 percent decline. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty Metal Index was the top sectoral gainer, up 0.62 percent.

United Breweries

• Stock rose as much as 5.9 percent to Rs 1,313.70
• Heineken may make offer to raise stake in the company, according to CNBC-TV18 report

Lemon Tree Hotels

• Stock rose as much as 4.8 percent to Rs 64.80
• Signed license agreement for 55-room hotel in Darjeeling
• Hotel is in the greenfield stage and is expected to open in September 2022

Sterling Tools

• Stock rose as much as 20 percent to Rs 215
• The company entered a JV with China’s Jiangsu Gtake Electric to design, manufacture and supply motor control units in India.

IRCTC

• Stock rose as much as 4 percent to Rs 899.80
• Revised tariff of standard meals on static units
• Signed MoU with Hotel and Restaurant Association of Northern India for listing the association’s member hotels and their room rate inventory for sales on the IRCTC portal

“The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed FIR against Director of Carnation Auto India and former Managing Director of Maruti Udyog Jagdish Khattar, Jagdish Khattar and the said company (Carnation Auto India) and other unknown private person under criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal misconduct,” ANI said in a tweet.

Shares of India Nippon Electricals rose as much as 7.2 percent to Rs 320.35.

About 13 percent equity changed hands in a large trade, Bloomberg data showed. Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

Of the shares traded, 40 percent were at the ask price and 27 percent were at the bid, according to Bloomberg data.

Asahi India Glass

• Stock rose as much as 3.4 percent to Rs 197.
• Trading volume was almost 30 times its 20-day average.

Radico Khaitan

• Stock rose as much s 6.7 percent to Rs 318.75.
• Trading volume was 10 times its 20-day average.

Crisil

• Stock fell as much as 5.2 percent to Rs 1,885.20.
• Trading volume was almost eight times its 20-day average.

NIIT Technologies

• Stock rose as much as 3 percent to Rs 1,626.40.
• Trading volume was more than seven times its 20-day average.

NESCO

• Stock rose as much as 3.7 percent to Rs 712.
• Trading volume was more than six times its 20-day average.

Shares of Ramco Systems rose as much as 15.8 percent to Rs 170, extending gains for the second consecutive trading session.

“Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Ltd. has extended partnership with Ramco Systems to bring the global software specialist’s advanced Aviation solutions to four more business units in Hong Kong, Xiamen and Jinjiang,” according to the company’s exchange filing.

Trading volume was almost eight times its 20-day average, Bloomberg data showed. The Relative Strength Index was above 70, indicating that the stock may be overbought.

Shares of IFCI halted a two-day losing streak. The stock rose as much as 11.9 percent to Rs 7.05.

The company received Rs 805.60 crore from the stake sale in National Stock Exchange, according to its exchange filing.

The stock returned 4.6 percent in the past five days and 6.8 percent in the past 30 days, Bloomberg data showed.

U.S. and European stock futures were little changed after a muted Christmas Eve session in Asia Tuesday, with trading diminishing at the end of a year that took a global benchmark to successive record highs.

• Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures gained 0.1 percent
• Japan’s Topix Index closed little changed
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.2 percent
• Shanghai Composite was up 0.7 percent

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Source: Bloomberg

Six out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE traded higher, led by the NSE Nifty Metal Index’s 0.73 percent gain. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty IT Index was the top sectoral loser, down 0.59 percent.

Indian equity benchmarks traded marginally lower after fluctuating between gains and losses in the morning trade.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.1 percent to 41,595 and the SNE Nifty 50 fell 0.09 percent to 12,251. The broader markets represented by the NSE Nifty 500 Index fell 0.08 percent.

Shares of Dishman Carbogen Amcis extended declined for the sixth consecutive trading session. The stock touched a lower circuit of 20 percent to hit a new all-time low at Rs 72.10.

The Income Tax department visited company’s head offices and manufacturing sites conducting a search enquiry on Dec. 19 and the search enquiry is continuing. The company said that no impact on its routine operations, according to its stock exchange notification on Dec. 19.

The stock declined 43 percent in six trading sessions. Trading volume was almost 30 times its 20-day average, according to Bloomberg data.

Nifty’s 12,300 call option contract was among the most active Nifty option contracts on National Stock Exchange.

Premium on the contract, which is set to expire on Dec. 26, fell 35.86 percent to Rs 19.50. Over 8.18 lakh shares were added to the open interest which stood at over 37.07 lakh shares.

Shares of IRCTC extended gains for the two consecutive trading session. The stock rose as much as 2.9 percent to Rs 890.

