Market Ahead, December 18: All you need to know before the Opening Bell

Investors will today await the outcome of the GST council meet while continuing to track global markets and stock-specific action for market direction.

The GST Council is expected to take up the issue of fake invoices and fraudulent input tax credit refunds. In the backdrop of a severe revenue shortfall, the Council would examine several enforcement measures such as blocking input tax credit, imposing penalties and even arrest in the case of fake invoices.

In another crucial event, the NCLAT will today pronounce its judgement over the petition moved by former Tata group Chairman Cyrus P Mistry and the two investment firms challenging his removal from the group.

In today's session, telecom stocks may be in focus after Trai's ruling yesterday that telecom operators will continue to pay 6 paise per minute for every outgoing call made to their competitors’ network till December 31, 2020. These charges were proposed to become zero from January 1, 2021.

These apart, the rupee's movement against the US dollar, foreign fund flow, and the oil price movement will also impact investor sentiment.

In the primary market, the IPO of Prince Pipes and Fittings is slated to open for public subscription today and close on December 20. The price band has been fixed at Rs 177-178 per share, through which it is expecting to raise Rs 500 crore.

In the US, Wall Street’s major indexes closed with marginal gains on Tuesday as strong housing and manufacturing data bolstered investors’ confidence in the US economy.

Asian stocks took a breather at 18-month peaks on Wednesday. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was dead flat in thin early trade. Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.1 per cent, while Korean shares edged up 0.1 per cent to an eight-month peak. The SGX Nifty indicated a positive start for the Sensex and Nifty.

Yesterday, the Indian markets scaled new peaks. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex settled near record high levels at 41,352.17-mark, up 413.45 points.  On the NSE, the Nifty50 index closed at 12,165-mark, up 111 points.

Going forward, Nifty is now placed above all important moving average parameters and the earlier resistance of 12,000 will now interchange its role as a support. Hence, traders should accumulate long positions in the Nifty with the stop loss of 12,000 levels with the target of 12,400

In the end, here's a trading idea by HDFC Securities which recommends buying Bajaj Finserv at Rs 9,362 for the target of Rs. 9,950 with stop-loss at Rs 9,050.