Stock Market LIVE Updates, Wednesday, December 18, 2024: Benchmark Indian equity indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 were trading lower on Wednesday, amid weak global cues.
At 12 PM, the BSE Sensex was 362.09 points, or 0.45 per cent lower, at 80,322.36, and the Nifty 50 was at 24,235.55, down 100.45 points, or 0.41 per cent.
Following a lower start, 18 out of the 30 stocks on the BSE Sensex were trading lower, with lossed led by Tata Motors (down 2.07 per cent), followed by Power Grid Corp., Larsen & Toubro, Maruti Suzuki India, and Adani Ports & SEZ. On the flip side, gains were capped by Sun Pharma (higher by 1.32 per cent), followed by Tech Mahindra, HCLTech, ITC, and Titan Company.
On the Nifty 50, 22 out of the 50 stocks were trading higher, with gains led by Tech Mahindra (up 0.82 per cent), followed by Nestle India, Apollo Hospital Enterprises, Reliance Industries, and HDFC Bank, while losses were capped by Power Grid Corp. (down 1.33 per cent), followed by BPCL, JSW Steel, Trent, and IndusInd Bank.
Across sectoral indices, the Pharma index was the top sectoral gainer, climbing 0.64 per cent. Accompanying it in gains were the Healthcare, FMCG and IT indices, while the Media index was the top sectoral drag, falling 1.12 per cent, followed by PSU Bank, Auto, Realty, Oil, Nifty Bank and Financial Services.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap 100 index was lower by 0.49 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 was behind by 0.38 per cent. India's risk gauge, the India VIX index was higher by 3.15 per cent.
With foreign institutional investors turning risk averse ahead of the crucial policy rate announcement and commentary about future rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve later on wednesday, and selling Indian equities in favour of US stocks, markets in India are likely to continue to trade under pressure in the absence of any major domestic triggers.
READ MORE Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) net sold Indian equities worth Rs 6,409.86 crore on December 17. Primary markets in India, however, are poised for an action-filled day, with shares of three mainline firms, including One Mobikwik Systems, Vishal Mega Mart, and Sai Life Sciences, along with Supreme Facility Management and Purple United Sales in the SME segment, scheduled to list on the bourses today.
Apart from that, Interational Gemmological Institute IPO will see its allotment today, while in the SME segment, NACDAC Infrastructure IPO will enter its second day of subscription today, and Identical Brains Studios, will open for subscription.
Shares of One Mobikwik Systems made a stellar debut on D-Street on Wednesday, December 18. Mobikwik shares listed at Rs 442.25 apiece on the BSE, reflecting a premium of 58.51 per cent over the IPO allotment price of Rs 279.
READ MORE Shares of Vishal Mega Mart also made a positive start in an otherwise weak market. The company's shares listed at Rs 110 apiece on the BSE, translating into a premium of 41 per cent over the issue price of Rs 78.
READ MORE Lastly, shares of Sai Life Sciences made a positive debut on Dalal Street on Wednesday, December 18. The company's stock listed at Rs 660 apiece, reflecting a premium of Rs 111 or 20.2 per cent against the issue price of Rs 549.
READ MORE On Tuesday, benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 witnessed a sharp sell-off, settling lower by over 1 per cent each, weighed down by selling across counters. The 30-share Sensex tumbled 1,064.12 points, or 1.30 per cent, to end at 80,684.45, while the Nifty 50 closed down by 332.25 points, or 1.35 per cent, to settle at 24,336.
Broader markets also mirrored the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 indices ending lower by 0.57 per cent and 0.68 per cent, respectively.
The fear index, India VIX, which gauges volatility in markets, ended higher by 3.31 per cent at 14.49 points. All the sectoral indices also ended in the red, barring Nifty Media, which ended higher by merely 0.02 per cent. Among others, all the banking indices on the NSE, along with Auto, Financial Services, Consumer Durables, and OMCs, ended down by 1 per cent each.
