Share Market HIGHLIGHTS: Sensex ends 242 pts higher, Nifty almost makes it to 21,350 led by IT, auto stocks

Thank you! That's all today on Zeebiz.com's blog on the December 22 session on Dalal Street

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Closing Bell | Sensex up 242 points, Nifty one point shy of 21,350

The Sensex rises 241.9 points, or 0.3 per cent, to end at 71,107 and the Nifty50 settles at 21,349.4, up 94.4, or 0.4 per cent, from its previous close. 

Nifty Today LIVE | Infy, L&T, TCS, HCL Tech among top movers in 50-scrip basket

Infosys, L&T, TCS, HCL Tech and Wipro are the top movers in the Nifty baskets at this hour. On the contrary, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and Bajaj Finance are among the top drags.

Here's a look at the heatmap in the 50-scrip universe by weight:

Source: NSE

Share Market Tips LIVE | Buy Rossell India, BLS International shares, says Vikas Sethi 

Vikas Sethi of Sethi Finmart recommends buying Rossell India shares for a target of Rs 500 with a stop loss at Rs 450. Besides, recommends buying BLS International shares for a target of Rs 330 with a stop loss at Rs 298.

Share Market Today LIVE | This diversified industry large-cap play remains on analysts' 'buy' list despite jumping 40% in 12 months

Of late, several analysts and market experts have turned cautious and even bearish on small- and mid-cap stocks, given their frothy valuations, and have been suggesting investors park money in large-cap stocks.

ICICI Direct, in its report issued in late November, said that with a significant move in midcap in CY23, it expects large caps to start catching up as they provide favourable risk-reward as Nifty is emerging from a two-year consolidation phase.

Echoing similar views, analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities, in their report dated December 4, 2023, wrote they continue to favour the mega-caps and a few large-caps and quality mid-caps. They further said that FPIs are likely to prefer investment in large-caps and are unlikely to look at mid-caps and small-caps for both liquidity and valuation reasons. Read more 

Share Market Today LIVE | This small-cap diagnostic stock may see a correction on expensive valuation

Despite the current buzz in the diagnostic space, amid the resurgence of COVID cases in some parts of the country, ICICI Securities has retained a 'reduce' rating on Vijaya Diagnostic Centre. Nevertheless, the target price has been moved higher from the earlier Rs 530 to Rs 590, marking a potential downside of around 9 per cent from the previous close of Rs 647.1.

PH Diagnostic acquisition- A step in the right direction 

On Thursday (December 21), the diagnostic player in an exchange filing informed that it had completed the acquisition of Pune-based P H Diagnostic Centre for a cash consideration of Rs 147.5 crore. The brokerage sees the acquisition as a step in the right direction, as the acquisition would enable Vijaya Diagnostic to expand its geographical reach outside the Andhra/Telangana region and, at the same time, boost the combined portfolio. Read more 

Traders' Diary | Buy, sell or hold strategy on DLF, Tata Chemicals, Sona BLW, RailTel, Ami Organics, over a dozen other stocks today

In this edition of Traders' Diary, Zee Business shares exclusive research on more than a dozen stocks that investors and traders can track on Friday, December 22. Here's a list of 20 stocks that are on analysts Varun Dubey and Kushal Gupta's radar.

Here's the complete list of investment and trading ideas for the day:

Varun Dubey

• Buy WPIL shares in the cash segment for a price target of Rs 3,500 with a stop loss at Rs 3,380
• Buy Dr Lal Pathlabs futures for a target of Rs 2,680 with a stop loss at Rs 2,575
• Buy the Rs 74 call option of GMR Airports Infrastructure for a target of Rs 2.5 with a stop loss at Rs 1.5
• Technical pick: Buy Mishra Dhatu shares for a target of Rs 410 with a stop loss at Rs 387
• Fundamental pick: Buy Lupin shares for a target of Rs 1,290 with a stop loss at Rs 1,240
• Investment idea: Buy LIC shares for a one-year target of Rs 950 
• News-based pick: Buy MOIL shares for a target of Rs 312 with a stop loss at Rs 295

