Market Ahead, December 9: Top factors that could guide markets today

Asian markets rose on Wednesday as investors tracked positive news on Covid-19 vaccines and ongoing efforts to launch more fiscal stimulus.

Australian ASX 200 was up 0.7 per cent in early trading, while Japan’s Nikkei rose over 1 per cent. Hong Kong’s main index also gained 0.8 per cent.

On Wall Street, stocks notched new record levels overnight at the S&P and Nasdaq, boosted by gains in the healthcare sector on the back of positive vaccine news and seeming progress on US stimulus talks. The Dow rose 0.35 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 0.28 per cent and the Nasdaq added 0.5 per cent.

On the back of such strong gains in global indices, the SGX Nifty was also trading 36 points up at 13,458 levels, at 7:30 am, indicating a positive start for the Indian markets.

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings has lowered its projections for India's GDP contraction to 9.4 per cent in the current financial year from 10.5 per cent forecast earlier owing to a sharper-than-expected rebound in the economy. However, the agency has warned against weak investment demand with Covid-19 affecting the economy and asset quality in the financial sector deteriorating and holding back credit growth.

Besides, financials and bank stocks will once again be in focus as the the Supreme Court will continue its hearing in the interest waiver case today. Yesterday, the government told the apex court that interest waiver on all loans during the six-month loan moratorium period will cost over Rs 6 trillion which may render most banks unviable.

Apart from these, market participants will track newsflow on the Covid and vaccine front. An expert panel is set to today review the applications of Bharat Biotech, Pfier-BioNTech and Serum Institute of India seking emergency use authorisation for their vaccines. India's Covid-19 case tally has increased to 97.35 lakh while death toll has mounted to 1.4 lakh, according to Worldometer.

The Union government on December 8 issued another notification regarding changes in the Foreign Exchange Management Act permitting FDI in defence production up to 74 per cent under the automatic route. As such, defence-related shares like Hindustan Aeronautics, Walchandnagar Industries, and Astra Microwave Products are set to trade actively today.

And, finally, let's look at some stock specific developments for the day.

ICICI Bank will offload 2.21 per cent stake in ICICI Securities through the offer for sale route today and tomorrow in order to comply with the minimum public shareholding norms. The floor price for the OFS has been fixed at Rs 440 per share. If fully subscribed, ICICI Bank will be able to raise at least Rs 313 crore.

S&P has revised Tata Steel's outlook to 'stable' from 'negative' and affirmed 'B+' rating.