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Indian benchmark equity indices, BSE Sensex and Nifty 50, opened lower on Friday, following a negative close on Wall Street overnight.
Stock Market Updates
Sensex Today: On December 13, the Sensex and Nifty began the day on a weak note, driven lower by losses in metal stocks, which were hit by a stronger U.S. dollar and uncertainty surrounding China’s stimulus plans. All 13 major sectors were in the red, with the metal index dropping more than 2%, reflecting concerns over policy measures from China, a key consumer of metals.
By 9:50 AM, the Sensex had fallen 568 points, or 0.7%, to 80,721, while the Nifty dropped 166 points, or 0.7%, to 24,382. Market breadth was weak, with 925 stocks advancing, 2,143 declining, and 95 remaining unchanged.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, noted that the strengthening dollar could lead to imported inflation, which is a concern for the markets. He also pointed out renewed selling by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), who offloaded Indian equities worth Rs 4,572 crore over December 11 and 12. “With high valuations in India, FIIs are likely to sell more at every market rise. The dollar’s appreciation post-US elections has made selling profitable for FIIs,” he said.
In a positive development, India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation eased to 5.48% in November, down from 6.21% in October, as reported by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Food and beverage inflation softened to 8.2% from 9.69%, mainly due to a cooling in vegetable prices, which dropped to 29.33% from 42.18%.
However, Gaurang Shah, Senior Vice President at Geojit Financial Services, believes these CPI numbers will have little impact on the market, which is currently in a consolidation phase. He anticipates the Nifty to range between 24,200–24,400 on the downside and 24,600–24,750 on the upside. “Stock-specific and sector-specific movements will continue, as seen in the past week,” Shah said. He added that while the Nifty’s recovery from 23,300 is notable, consolidation is likely through the end of the year. If the Nifty manages to close above 24,750–24,800, a rally toward 25,000 could unfold, but it may take time.
The Nifty Metal index was the worst performer, down 2.4%, with steelmakers like JSW Steel, Tata Steel, NMDC, and SAIL losing 3-5%. JSW Steel, Tata Steel, and Hindalco were among the top laggards on the Nifty 50 index.
Global Cues:
Markets across the Asia-Pacific region were lower, with Chinese stocks leading the declines.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 1.39%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.94%, and the Shanghai Composite declined by 1.11%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.16%, while the broader Topix index was down by 1.12%.
South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.1%, though the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.8%. And, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.69%.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 234.44 points, or 0.53%, to 43,914.12, while the S&P 500 lost 32.94 points, or 0.54%, to 6,051.25. The Nasdaq Composite fell by 132.05 points, or 0.66%, to 19,902.84.
While mega-cap and growth stocks showed mixed results, Nvidia dropped by 1.4%, whereas Microsoft gained 0.1%.
European stocks also closed lower on Thursday after the European Central Bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points as anticipated, signaling potential further easing to support a sluggish economy amid rising political uncertainties. The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended the volatile session down by 0.1%, although eurozone bank stocks, which are sensitive to interest rates, rose 0.3%.