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WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW
The Indian markets made a smart recovery to end with a percent gain in the week ended December 27 amid DII support, ignoring mixed global markets and extended FII selling.
This week, BSE Sensex added 657.48 points or 0.84 percent to end at 78,699.07, while the Nifty50 index rose 225.9 points or 0.95 percent to end at 23,813.40.
Among sectors, Nifty Auto and Pharma indices rose more than 2 percent each, the Nifty FMCG index added 1.5 percent, while Nifty Bank and Realty gained 1 percent each. On the other hand, the Nifty Media index shed nearly 2 percent and the Nifty Metal index declined 1 percent.
The BSE Large-cap Index added 0.7 percent while the BSE Mid-cap Index was up 0.2 percent and the BSE Small-cap index ended flat for the week.
Reliance Industries added most of its market value, followed by HDFC Bank, ITC, Mahindra, and Mahindra. On the other hand, the State Bank of India, Zomato, and Power Grid Corporation of India lost most of their market cap.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) extended their selling during the week, as they sold equities worth Rs 6,322.88 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DII)provided support to the Indian market as they bought equities worth Rs 10,927.73 crore.
The Indian rupee depreciated sharply and recorded a fresh record low of 85.81 on Friday, which was the worst single-day fall for Rupee since June 4.
ECONOMY
The urban-rural gap was reduced in 21 of 36 states and union territories in 2023-24
Consumption spending rose faster in rural parts of Odisha and urban areas of Punjab among the larger states in 2023-24 as compared to the previous year.
On the other hand, larger states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu witnessed a slower pace of spending than the national average. Maharashtra witnessed the slowest rise in consumption.
India’s forex reserves drop to over seven-month low
India’s foreign exchange reserves fell for a third consecutive week and stood at a more-than-seven-month low of $644.39 billion as of Dec. 20, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday.
The reserves declined by $8.5 billion in the reporting week, logging their biggest weekly fall in over a month. They had declined by a total of $5.2 billion in the prior two weeks.
STOCKS IN NEWS
VA Tech Wabag: Shares of VA Tech Wabag are higher by more than 4% after the company announced an order in Zambia for a wastewater treatment project worth 78 million euros, or around Rs 700 crore. The order marks VA Tech’s entry into Zambia. As part of the order, VA Tech will execute the EPC of two wastewater treatment plants in Zambia over 36 months.
Star Cement: Star Cement shares rose 7 percent after UltraTech Cement announced the acquisition of an 8.69 percent stake in the company for Rs 851 crore. The deal involves the purchase of up to 3.7 crore equity shares at a price not exceeding Rs 235 per share, excluding taxes and other levies.
IndusInd Bank: Private lender IndusInd Bank’s share price rose over 3 percent to become the top gainer on the Nifty after the bank decided to offload its non-performing microfinance loan pool of 10.6 lakh retail loan accounts amounting to Rs 1,573 crore as the MFI sector continues to see stress.
Cochin Shipyard: Shares of Cochin Shipyard hit a 5% upper circuit on December 27 as Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) announced the procurement of eight state-of-the-art harbor tugs, all to be constructed by Cochin Shipyard. With a total contract value estimated at Rs 450 crore, these tugs are expected to begin delivery in December 2026 and continue until May 2028.
NMDC: Shares of India’s largest iron ore producer NMDC started trading on an ex-bonus basis as the company had set December 27 as the record date for determining the shareholder eligibility for their 2:1 bonus issue. Shares tumbled over 3 percent in trade, with most losses coming towards the latter half of the session.