Indian benchmark indices are likely to open in red amid weak global cues, hinted SGX Nifty as Nifty futures traded mildly lower at 18449 level. In the previous session, BSE Sensex rallied 468 points to 61,806, while NSE Nifty 50 rose 151 points to 18,420. “In the absence of any major trigger, we expect markets to move sideways with support base buying at lower levels. Capital goods, construction and infra sector should be in focus with improvement in project ordering activity and also interest in the space ahead of upcoming union budget. Also, Oil & Gas and sugar sectors are likely to stay in focus after the positive news flow,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Key things to know before share market opens
Global market watch: Markets in the Asia-Pacific traded mostly lower as the People’s Bank of China kept its key lending rates steady. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.5%, while in mainland China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.26% and Shenzhen Component fell 0.5%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3%, and the Topix gained 0.38%. In South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.36%. Overnight in the US, Wall Street closed lower for a fourth straight session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.49%, the S&P 500 lost 0.90%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.49%.
Nifty technical view: “A long positive candle was formed on the daily chart, which signal a pullback rally in the market after a small downward correction. The negative chart pattern like smaller degree lower tops and bottoms continued as per the daily timeframe chart. The market seems to have shifted towards a pullback rally after a small downward correction and this upside bounce is likely to continue for the next 1-2 sessions. Immediate resistance to be watched around 18500-18550 levels and the next support is placed at 18250 levels,” said Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
Key levels to watch: “For the time being, the trend may continue to be optimistic, but profit taking from higher levels is also anticipated. Coming to the OI Data, on the call side, highest OI witnessed at 18600, followed by 18700 strike price. While on the put side, the highest OI remained at 18300, followed by 18200 strike price. On the other hand, Bank Nifty has support around 42800 levels while resistance is placed at 44100. Long-term investors may find it the right time to stay invested in blue chip companies while short term traders should employ hedge positions,” said Om Mehra, Equity Research Analyst, Choice Broking.
FII and DII data: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net offloaded shares worth Rs 538.10 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased equities worth Rs 687.38 crore on 19 December, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.
Stocks under F&O ban on NSE: The National Stock Exchange has put Balrampur Chini Mills, IRCTC, Punjab National Bank, Indiabulls Housing Finance, BHEL, Delta Corp, and GNFC under its F&O ban list for Tuesday, 20 December. Securities thus banned under the F&O segment include companies where derivative contracts have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit.
IPO Watch: Elin Electronics IPO opens for public subscription today, 20 December, Ahead of the IPO, the electronics manufacturing services provider mopped up Rs 142.5 crore via anchor book. It has finalised allocation of 57.69 lakh shares to anchor investors at the upper price band of Rs 247 per equity share. Total 15 investors invested in the company via anchor book including SBI Mutual Fund, Kotak Mahindra Trustee, SBI Life Insurance, Aditya Birla Sun Life Trustee, Pinebridge Global Funds, and PGIM India.
UBS cuts Nifty target: Citing fast-ebbing household inflows into equities, whittling down foreign inflows, and rising bank deposit rates, foreign brokerage UBS Securities sees a 4% downside to the Nifty target at 18,000 points for the next year from the current levels. The Nifty target for December 2023 is 18,000 points. India remains among its top underweight markets in the emerging market space in 2023, the Swiss brokerage UBS Securities India strategist Sunil Tirumalai said in a report. The brokerage further said it sees the Nifty upside at 19,700 and downside at 15,800 and base case is 18,000, down 4% from the current market.
