10 things to know before you make your opening trade on December 16

For the second straight session, the Indian market concluded Tuesday’s sessions on a negative note, as Sensex fell by 166 points, Nifty50 settled below 17350-mark, dragged by FMCG and financials.   

Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said, “Nifty open gap down and showed a very sideways move throughout day with given close at 17325 with minimal & formed a Doji sort of candle pattern on daily chart represents indecision in the markets.”  

“The overall range for nifty is coming at 17500 on the higher side & 17000 on the lower side right now nifty is trading in between so one can expect a sideways moment in coming sessions and final direction will be clear once we see either side breakout from mentioned range, immediate support is coming near 17250-17200 zone & resistance is coming near 17400-17500 zone.” Singre added  

Stay tuned to Zeebiz.com to find out what could impact your trade today. We have collated a list of top 10 news points which could impact markets, companies, or economy:    

See Zee Business Live TV Streaming Below:

Global Markets:  

The US stock markets closed higher welcoming Fed decision. Dow Jones gained 383 points or 1.08% to 35,927, Nasdaq Composite rose by 328 points or 2.15% to 15,566 and S&P 500 also  surged by 1.63% or 76 points to 4710 after Federal approved plans to more quickly wind down pandemic stimulus efforts. 

Asian Markets:  

Asian markets were seen trading mixed on Thursday morning. Japanese Nikkei 225 was trading higher by 1.74%, while Hang Seng Index at the Hong Kong Exchange was trading 0.52% lower and Shanghai Composite was also trading 8 points higher in the early trade today.  

SGX Nifty:  

SGX Nifty rose 87.50 points to 17,339 at 7.15 am, hinting at a positive opening for the Indian markets.   

Fed signals three rate hikes on the cards in 2022 to tackle inflation  

The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it would end its pandemic-era bond purchases in March and pave the way for three quarter-percentage-point interest rate hikes by the end of 2022 as the economy nears full employment and the U.S. central bank copes with a surge of inflation.  

"The economy no longer needs increasing amounts of policy support," Reuters reported Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying his in a news conference in which he contrasted the near-depression conditions at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 with today's environment of rising prices and wages and rapid improvement in the job market.  

The pace of inflation is uncomfortably high, he said after the end of the Fed's latest two-day policy meeting, and "in my view, we are making rapid progress toward maximum employment," a combination of circumstances that has now convinced all Fed officials, even the most dovish, that it is time to exit more fully the pandemic policies put in place two years ago.  

The scenario laid out by the central bank in its new policy statement and economic projections envisions the pandemic, despite the spread of the Omicron variant, giving way to a particularly benign set of economic conditions - a "soft landing" in which inflation eases largely on its own, interest rates increase comparatively slowly, and the unemployment rate is pinned to a low 3.5% level for three years.  

Oil edges up towards $75 as Omicron concerns dominate  

Oil prices edged higher towards $75 a barrel on Tuesday after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that the new Omicron coronavirus variant was set to dent the global demand recovery.  

Brent crude oil futures rose 27 cents, or 0.36%, to $74.66 a barrel by 1231 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 23 cents, or 0.32%, to $71.52.  

"The surge in new COVID-19 cases is expected to temporarily slow, but not upend, the recovery in oil demand that is underway," the Paris-based IEA said in its monthly oil report.[IEA/S]  

Governments around the world, including most recently Britain and Norway, have tightened restrictions to stop the spread of the Omicron variant.  

NSE Indices launches Nifty India Digital Index  

Leading stock exchange NSE's subsidiary, NSE Indices Limited, on Tuesday launched a digital index that will track the performance of companies exposed to the digital theme.  

The Nifty India Digital Index aims to track the performance of a portfolio of stocks that broadly represent the digital theme within basic industries like software, e-commerce, IT-enabled services, industrial electronics, and telecom services companies, according to a statement.  

The largest 30 stocks from eligible basic industries are chosen based on their 6-month average free-float market capitalisation as on the cutoff dates at the end of January and July.  

Rupee drops by 10 paise to close at 75.88   

The rupee on Tuesday declined by 10 paise to close at an 18-month low level of 75.88 against the US dollar due to persistent foreign fund outflows and concerns over inflation.  

Muted domestic equities and the dollar demand from corporates also weighed on the local unit, analysts said.  

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 75.94 against the greenback. During the day, the local unit witnessed an intra-day low of 75.95 and a high of 75.83 against the US dollar. The rupee closed at 75.88 against the dollar, a level not seen since June 22, 2020.  

RBI brings NBFCs on par with banks in new PCA framework  

To further strengthen the supervision on non-banking entities (NBFCs), the Reserve Bank on Tuesday issued revised guidelines on a Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework for such companies, excluding government-owned ones, effective from October 1, 2022, on the lines of what it had introduced for banks in 2002.  

The RBI came up with stricter supervisory norms under the PCA framework for banks after their bad loans mounted and balance-sheets bled badly. This involved restricting them from fresh lending, brand opening and, hiring, among others.  

The RBI said the revised PCA framework is also applicable to all deposit-taking non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), all non-deposit taking NBFCs in the middle, upper and top layers, including investment and credit companies, core investment companies, infrastructure debt funds, infrastructure finance companies and microfinance institutions. 

Metro Brands IPO subscribed 3.64 times on last day of subscription 

The initial public offer of footwear retailer Metro Brands Limited was subscribed 3.64 times on the last day of subscription on Tuesday. The Rs 1,367.5-crore IPO received bids for 6,96,12,480 shares against 1,91,45,070 shares on offer, according to NSE data. 

The category for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) garnered 8.49 times subscription, while those for non-institutional investors 3.02 times and Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) 1.13 times. 

The company, which is backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, on Thursday raised over Rs 410 crore from anchor investors. 

Govt invites global bids for strategic divestment of PDIL, HLL Lifecare  

The finance ministry on Tuesday invited global bids for strategic sale of Projects & Development India Limited (PDIL) and HLL Lifecare Limited (HLL) as part of the disinvestment process. The last date for submission for bids is January 31 for both the state-owned entities.  

"GoI invites Expression of Interest (EoI) for Strategic Disinvestment/Privatisation of Projects & Development India Limited (PDIL). Last date for receiving EoIs:31.01.2022," DIPAM said tweet.  

PDIL is a Miniratna Category-1 public sector undertaking under the administrative control of Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Government of India.  

FII & DII Data:  

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net sellers for Rs 763.18 crore in the Indian markets while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 425.43 crore, provisional data showed on the NSE.  

Stocks under F&O ban on NSE    

Three stocks: Indiabulls Housing Finance, Escorts, Idea are placed under the F&O ban on Wednesday. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.  

(With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies)  

(Disclaimer: The views/suggestions/advices expressed here in this article is solely by investment experts. Zee Business suggests its readers to consult with their investment advisers before making any financial decision.)