Stock Market Updates Today: US Fed Keeps Rates Unchanged; Biocon, IRCTC in focus

Stock Market Today: BSE Sensex rose 34 points to 69,585 on December 14. Nifty50 gained 20 points to 20,926. It formed a Doji candlestick pattern on the daily charts, indicating indecisiveness among buyers and sellers about the future market trends.

US Fed keeps interest rates unchanged

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. US central bank chief Jerome Powell said the historic tightening of monetary policy is likely over as inflation falls faster than expected and with a discussion of cuts in borrowing costs coming “into view.”

“People are not writing down rate hikes” in their latest economic projections, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference following the end of the central bank’s final policy meeting of the year.

Officials decided unanimously to leave the target range for their benchmark federal funds rate at 5.25% to 5.5%. It was the highest since 2001. Policymakers penciled in no further interest-rate hikes in their projections for the first time since March 2021.

Key support and resistance levels on the Nifty

The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty is likely to see immediate resistance at 20,951 followed by 20,993 and 21,062. On the lower side, it can take support at 20,813 followed by 20,770 and 20,701 levels.

Stocks to Buy for Upto 14% Upside

Key support and resistance levels on the Bank Nifty

As per the pivot point calculator, the index is expected to see resistance at 47,181 followed by 47,255 and 47,375. On the lower side, it may take support at 46,940 followed by 46,866 and 46,745.

Dow Jones hits record closing high, Treasury yields sink on dovish Fed

US stocks surged to a sharply higher close on Wednesday. Benchmark Treasury yields slipped to their lowest level since August. The Federal Reserve flagged the end of its tightening cycle and struck a dovish tone for the year ahead.

All three major US stock indexes jumped to fresh closing highs for the year after the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) left its fed funds target rate unchanged at 5.25-5.50 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 512.3 points, or 1.4%, to 37,090.24. The S&P 500 gained 63.39 points, or 1.37%, at 4,707.09. The Nasdaq Composite added 200.57 points, or 1.38%, at 14,733.96.

Stocks on the radar

• Biocon: The biopharmaceutical company said its associate firm Bicara Therapeutics Inc has completed its $165 million Series C financing. After this capital infusion and post-allotment of shares by Bicara, Biocon’s shareholding in Bicara will fall below 20 percent. As a result, Bicara will cease to be an associate company of Biocon.
  
  
• Sandhar Technologies: The automotive components manufacturer has entered into an agreement to disburse the loan of 5,00,000 euro to its subsidiary Sandhar Technologies Barcelona S L (STB), at an interest rate of 10 percent per annum.
  
  
• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation: The hospitality and tourism subsidiary of Indian Railways is on the road to proliferate in the areas of business beyond railways to promote its brand and business across the nation.
  
  
• NBCC (India): The state-owned construction company has received an order worth Rs 1,500 crore for the construction of 1,469 warehouses and other agri-infrastructure under the world’s largest grain storage plan in the co-operative sector at various locations in India, from the National Cooperative Development Corporation.
  
  
• GMM Pfaudler: The Patel Family, through Millars Machinery Company, has completed the acquisition of a 1 percent equity stake in GMM Pfaudler from Pfaudler Inc. It was through an off-market inter-se transfer between promoters at Rs 1,700 per share. The Patel Family’s shareholding now stands at 25.18 percent and they remain the largest shareholder of the company.

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 4,710.86 crore. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold Rs 958.49 crore worth of stocks on December 13.

Stock under F&O ban on NSE

The NSE has retained Balrampur Chini Mills, Delta Corp, Hindustan Copper, Indiabulls Housing Finance, India Cements, National Aluminium Company, and Zee Entertainment Enterprises to its F&O ban list for December 14. SAIL was removed from the said list.

Oil rises on Middle East worries

Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session following a bigger-than-expected weekly withdrawal from US crude storage and signaling from the US Federal Reserve that it would start lowering borrowing costs in 2024.

Brent futures rose 46 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $74.72 a barrel by 0007 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 48 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $69.95.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog post is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment or trading advice. The author is not a financial advisor and does not have any professional qualifications in this area. The author does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. Any action you take based on the information in this blog post is done at your own risk. Please consult with a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.