The Indian Railways’ subsidiary signed a memorandum of understanding with Hotel and Restaurant Association of Northern India for listing the association’s member hotels and their room rate inventory for sales on the IRCTC portal. The company has also revised tariff of standard meals on static units over Indian Railways.

Trading volume was more than five times its 20-day average, Bloomberg data showed.

Shares of Reliance Industries fell for the third consecutive trading session. The stock fell as much as 0.49 percent to Rs 1,563.70.

The Delhi High Court has sought details of Reliance Industries Ltd.’s assets after the government petitioned to stop a proposed sale of a minority stake in the company’s oil and chemical business to Saudi Arabian Oil Co., Bloomberg reported quoting people familiar with the matter.

“The court has also directed Reliance’s partner, Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Indian unit—BG Exploration & Production India—to submit details of assets, the people said, asking not to be identified as the documents aren’t public. The Indian government is fighting arbitration cases over profit sharing and royalty payments with Reliance and its partners,” the report added.

Shares of Chalet Hotels rose as much as 4.2 percent to Rs 355.

The company has entered into a Franchise Agreement with Hyatt India Consultancy for Hyatt Regency Navi Mumbai. The company’s upcoming 260-key hotel will be the first Hyatt Regency branded hotel for the firm. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.

The stock advanced 22 percent in the past 12 months compared to a 17 percent rally in the Sensex.

Shares of NIIT Technologies rose as much as 0.6 percent to Rs 1,588.

The company’s board approved buyback of 19.6 lakh shares at Rs 1,725 per share aggregating to Rs 337.5 crore The company will buyback 3.1 percent of the equity using 20.23 percent of the net worth. Promoters will be participating in the buyback.

Trading volume was 40 times its 20-day average, Bloomberg data showed. Of the shares traded, 47 percent were at the ask price and 30 percent were at the bid, according to Bloomberg data.

Indian equity benchmarks fluctuated between gains and losses in the opening trade.

The S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE nifty 50 traded little changed at 41,650 and 12,266 respectively. The broader markets represented by the NSE Nifty 500 Index rose 0.12 percent.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of buyers. About 858 stocks advanced and 580 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

Nine out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE traded higher, led by the NSE Nifty Media Index’s 0.44 percent gain. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty IT Index was the top sectoral loser, down 0.28 percent.

Index Futures

• Nifty December futures closed at 12,276.4, premium of 13.7 points versus 18 points.
• Nifty futures open interest across series up 1 percent, adds 1.8 lakh shares in open interest.
• Nifty Bank December futures closed at 32,329.4, discount of 10 points versus 6.5 points.
• Nifty Bank futures open interest across series up 3 percent, adds 51k shares in open interest.
• Rollovers –Nifty 33 percent, Nifty Bank 36 percent.

Options

• Nifty PCR at 1.66 versus 1.72 (across all series).

Nifty Monthly Expiry: Dec. 26

• Max open interest on call side at 12,300 (28.8 lakh shares).
• Max open interest on put side at 12,000 (35.2 lakh shares).
• Open interest addition seen at 12,300C (+4.2 lakh shares), 12,250C (+4 lakh shares), 12,250P (+3.4 lakh shares).

• KRBL promoters acquired 46,000 shares on Dec. 20.
• Aarti Industries promoter Chandrakant Vallabhji Gogri sold 48,000 shares from Nov. 20- Dec. 20.

• Sudarshan Chemical to meet Edelweiss Broking on Dec. 24.
• Mahindra Holidays & Resorts to meet Whitestone Financial Advisors and Old Bridge Capital from Dec. 24-31.

The Indian rupee opened lower against the U.S. dollar. The home currency depreciated as much as 0.06 percent to 71.23 against the greenback.

Indian equity benchmarks are set to open higher.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.23 percent to 41,738.98 during the pre-market trade and the NSE Nifty 50 rose 0.37 percent to 12,333.

• Kesoram Industries ex-date for demerger.
• Arrow Textiles, Hindusthan National Glass & Industries, Max Ventures and Industries to move into short term ASM Framework.
• Reliance Home Finance, Pokarna to move out of short term ASM Framework.