My Choice picks: 

• Buy AMI Organics shares for a target of Rs 1,190 with a stop loss at Rs 1,120
• Buy NALCO shares for a target of Rs 115 with a stop loss at Rs 108
• Buy RailTel shares for a target of Rs 300 with a stop loss at Rs 285. Read more 

Share Market Today LIVE | Nifty Bank trades flat

Source: NSE

'Christmas Gift' Stock Picks | Coforge, Tejas Networks, Aurobindo Pharma among analysts' top recommendations 

In conversation with Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi, market experts Sumeet Bagadia, Kunal Saraogi, Sacchitanand Uttekar and Rakesh Bansal share their top stock recommendations in this special segment, Christmas Gift, as Dalal Street prepares for a long weekend with the Christmas holiday on December 25.

On the analysts' 'buy' list are stocks such as Aurobindo Pharma and Tejas Networks. Read more

Share Market Today LIVE | Castrol India, AstraZeneca, NLC, JB Chem & Pharma, Piramal Pharma rise most among 410-odd gainers in BSE 500 universe

On the other hand, Varun Beverages, IIFL Finance, Polycab India, Gujarat Ambuja Exports and Medplus Health Services are the worst hit in the broadest basket on the bourse. 

Image: BSEIndia.com

Share Market Today LIVE | Buy Swaraj Engines shares in Rs 2,260-2,300 band, add on dips to Rs 2,020-2,060, says HDFC Securities

HDFC Securities recommends buying the auto ancillary stock in the Rs 2,260-2,300 band and add on dips to Rs 2,020-2,060-odd levels with a perspective of 2-3 quarters, for a base case fair value of Rs 2,493 (19.25x FY25E EPS) and a bull case fair value of Rs 2,688 (20.75x FY25E EPS). 

The brokerage expects Swaraj Engines' revenue, EBITDA and PAT to grow at CAGRs of 8.0 per cent, 8.0 per cent and 9.0 per cent respectively over FY23-FY25, on the back of higher volumes driven by increasing farm mechanization in the country. "We think the stock can be rerated more by valuations than earnings for the near term," according to HDFC Securities. 

Share Market Today LIVE | Ami Organics rises nearly 4% after pharma firm pens deal for manufacturing electrolytes; also strikes block deal

Ami Organics Limited shares jump nearly 4 per cent on BSE on Friday after the pharma company signed a non-binding MOU with a global manufacturer of electrolytes. The company also had a block deal on Thursday, selling nearly four per cent of its stake to Morgan Stanley Singapore Pte and Bofa Securities Europe SA. The stock of Ami Organics trades higher by 3.88 per cent, or Rs 44.4, at Rs 1,189 on Friday. Read more

Share Market Today LIVE | WPIL shares surge after pump company wins Rs 425 crore order from West Bengal government

Kolkata-headquartered pump maker WPIL's shares surge on Friday after the company won an order worth Rs 425.4 crore from the Public Health Engineering Department under the West Bengal government. The stock of WPIL—which designs, develops, manufactures, erects, commissions and services pumps and pumping systems—locks in the 5 per cent upper circuit at Rs 3,584.5 apiece on BSE, coming within Rs 240 of a record high scaled in August. Read more

Share Market Today LIVE | As OMCs slash commercial cylinder prices, QSR companies gain; oil and gas firms trade mixed bag

Oil Marketing Companies have given relief to consumers using commercial gas as they cut the price of the 19 kg commercial cylinder by approximately 39.5 per cylinder with effect from today. While the price cut is likely to be a burden on OMCs, Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) companies are likely to get benefit form it. As commercial cylinder prices are cut, here's the performance of prominent OMC as well as QSR company shares.   

