Asian share markets are lower today after unexpectedly strong services data bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to deliver higher interest rates.

The Nikkei is down 0.5% while the Shanghai Composite is down 0.4%. The Hang Seng is up 0.2%

Wall Street indices ended lower on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 extending its losing streak to the fourth session, as skittish investors fretted over Federal Reserve rate hikes and further talk of a looming recession.

The Dow Jones fell 1% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 2%.

Here's a table showing the performance of US stocks yesterday:

Source: Equitymaster

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a flat note, following the trend on SGX Nifty.

Benchmark indices are trading on a flat note today tracking mixed global cues.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today hiked the lending rate by 35 basis points as inflation has started showing signs of easing and economic growth tapering.

Note that the RBI has now hiked the key benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points (bps) thrice since June over and above an off-cycle 40 bps increase in the repo in May.

The RBI governor also said that inflation is expected to be above 4% in the next 12 months.

Coming back to performance, the BSE Sensex is currently trading up by 81 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 7 points.

L&T and Asian Paints are among the top gainers today. NTPC and Kotak Mahindra Bank, on the other hand, are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading higher by 0.2% and the BSE Small Cap is trading on a flat note.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note. Stocks in the capital goods sector, FMCG sector, and oil and gas sector are witnessing most of the buying.

On the other hand, stocks in the metal sector, IT sector, and utilities sector witness selling.

Shares of Tube Investments of India and AIA Engineering hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 82.5 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by Rs 7 at Rs 53,770 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading up by 0.3% at Rs 65,602 per kg.

Speaking of stock markets, it is believed that we individuals feel the pain of loss twice as intensively as the equivalent pressure of gain. Is it any wonder that people are so loss-averse when it comes to investing?
 

Urgo Capital to Raise Funds

The smallcap non-banking financial company announced that its board will meet on 9 December to consider raising funds by issuance of market-linked non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis.

Smallcap stocks are famous for their ability to earn high returns. However, the problem with small cap stocks is they are volatile and sometimes risky.

Since its inception in February 2008, until September 2022, Hidden Treasure has delivered an internal rate of return (IRR) of 26.9%.

Over these 15 years, the IRR for the Sensex and the Smallcap Index is 8.2% and 7.7% respectively.

This is an outperformance of more than 3x over the benchmark indices.
 

Promoter to Divest Entire Stake in HDFC Asset Management Company

On Tuesday, HDFC Asset Management Company (AMC) stated that one of the promoters in the company, abrdn Investment Management, formerly Standard Life Investments, is planning to sell its entire 10.2% stake.

Consequent to the stake sale, abrdn Investment Management will cease to be a co-sponsor of HDFC Mutual Fund.

Back in August this year, abrdn Investment sold its 5.6% stake in HDFC AMC for a little over Rs 2,300 crore (around Rs 23 billion) through an open market transaction.

HDFC AMC is one of the undervalued stocks to watch out for in 2023.
 

Siemens emerges as lowest bidder

Engineering firm Siemens has emerged as the lowest bidder for a project for manufacturing 1,200 electric locomotives of 9,000 HP (horsepower) worth over Rs 200 billion (bn) at Dahod in Gujarat.

Indian Railways had floated the tender for manufacturing and maintenance of 9,000 HP electric locomotives at Dahod in April this year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April laid the foundation stone for the manufacturing project of 9,000 HP electric locomotives at the Railway production unit in Dahod.

The Dahod workshop, established in 1926 for a periodic overhaul of steam locomotives, is being upgraded to an electric locomotive manufacturing unit with infrastructural improvements. It is expected to provide direct and indirect employment to over 10,000 people.

The 1,200 locomotives will be manufactured at the Dahod facility in 11 years from 2023-24 to 2033-34. The successful bidder will supply five locomotives in the first year and 35 in the second year. As many as 80 locomotives will be supplied per annum in the third and fourth years.

The production will be increased to 100 locomotives per annum in the fifth and sixth years. Thereafter 160 locomotives will be manufactured per annum for five years till 2033-34.

Indian Railway expects delivery of the first locomotive from the Dahod facility in early 2024. The locomotive will be manufactured using green energy and will have a green manufacturing tag. Dahod is a railway station on the Delhi-Mumbai route.

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