Sensex Opens 250 Points Higher; Cipla & ONGC Gain 3%

Mon, 14 Dec 09:30 am

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Asian stock markets started a busy week with gains as investors gauged the chance of added US fiscal and monetary stimulus.

The Nikkei is trading higher by 0.6% and the Shanghai Composite is trading up by 0.4%.

US stock markets closed mixed on Friday, as the outlook for additional fiscal stimulus remained uncertain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up by 0.2% while the Nasdaq slipped 0.23%.

Last week, stocks experienced their first down week in several as legislators continued a standoff surrounding a Covid-19 aid package. The Dow posted its first weekly decline in three weeks, losing 0.6% while the Nasdaq dropped 0.7%.

Back home, Indian share markets have opened on a positive note, following the trend on SGX Nifty.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 270 points. The NSE Nifty is trading higher by 78 points.

ONGC and Cipla are among the top gainers today.

Shares of Jubilant Foodworks and Marico hit their 52-week highs today.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index have opened the day up by 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively.

Barring realty stocks, all sectoral indices are trading on a positive note with stocks in the oil & gas sector and metal sector witnessing maximum buying interest.

The rupee is trading at 73.61 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.5% at Rs 49,064 per 10 grams.

To know more about gold, you can check out our detailed article on investing in gold here: How to Invest in Gold?

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, no one would have predicted what transpired in 2020. The markets went from a multi-year low to a new all-time high in a matter of few months.

In his latest video, Co-head of Research at Equitymaster, Rahul Shah, discusses how a crash indicator that predicted two of the biggest crashes previously is flashing a danger sign Line below the Image.

Tune in here to find out more:

In news from the commodity space, crude oil prices rose today, pushing Brent back above US$ 50 a barrel, buoyed by hopes that a rollout of coronavirus vaccines will lift global fuel demand, while an extension of Brexit talks eased jitters on that front for now.

Crude oil prices have rallied for six consecutive weeks, their longest stretch of gains since June.

The United States kicked off its vaccination campaign against Covid-19, buoying hopes that pandemic restrictions could end soon and lift demand at the world's largest oil consumer.

The OPEC+ joint ministerial monitoring committee (JMMC) that monitors compliance among members is scheduled to meet on December 16, while OPEC+ will meet on January 4 to study the market after their last decision to limit production rises to 500,000 barrels per day starting next year.

Note that the coronavirus pandemic, coupled with the collapse of an OPEC-led output pact sent crude oil prices crashing in March.

After the collapse of that output pact led to a brief Saudi Arabia-Russia price war, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies agreed a new deal on record production cuts to support prices.

Speaking of crude oil, in one of his videos, Vijay Bhambwani explains why crude oil prices and natural gas prices are moving in opposite directions.

You can check the same here: Why Are Crude Oil and Natural Gas Prices Moving in Opposite Directions?

In news from the banking sector, eight of India's biggest banks have seen a significant jump in wilful defaults in the six months to September, with such loans rising by over Rs 370 billion to Rs 1.5 trillion, shows data on suit-filed accounts from credit bureau TransUnion Cibil.

These banks - State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Union Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank account for 75% of all loans reported as wilful defaults as of 30 September.

In the same period last year, the increase was about Rs 100 billion.

Reports state that the merger of some state-run banks on 1 April naturally led to the anchor banks taking over wilful defaulters on their books.

But this is not the only space where wilful defaults have risen. SBI, not involved in any of the mergers, saw total wilful defaults rise by around Rs 140 billion in the six months to September to Rs 584.8 billion.

ICICI Bank's wilful defaults fell 0.2%, while HDFC Bank saw a 0.8% rise.

The aggregate increase has largely come from a few public sector banks.

Aiming to curb wilful defaults, the Centre had asked public sector banks in 2019 to examine all accounts exceeding Rs 500 million, if classified as non-performing and check for possible fraud.

We will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space. Stay tuned.

Speaking of the banking sector, note that the sector was one of the worst affected sectors in the Indian stock market when Covid-19 struck.

Banking stocks were severely punished. No investor wanted to touch them even with a 10-ft pole.

However, sentiment have changed now as investors are chasing banking stocks like never before.

Have a look at the monthly returns of major sectors for the month of March and October 2020 in the chart below:

Banks were among major losers with a cut of 34% in the month of March. Cut to October, they are the biggest gainers for the month with more than 11% returns!

If you're interested in knowing what could be the reason behind such a change in sentiment, you can read about it in one of the editions of Profit Hunter: Banks are booming in a Covid World.

Moving on, Tata group stocks and Adani group stocks are in focus today.

As the deadline for bidding for Air India ends today, reports have suggested that leading corporate houses Tata, Adani and Hinduja may be interested.

The final date for submission of bids for Air India strategic sale will end today and the government has not extended the deadline.

However, the government has extended the intimation date for bidders for Air India to January 5, from the earlier date of December 29. This is the date for announcing the shortlisted bidders. The physical bids need to be in by December 29.

Note that for the past two years, the government has been trying to divest its stake in Air India. It wants to divest 100% stake in Air India and budget carrier AI Express, and sell its 50% share in Air India SATS Airport Services, a joint venture with Singapore-based ground handling firm SATS.

Reports suggest that the Tata Group, Adani and Hinduja including several others are evaluating bids for Air India. However, none of these have officially said so.

How the above developments pan out remains to be seen.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

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