HPCL

The stock of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation is trading down by 0.91 per cent, or Rs 3.40, at Rs 372.15 on BSE

IOCL

The Indian Oil Coportation stock trades higher by 0.2 per cent, or Rs 0.25, at Rs 124.4 on BSE. Read more 

AMFI semi-annual stock categorisation: IRCTC, UPL among 6 large-cap stocks that could be downgraded to midcap category

In the Association of Mutual Funds in India's (AMFI) upcoming semi-annual list of stocks (classified by size) that will consider data from July'23 to December'23, eight of the mid-cap stocks, primarily from the financial services and PSU Banking space, may see an upgrade to the large-cap status.

The stocks include the likes of Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), Macrotech Developers, Polycab, REC, Union Bank, Shriram Finance, and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). Read more

Share Market Today LIVE | Allcargo Logistics soars near 8% after board approves scheme of arrangement 

Allcargo Logistics Limited shares are soaring higher on BSE on Friday after the company board approved the composite scheme of arrangement for restructuring of businesses under Allcargo Limited and Allcargo Gati Limited (Formerly Gati Limited). The Allcargo Logistics stock are skyrocketing by 7.93 per cent, or Rs 22.60, at Rs 307.50 on Friday. Read more

Share Market Today LIVE | Zomato shares edge higher after management denies Shiprocket acquisition report; here's what Jefferies suggests

Shares of Zomato on Friday edge higher on D-Street after the food-services aggregator denied news report circulating in the mainstream media regarding Zomato offering to acquire Shiprocket for $2 billion through a regulatory filing on the exchanges. The company added that it is focused on existing businesses with no plans for any acquisition at this moment. 

Zomato shares rise as much as 2.7 per cent to hits the day's high of Rs 130.8, coming within Rs 0.95 to its 52-week high touched on December 19, 2023 on NSE. The counter trades at Rs 128.15, up by Rs 0.8 or 0.63 per cent on NSE. Read more

Image source: Reuters/ Represenattional image

Anil Singhvi Market Strategy | Important levels to track in Nifty50, Nifty Bank today

Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi sees support for the headline Nifty50 index emerging at 21,150-21,200 levels and a strong buy zone at 20,975-21,075 levels on Friday, December 22. For the Nifty Bank, he expects support at 47,450-47,650 levels and a strong buy zone in the 47,200-47,375 range.

Read more on how Anil Singhvi views the Indian share market today and what he recommends

Share Market Today LIVE | Nifty near 21,300, Sensex trades over 50 pts higher

Nifty 50

Nifty trades near 21,300, up 0.18 per cent in opening deals.

Source: NSE

Sensex

Sensex trades over 50 points higher at 70,931 in opening deals.

Source: BSE

Currency Update | Rupee rises 2 paise to 83.25 against US dollar in early trade

Stocks to Watch | LIC, Lupin, MOIL, GMR Airports Infra, other stocks

Here are some stocks that will be in focus in the last of the week, on December 22: 

LIC: The Department of Economic Affairs has decided in the public interest to grant one-time exemption to the state-run life insurer to achieve 25 per cent minimum public shareholding (MPS) till May 2032.

GMR Airports Infrastructure: The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) will invest up to Rs 675 crore in an upcoming green field airport at Bhogapuram in Andhra Pradesh, being developed by GMR Airports Infrastructure subsidiary GMR Airports. 

Lupin: The drug maker has announced the launch of Softovac Liquifibre, a 100 per cent Ayurvedic liquid laxative.  

WPIL Ltd: The company has received an order from the Public Health Engineering Department under the West Bengal Government for the execution of a turnkey project amounting to Rs 425.4 crore. The project will be completed within a period of 27 months and three years of operation and maintenance.  

CESC Ltd: The company’s board will meet on December 27 to consider issuance of shares. Read more

Share Market Today LIVE | GIFT Nifty futures indicate a sluggish start ahead on Dalal Street

GIFT Nifty futures — an early indicator of the Nifty 50 index — are up 6 points or 0.03 per cent at 21,382 ahead of the opening bell on Dalal Street.

Good morning! Welcome to Zeebiz.com's blog on the stock market today

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