Meanwhile, markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mostly higher, with only Japan's Nikkei trading with some losses on Wednesday. Investors in Asia assessed trade data out of Japan ahead of a Bank of Japan rate decision this week.
The country’s exports grew 3.8 per cent in November year-on-year, beating expectations of a 2.8 per cent increase by economists polled by Reuters. Meanwhile, imports fell by 3.8 per cent, coming in far below expectations of a 1 per cent expansion.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 0.28 per cent, while the broad-based Topix was up 0.24 per cent.
South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.92 per cent, while the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.15 per cent lower. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was trading higher by 0.22 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was ahead by 0.95 per cent, while the CSI 300 was higher by 0.13 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite had climbed 0.56 per cent.
US stocks, however, closed lower on Tuesday and crude prices fell as investors parsed economic data and girded themselves for a series of central bank decisions, including an expected rate cut from the Federal Reserve.
Bitcoin forged new record highs and benchmark US Treasury yields steadied ahead of what is expected to be a "hawkish cut" from the US central bank.
The blue-chip Dow ended in negative territory for the ninth consecutive session, marking its longest losing streak since 1978.
Aside from the Fed, central banks Japan, Britain, Sweden and Norway, are all slated to meet this week. The BOJ, the Bank of England and Norges Bank are expected to stand pat, while the Riksbank is seen cutting rates.
Members of the Federal Open Market Committee convened on Tuesday for their two-day monetary policy meeting, which is widely seen culminating on Wednesday with a 25 basis-point cut to the key Fed funds target rate.
Markets will scrutinize the accompanying Summary of Economic Projections, which is expected to temper Fed policy expectations for the coming year in light of sticky inflation and robust economic data.
A better-than-expected retail sales report underscored US economic strength, which contrasted with weak retail sales from China, which raised the specter of softening global demand.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 266.93 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 43,450.55, the S&P 500 fell 23.45 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 6,050.63 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 64.83 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 20,109.06.
European stocks fell to two-week lows, weighed down by energy and healthcare stocks ahead of central bank decisions and as downbeat data from China stoked demand concerns.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 3.86 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 863.98.
The STOXX 600 index fell 0.42 per cent, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 7.75 points, or 0.38 per cent.
Emerging market stocks fell 9.32 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 1,093.89. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed lower by 0.63 per cent, to 579.66, while Japan's Nikkei fell 92.81 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 39,364.68.
Yields on 10-year Treasuries backed away from three-week highs ahead of the Fed's rate decision and economic projections.
The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes fell 0.4 basis points to 4.395 per cent, from 4.399 per cent late on Monday. The 30-year bond yield fell 2.6 basis points to 4.5837 per cent from 4.61 per cent late on Monday.
The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, fell 0.6 basis points to 4.245 per cent, from 4.249 per cent late on Monday.
The dollar inched higher against a basket of world currencies as better-than-expected retail sales data suggested economic momentum as investors digested the likelihood that the Fed would slow its easing to a more gradual pace in the coming year.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.18 per cent to 106.98, with the euro down 0.22 per cent at $1.0487.
Bitcoin touched yet another record high, as cryptocurrencies continue to coast on the prospect of a strategic bitcoin reserve proposed by US President-elect Donald Trump. Bitcoin gained 0.52 per cent to $106,635.28. Ethereum declined 2.83 per cent to $3,933.80.
Oil prices slid amid renewed demand worries in the wake of economic data from Germany and China. US crude fell 0.89 per cent to $70.08 per barrel, while Brent slid to $73.19 per barrel, down 0.97 per cent on the day.
Gold pulled back under pressure from a strong dollar as investors lowered their expectations for the pace and extent of interest rate cuts in the coming year. Spot gold fell 0.32 per cent to $2,643.84 an ounce. US gold futures fell 0.48 per cent to $2,638.80 an ounce.
(With inputs from Reuters.)
 "Stock Market LIVE: Financials, Metal, Cons Dur drag Sensex 400 pts lower to 80,300; Nifty at 24,250")
