The NSE Nifty 50 gained 0.16% to settle at 21,453.10, while the BSE Sensex jumped 0.17% to 71,437.19.

“Indian Rupee depreciated on Tuesday on positive tone in the US Dollar and Dollar demand by OMCs and importers. However, positive tone in domestic markets and decline in crude oil prices cushioned the downside. US Dollar gained as Fed officials downplayed imminent rate cut expectations. We expect Rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on positive tone in US Dollar and demand for Dollar by importers. RBI may also buy Dollars to shore up its reserves. However, positive domestic markets and FII inflows may support Rupee at lower levels. Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy unchanged, which supported US Dollar. Traders may remain cautious ahead Housing starts and Building permits data from US. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 82.90 to Rs 83.60,” said Anuj Choudhary Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

“HFL has transformed from being a forging led player to a leading manufacturer of machined components in India and consistently grew its product basket with a strong focus on manufacturing margin accretive value-added products to achieve higher margins improving its share. With a high entry barriers business, lengthy customer and product approval process, its in-house design capabilities & fungible production lines have led to a diverse product offering and continuous value addition to its long standing relationships with customers across industries and countries would drive growth for the company. HFL will continue to grow better than the industry able to diversify its product basket, with a focus on capital efficiency building healthy financial metrics. Therefore we recommend a SUBSCRIBE to the issue,” said Reliance Research.

Also Read: Happy Forgings IPO opens from today; Should you invest?

Kotak Securities has set a base case target of 21,834 for the Nifty50 in the coming year, reflecting a positive outlook despite a tumultuous backdrop. The brokerage’s note highlights the exceptional rally witnessed in 2023, marked by widespread investor participation and resilience against various headwinds.

Also Read: Kotak Securities sees Nifty at 21,834 by next year, recommends to add mega-cap during dips

In a recent GREED & fear note, Christopher Wood, Global Head of Equity Strategy at Jefferies,, unveiled a stark divergence in the performance of their investment portfolios for India and China, providing insights into the contrasting economic landscapes of the two Asian giants. What Is particularly interesting in the Indian context is that the report notes the shift in the Indian economic paradigm – with investment now driving growth, reversing the consumption-centric pattern of the past decade.

Also Read: Jefferies reveals striking differences: Best India portfolio stock skyrockets by 309%, worst China stock plunges 55%

Nestle India, Hind Copper, Delta Corp, Voltas, and HDFC AMC are the top buzzing stocks on NSE

Kotak downgrades HCL Tech to ADD from BUY and Persistent to REDUCE from ADD.

HCL Tech down more than 1% intra-day

Persistent Systems down nearly 2% intra-day

IT stocks have rallied 7-18% in the past one month, especially during last week. Kotak says, ” While the Fed’s move warranted an upward movement in stock prices, the resulting rally was a tad optimistic, in our view. Our current revenue growth and EPS estimates already factor in the positives for FY2025—(1) soft landing in the US and (2) abating of demand headwinds. We increase fair values by 9-20% on rollover and increase in multiples factoring in lower macro uncertainty. The strong rally limits further upside in select stocks.”

“Pull back attempts may be capped at 83.15 or 83.27 in a very optimistic scenario, but it would require a slippage past 83.09 to initiate declines again,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

“The Bank Nifty index encountered resistance around the 48000 level, resulting in an inability to sustain at those higher levels, leading to some selling pressure. The immediate support for the index is positioned at 47800. A breach below this level could intensify the selling pressure, potentially pushing the index towards the 47400/47000 marks,” said Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative analyst at LKP Securities.

The NSE has added NALCO, Balrampur Chini Mills, Hindustan Copper, India Cements, Manappuram Finance, SAIL and Zee Entertainment Enterprises to its F&O ban list for December 19, 2023.

Commenting on the Technical outlook of  Rupak De, Senior Technical analyst at LKP Securities, said, On the daily chart, the Nifty has formed a Bearish Harami candlestick pattern, suggesting a potential interruption in the ongoing rally. Additionally, the RSI indicator on the hourly timeframe has undergone a bearish crossover within the oversold zone, hinting at a waning bullishness in the market. A decline below 21350 could lead a correction towards 21220/21100 in the short term. Conversely, resistance is anticipated at 21500 on the higher end.

The NSE Nifty 50 opens 0.28% to settle at 21,477.65, while the BSE Sensex gains 0.23% to 71,479.28.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded shares worth net Rs 33.5 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares worth net Rs 413.9 crore on December 18, 2023, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the dollar against a basket of six foreign currencies, traded slightly lower by 0.04% at 102.51.

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region are trading in the negative territory on Tuesday morning. The Asia Dow is trading down 1.10%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 is red, down 0.08%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is trading down 0.98% and the benchmark Chinese index Shanghai Composite is down by 0.40%.

U.S. stocks kicked off the week on a positive note buoyed by a burst of deals, even as Federal Reserve officials sought to sow doubts that aggressive interest rate cuts will materialise early next year, Bloomberg reported. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 90.89 points or 0.61% at 14,904.81. The S&P 500 jumped 21.37 points or 0.45% at 4,740.56, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended flat slightly higher by 0.86 points or 0.02% to 37,306.02.