MARKET AT DAY`S LOW; NIFTY DROPS BELOW 23,750

The key equity indices extended losses and hit a fresh day�s low in the afternoon trade. The Nifty slipped below the 23,750 level after hitting the day`s high of 24,065.80 in morning trade. All the sectoral indices on the NSE traded in red, with IT, realty and PSU bank shares declining the most.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 719.24 points or 0.91% to 78,498.81. The Nifty 50 index lost 202.35 points or 0.84% to 23,749.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.54% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.35%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,893 shares rose and 1,908 shares fell. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.

Gainers & Losers:

Dr. Reddy�s Laboratories (up 2.23%), Hindalco Industries (up 0.68%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (up 0.59%), Asian Paints (up 0.35%) and SBI Life Insurance Company (up 0.29%) were major Nifty gainers.

Tech Mahindra (down 2.77%), TCS (down 2.52%), Axis Bank (down 2.43%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.28%) and IndusInd Bank (down 2.25%) were the major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Dhanlaxmi Bank rallied 5.63% after the company�s board approved a right issue of equity shares worth Rs 297.54 crore and fixed the price at Rs 21 per share. The issue will open on 8 January 2024 and close on 28 January 2024.

GE Vernova T&D advanced 1.04% after the company received an order worth Rs 400 crore from Sterlite Grid 32 for the supply and supervision of HV equipment for the TBCB project.

KPI Green Energy was locked in 5% upper circuit after the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Rajasthan for the development of hybrid solar and wind power projects in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

BASF India surged 4.41% after the company�s board gave in-principle approval for the demerger of the company�s agricultural solutions business into a separate listed entity. The agricultural solutions business generated sales of Rs 2,006.46 crore, representing 14.57% of the total revenues of the company in FY24.

Global Market:

The Dow Jones index futures were down 78 points, signaling a negative opening for U.S. stocks today.

European shares declined on Friday as investors monitor political turmoil in the U.S. and monetary policy decisions from various major economies.

Asian stocks traded mixed on Friday as the People�s Bank of China held its loan prime rates steady on Friday, leaving the one-year rate unchanged at 3.1% and the five-year rate at 3.6%.

Investors awaited the release of the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index, a key inflation gauge, for further insights into the Federal Reserve`s monetary policy stance.

Meanwhile, Japan`s consumer price index (CPI) rose slightly more than expected in November. Core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food items, increased to 2.7% year-on-year, exceeding the previous month`s 2.3%.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) held interest rates steady on Thursday, its final meeting of the year, and provided limited clues on future rate hikes. However, the central bank projected a gradual increase in inflation over the next year.

In Europe, the Bank of England also kept its policy rate unchanged at 4.75% on Thursday.

U.S. stock indices closed mixed on Thursday after a sharp decline the previous day. Investors remained cautious about the Fed`s hawkish stance and the potential impact on the economy. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.04% higher.

The U.S. House of Representatives rejected a Republican-backed funding bill on Thursday, increasing the risk of a government shutdown as the current funding deadline approaches midnight on Friday.

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