Nifty to reclaim or 18700 or bears to drag index below 18400? 7 things to know before share market opens Indian benchmark indices are likely to open in green amid strong global cues. SGX Nifty hinted at a positive start for domestic equities as Nifty futures were trading 84 pts or 0.45% up at 18785 level on the Singapore Exchange. In the previous session, BSE Sensex fell 51 points to 62,130, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 0.60 points at 18,497. “Traders are advised to focus on stock-specific actions; because even if we are not witnessing bigger moves in moves, a lot of thematic moves have started to cut loose. In fact, taking a glance at the Nifty Midcap50 index, we reiterate that stocks from the cash segment are providing excellent opportunities. Hence, identifying such key movers is the key for momentum traders,” said Sameet Chavan, Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives, Angel One.Key things to know before share market opens Global market watch: Asia-Pacific markets traded higher on Wednesday, tracking gains in Wall Street indices. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.26% while the Topix was 0.24% higher. South Korea’s Kospi also rose 0.7%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was just above the flatline. US stocks rose overnight after an unexpectedly small consumer price increase buoyed optimism that the Federal Reserve could soon dial back its inflation-taming interest rate hikes, but concerns remained thar Fed could stay aggressive. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, the S&P 500 gained 0.73%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.01%. Levels to watch: “Bears remain in trap as 18350 levels are sustained. Volume profile indicates these levels are strong support for the coming days and stock-specific action would drive the market. On the derivatives front, the highest call OI is at 18700 strike price, followed by 18800 strike prices. While on the put side, highest OI remains at 18500, followed by 18400 strike price. On the other hand, Bank Nifty has support at 43300 levels while resistance is placed at 44600. As December comes to a close, the Indian equities market continues to be the strongest among its international counterparts thanks to multi-month highs in the Bank Nifty. Auto ancillaries and Metal may outperform in the near term,” said Om Mehra, Technical Associate, Choice Broking. FII and DII data: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 619.92 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought equities worth Rs 36.75 crore on 13 December, according to the provisional data available on the NSE. Stocks under F&O ban on NSE: BHEL, Delta Corp, and GNFC are the three stocks under the NSE F&O ban list for 14 December. Securities thus banned under the F&O segment include companies where derivative contracts have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit. US inflation subsides: US consumer prices rose less than expected for a second straight month in November, resulting in the smallest annual increase in inflation in nearly a year and giving the Federal Reserve cover on Wednesday to start scaling back the size of its interest rate increases. The consumer price index increased 0.1% last month after advancing 0.4% in October. Gasoline prices dropped 2.0% after rising 4.0% in October. The cost of natural gas fell as did prices for electricity. US Fed meet: After four consecutive mega-hikes of 75 basis points, the market is expecting Fed Chair Jerome Powell to moderate the pace of hikes to 50 bps amid early signs of moderation in inflation. The outcome of the two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). last meeting of 2022, would be known today midnight. “Any upside surprises to the November US CPI inflation print, due just before the FOMC, would trigger a more hawkish bias to the Fed Chairs’ statement in the press conference. The robust labour market and other activity indicators continue to point towards a possibility of a higher terminal Fed rate in the coming FOMC,” Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a note.
If the current trend continues for a longer period of time, not only oil mills but oilseeds growers will also not be able to get good rates of their produce, says Samir Shah, president of Gujarat State Edible Oils and Oil Seeds Association (GEOA). Shah who is also past president of SOMA says that due to various international factors rates of edible oils had gone up considerably, especially imported oils earlier this year.
“With a view to curb rising prices of edible oil, the Government of India reduced import duty on edible oils. Considering the fact that India is producing hardly 30 percent of its edible oil requirement, the decision was right at that point of time. Now when international prices of edible oils have gone down by 15 percent to 25 percent and high production period has started in edible oil exporting countries, the government should gradually increase import duty to protect local oil mills and oilseeds growers,” said Shah. GEOA has also made representation before Union Minister for Commerce & Consumer Affairs, Piyush Goyal to increase import duty.
In June import duty on edible oils was ranging from 35 to 55 percent, since then the government gradually reduced import duty and at present it is ranging from zero percent to 15 percent on different edible oils, he said.
Just a month back prices of edible oils were through the roof and the government took appropriate measures by reducing import duty in order to protect consumers, says Atul Chaturvedi, president of Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA). “Prices of edible oils are coming down globally. Kharif sowing has already started across the country. In the interest of local farmers, it is high time to enhance import duty in a phased manner to encourage local edible oil value chain,” opined Chaturvedi.
On Thursday imported Palm oil prices were at around Rs 2100 per 15 kg as against local Rs 2700 and Rs 2550 of groundnut and cottonseed oils. Prices of other local oils including ricebran, coconut, soyabean and mustard remained as high as Rs 2350, Rs 2520, Rs 2500 and Rs 2580 respectively.
India imports around 13-13.5 million tonnes of edible oils, of which around 8-8.5 million tonnes (around 63 per cent) are palm oil. Though the price of other imported Sunflower oil remained at around Rs 2700 per 15 kg, but import quantity of the oil is much lower than that of palm oil.