• Reliance Industries: The Delhi High Court has sought details of Reliance Industries Ltd.’s assets after the government petitioned to stop a proposed sale of a minority stake in the company’s oil and chemical business to Saudi Arabian Oil Co., Bloomberg reported quoting people familiar with the matter. “The court has also directed Reliance’s partner, Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Indian unit—BG Exploration & Production India—to submit details of assets, the people said, asking not to be identified as the documents aren’t public. The Indian government is fighting arbitration cases over profit sharing and royalty payments with Reliance and its partners,” the report added.
• Hindalco: Muri Refinery in Jharkhand restarted production of Alumina. The company said it may not need to import Alumina. On April 10, the operations of the plant were suspended due to spillage in red mud cake storage area.
• IRCTC signed a memorandum of understanding with Hotel and Restaurant Association of Northern India for listing the association’s member hotels and their room rate inventory for sales on the IRCTC portal. The company has also revised tariff of standard meals on static units over Indian Railways.
• Lemon Tree Hotels: Company has signed a License Agreement for a 55 room upcoming Hotel at Hill Cart Road in Darjeeling under the Company’s brand ‘Lemon Tree Hotel’. This hotel will add to the portfolio of hotels in West Bengal, which include operating hotels in Kolkata and Siliguri. The hotel project, owned by SGB Developers Pvt. Ltd., is in the greenfield stage and is expected to open in September, 2022.
• Chalet Hotels has entered into a Franchise Agreement with Hyatt India Consultancy for Hyatt Regency Navi Mumbai. Company’s upcoming 260 key hotel will be the first Hyatt Regency branded hotel for the company. Project is expected to be completed in 2022.
• Tata Motors received National Company Law Tribunal Hyderabad’s nod for transferring of the Defense Undertaking to its arm Tata Advanced Systems.
• Corporation Bank: Crisil has revised the credit ratings for bonds worth Rs 850 crore from Negative to Rating Watch with Positive Implications.
• Pidilite Industries’ arm to invest Rs 49 crore in Homevista Décor and Furnishings.
• Great Eastern Shipping has delivered its Suezmax Crude Carrier to its buyers. The vessel was contracted for sale in Nov. 19.
• Avantel received orders worth Rs 43 crore from the Indian Space Research Organisation and Ministry of Defense.
• NCLT Mumbai approved the merger of Strides Chemical and Solara Active Pharma Sciences.
• Minda Industries: Board approved entering into Wheel Speed Sensor Business in India and South Korea by purchasing certain machinery and technical know-how from Sensata Technology Group for Rs 45.21 crore.
• NR Agarwal Industries said that it intends to take viability study to set up 500 TPD Duplex Board Unit 6 as part of the expansion plans of the company.
• ITC: John Pulinthanam has resigned from Board of Director. He represented General Insurers' (Public Sector) Association of India.
• Jet Airways to issue fresh invitation of expression of interest for the corporate debtor.
• Tourism Finance Corporation of India: Merlin Holdings increased stake from 8.08 percent to 9.94 percent.
• Jaiprakash Power Ventures allotted Rs 3,805.53 crore worth of convertible compulsory convertible preference shares to Banks and Financial Institutions.
• Sterling Tools entered into a joint venture with China’s Jiangsu Gtake Electric to design, manufacture and supply motor control units in India.
• GE T&D India will sell its undertaking at Allahabad to Shirdi Sai Electricals for Rs 25 crore. The company said this will result in optimizing the utilization level of the transformer manufacturing factories in the company and consolidation of the Company's transformer manufacturing-related operations in India.
• Vodafone Idea, Bharti Infratel: Long stop date for merger completion of Indus Towers with Bharti Infratel ends today. The merger completion is yet to be announced and is yet to receive government’s approval pertaining to FDI enhancement. The long stop date of the merger was extended by 60 days to Dec. 24 from Oct. 24
• NIIT Tech approved buyback of 19.6 lakh shares at Rs 1,725 per share aggregating to Rs 337.5 crore The company will buyback 3.1 percent of the equity using 20.23 percent of the net worth. Promoters will be participating in the buyback.

• U.S. stocks edged to fresh record highs in light trading as investors chased gains that have added more than $5 trillion to valuations this year.
• Oil edged higher in light trading, but the rally was limited on news that Kuwait aimed to reach a deal with Saudi Arabia that will restore crude output along their border, and as U.S. shale drillers boosted drilling.

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Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell 0.1 percent to 12,264 as of 8:44 a.m.

Asian stocks began a Christmas Eve session in muted fashion on Tuesday, with trading diminishing at the end of a year that took a global benchmark to successive record highs.

Equities were little changed in Tokyo and Sydney and dipped in Seoul. Shanghai opened to modest gains after sliding Monday amid a sell-off in tech companies. Hong Kong fluctuated. U.S. futures were flat.

Short on time? Well, then listen to this podcast for a quick summary of All You Need To Know before the opening bell.