Thursday, 20 December 2018

Nifty, Sensex Still on an Uptrend – Thursday closing report-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions


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20 December 2018

I had mentioned in Wednesday’s closing report that Nifty, Sensex were continuing to head higher. The major indices of the Indian stock markets were range-bound on Thursday and closed with minor losses over Wednesday’s close. On the NSE, there were 829 advances, 883 declines and 350 unchanged. The trends of the major indices in the course of Thursday’s trading are given in the table below: The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions


In line with global markets, BSE Sensex and Nifty50 traded lower on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve raised its short-term interest rate. Metal and telecom stocks witnessed selling pressure along with index pivotals finance and banking stocks. Fed's decision to increase the short-term interest rate and its indication for a milder path of future increase weakened the dollar which supported the domestic currency, observed market analysts. 

The Indian rupee gained close to 40 paise after the Fed decision. It traded at Rs70.09 against the US dollar after closing at 70.40 on Wednesday. Analysts said the rupee may soon breach the 70 a dollar mark.

With the failure of conciliation talks, about 10 lakh bankers in private and government banks will go on strike on December 26 protesting against the merger of Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank, the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) said on Thursday. 

India's civil aviation regulator said that it has not found any safety concern with Jet Airways due to the financial strain being faced by the airline. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief B.S. Bhullar, the regulator has been monitoring the airline for the past 4-5 months. The DGCA sought the information under its CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement) which relates to financial surveillance from safety perspective. Bhullar during a press interaction here said the regulator sought broad-based information from Jet Airways on its ability to maintain aircraft and schedule. The senior DGCA official said the information was sought every 15 days. Jet Airways shares closed at Rs252.35, up 2.66% on the BSE. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Automobile major Maruti Suzuki is likely to log a 5% growth in wholesale sales during the upcoming January-March quarter, said the company's Chairman R.C. Bhargava. Bhargava, in a media interaction here said that the first quarter of the calendar year 2019 would reverse the recent subdued trend. 
"The wholesale figures in the first quarter next year will rise again, not to double digits, but to around 5%. It will reverse the trend which you had in the last five-six months of low growth," he said. He noted that likely offloading of stocks in December due to offers and incentives, would result in firm wholesale demand in the March ending quarter. "Good response" for the Ertiga also would pump sales, Bhargava told reporters. The Maruti head further said that the company would launch a new car during the first quarter of 2019, although he did not reveal any further details on it. The company’s shares closed at Rs7,808.95, down 1.35% on the BSE. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Indian IT (information technology) bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) unveiled a new private cloud in Canada to help enterprises move into the digital space. "We are extending our cloud offerings to customers in Canada and reinforcing the key role we play in their digital transformation," said TCS global head for cloud infrastructure Satish Chandra Doreswamy in the statement. TCS shares closed at Rs1,956.35, down 0.55% on the BSE.

US stocks fell after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate for the fourth time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday plunged 351.98 points, or 1.49%, to 23,323.66. The S&P 500 decreased 39.2 points, or 1.54%, to 2,506.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 147.08 points, or 2.17%, to 6,636.83. All but one of the 30 components of the Dow closed lower. 

All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed lower, with consumer discretionary and technology down 2.23% and 1.94%, respectively, leading the laggards. Of the S&P 500 member stocks, 60% ended up in bear market territory on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced its decision to raise short-term interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. "In view of realised and expected labour market conditions and inflation, the (Federal Open Market) Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 per cent," the Fed said in a statement after concluding a two-day policy meeting. It marked the Fed's fourth rate hike this year and the ninth such move since late 2015, as the central bank moves forward on the path of monetary policy normalization.

The top gainers and top losers of the major indices are given in the table below:


The closing values of the major Asian indices are given in the table below: The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
 
Major Indices (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)


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