Indian stock markets are likely to open flat as most of the Asian shares traded with minimal upside in the early morning session today. The early indicator of NSE Nifty, SGX Nifty Futures was trading little changed, down 0.19% at 10,326.5. Shares of Simbhaoli Sugars, Talwalkars Better Value Fitness, Gujarat Apollo, Axiscades Engineering Technologies, Chartered Logistics, Deccan Gold Mines, Goldstone Infra, Lincoln Pharma, Nitesh Estates and Poddar Housing will be in watch ahead of their Q2 earnings.

These stocks will be in focus today

Punjab National Bank: Public lender Punjab National Bank has initiated the process of raising up to Rs 5,000 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP).

Asian Paints: Asian Paints has purchased the remaining 49 per cent stake in kitchen solution provider Sleek International Pvt Ltd for Rs 50 crore.

Deepak Nitrite: Deepak Nitrite said its board has approved raising up to Rs 150 crore through sale of shares to institutional investors.

Unitech: Shares of Unitech Ltd have surged more than 30% in a 2-day period after the government was allowed to take control of the company. Earlier last week on Friday, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) allowed the corporate affairs ministry to appoint 10 nominee directors for Unitech, who would be subject to tribunal nod, saying that the existing directors will not be allowed to sell a company or personal asset. Following the development, the stock of Unitech spiked as much as 19.67% to Rs 7.3 on Friday. Yesterday also, in the early morning trade, shares went up 19.17% to Rs 8.7 before closing 9.59% higher at Rs 8. With a 2-day uptick in the share prices, the stock has appreciated 31.14% until Monday’s closing.

Indian Rupee on Monday

The Indian rupee appreciated for the second consecutive day and gained over 8 paise against the US dollar on Monday. The domestic currency opened unchanged yesterday, very quickly edged higher and extended the gains to hit a day’s high of 64.34. The rupee rose 8 paise to close at 64.37 apiece US dollar at the interbank foreign exchange market on Monday. The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate of the rupee at 64.3616 against the US dollar on Monday.

Indian markets on Monday

Indian stock markets continue to rally for the third consecutive day and ended higher inching towards record highs on Monday ahead of the second phase of Gujarat state elections due later on 14 December. BSE Sensex gained 205.49 points or 0.62% and NSE Nifty added 56.6 points or 0.55% to settle at 10,322.25. A sharp uptick in the shares of Tata Consultancy Services, ITC, HDFC, and State Bank of India contributed heavily to the upsurge of key equity indices Sensex and Nifty. During the day, benchmark Sensex rose as much as 285.67 points to hit the day’s high at 33,535.97 whereas broader Nifty 50 index jumped 63.55 points to mark the day’s high at 10,329.2.

US markets on Monday

Wall Street indexes closed higher on Monday and the biggest drivers were technology and energy sectors as oil prices rose and investors waited for an expected US Federal Reserve rate hike later in the week, Reuters said in a report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 56.87 points, or 0.23 percent, to 24,386.03, the S&P 500 gained 8.49 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,659.99 and the Nasdaq Composite added 35.00 points, or 0.51 percent, to 6,875.08.