Summary of this article
Indian benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended flat with a negative bias, declining 0.09 per cent and 0.01 per cent respectively.
The Nifty IT and Capital Market indices emerged as top gainers, while Sun Pharma led the losers with a 2.62 per cent drop.
Market sentiment remained cautious due to uncertainty over India-US trade negotiations and weak demand for the KSH International IPO.
Share Market News: Headline indices extended their losing spree on December 18. The Sensex closed at around 84,481.81 levels, down by 77.84 points or 0.09 per cent. On the other hand, the Nifty 50 closed at 25,815.55, down by 3 points or 0.01 per cent.
On December 18, the headline indices pared early gains towards the close amid uncertainty over the signing of a potential US–India trade agreement, which kept investor sentiment cautious. The sectoral indices performed mixed, while the broader market indices bucked the trend to finish in the green even as the benchmarks ended flat with a negative bias.
Sun Pharma and Tata Steel Lead Losers
Shares of Sun Pharma and Tata Steel emerged as top drags among Nifty 50 stocks as they closed 2.62 per cent and 1.40 per cent lower on the NSE. Other Nifty losers included Power Grid Corporation of India and Asian Paints, which finished the session with declines of 1.23 per cent and 0.98 per cent, respectively. As many as 24 constituents of the benchmark finished in the red while 25 finished in the green, and one remained unchanged.
Nifty IT and Nifty Capital Market Indices Gain
The Nifty IT and the Nifty Capital Market indices gained the most among all sectoral indices as they ended higher by 1.21 per cent and 2.59 per cent, respectively. The broader market indices finished in the green despite declines in the benchmark Nifty. The Nifty SmallCap 100 and the Nifty MidCap 100 closed the session with gains of 0.13 per cent and 0.34 per cent, respectively.
Asian Markets on December 18
Asian indices finished the session mixed, with the Nikkei 225 and the KOSPI closing with declines of 0.83 per cent and 1.55 per cent, respectively. The Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite finished with gains of 0.05 per cent and 0.16 per cent, respectively.
Primary Market Action On December 18
The public issue of KSH International IPO witnessed tepid demand on the final day of subscription. On the other hand, the public issue of Phytochem Remedies (India) IPO opened for subscription while shares of Pajson Agro India and HRS Aluglaze made their debut on the BSE SME platform.
Market Cues
Decisions announced by the US Federal Reserve (via US CPI data impact), European Central Bank (ECB), and Bank of England (BoE) on interest rates are expected to affect Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) flows and currency movements in the upcoming days. Investors will keenly monitor FII flows, changes in the value of the Indian rupee and any potential announcements related to India-US trade negotiations.
