Sensex, Nifty drift lower in early trade; breadth weak

The domestic benchmarks opened on a negative note weighed by selling in auto, FMCG and metal stocks. The Nifty slipped below the 17,200 level.

At 9:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 284.32 points or 0.49% at 57,616.82. The Nifty 50 index lost 87.65 points or 0.51% at 17,160.75.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 1% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.88%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 974 shares rose and 1,592 shares fell. A total of 98 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,468.71 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,533.15 crore in the Indian equity market on 16 December 2021, provisional data showed.

Sebi Framework:

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday, 16 December 2021 came out with a framework pertaining to cut-off time for generation of last risk parameter file used for collecting margins from commodities traders. The capital markets regulator modified the framework prescribed for enabling verification of upfront collection of margins from clients in commodity derivatives segment. The new framework will be effective from 15 January 2022, it said in a circular.

Stocks in Spotlight:

TVS Motor Company fell 1.72%. The two-wheel manufacturer announced the launch of Marvel Spider-Man and Thor inspired scooters under the TVS NTORQ 125 SuperSquad Edition.

Persistent Systems advanced 2.13% after ATOSS, a Germany-based software provider for workforce management, selected Persistent Systems to transform its customer relationship management with the help of Salesforce integrations.

Greenpanel Industries slipped 0.66%. The company said that the normal operation of MDF Plant at Rudrapur is expected to be resumed by 26 December 2021.

Engineers India shed 0.63%. The firm signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) for joint development of technology for large scale cultivation of algae and extraction of value-added products.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stocks declined on Friday, 17 December 2021 mirroring the overnight losses on Wall Street. The U.S. stocks slid on Thursday as weakness among large tech stocks dragged down major market averages. The Bank of Japan maintained its short-term interest rate target at (-)0.1%.

U.S. President Joe Biden signed a debt ceiling increase into law on Thursday, ensuring the U.S. will not default on its debt for the first time ever. The measure lifts the government's borrowing limit by $2.5 trillion, which is expected to allow the U.S. to cover its obligations into 2023.

The Bank of England hiked its interest rates on Thursday for the first time since the pandemic started. It raised its main interest rate from a historic low of 0.1% to 0.25% amid mounting inflation pressure. The Bank of England is the first major central bank to tighten monetary policy post the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

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