Asian share markets are subdued today, with investors looking for direction after China took further steps toward reopening its Covid-battered economy.

The Nikkei fell by 0.6% while the Hang Seng was up by 2.1%. The Shanghai Composite is trading higher by 1.4%.

Wall Street indices ended lower at the beginning of a holiday-shortened week on Tuesday, as rising US Treasury yields pressured interest rate-sensitive mega-cap shares.

The Dow Jones ended higher by 0.1% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended lower by 1.4%

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

Source: Equitymaster

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

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 125 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 34 points.

Titan, Power Grid, and M&M are among the top gainers today. Baja Finserv, Infosys, and Reliance Industries are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading higher by 0.3% and the BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.5%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a positive note with the exception of the IT sector. Stocks in the power sector, and consumer durable sector witness buying.

Shares of Capri Global Capital and Jindal Steel and Power hit their 52-week high today.

The rupee is trading at 82.8 against the US dollar.

In the commodity markets, gold prices trade lower by Rs 98 at Rs 54,899 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading lower by 0.2% at Rs 69,671 per 1 kg.
 

Pharma stocks are rising but will the rally last long?

Pharma stocks are rising in a volatile market and once again proving they are defensive stocks.

In 2020, the pharma index rallied by 60% and rest is the history. This year, however, the index is down 11% so far.

Nifty Pharma Index Daily Chart

(Click on image to enlarge)

Punjab & Sind Bank to raise funds

State owned Punjab & Sind Bank on Tuesday said its board will meet on 30 December to consider a proposal for raising up to Rs 250 crore (about Rs 2.5 billion) by various modes, including equity and bonds issuance.

The bank said it plans to raise capital up to an amount and aggregating to Rs 2.5 billion (bn) in any combinations of equity shares or debt in the form on Basel III compliant bonds.

The capital will be raised in one or more tranches within a period of 12 months from the date of approval by way of issue of these instruments.

Note that PSU banks are gaining a lot of traction and there are a lot of stories running around how they could do well in the coming years owing to uptake in credit cycle, among other reasons.
 

Religare Enterprises to restart its business

Debt-ridden Religare Finvest (RFL) is hopeful of restarting its business operation in the new year following the company's proposal of Rs 23 bn one time settlement (OTS) finding favour from most of the lenders.

Once the OTS process is completed, RFL will come out of the corrective action plan (CAP) imposed by the Reserve Bank of India in January 2018 due to its weak financial health.

Reportedly, 14 out of 16 lenders have signed the OTS agreement and the remaining two are expected to sign in a day or two.

RFL, an NBFC arm of Religare Enterprises, owed about Rs 53 bn to the consortium of lenders led by State Bank of India (SBI). As part of the proposed OTS, the company in June 2022 deposited Rs 2.2 bn earnest money with the lead lender demonstrating its commitment towards RFL revival.

Reportedly, the company and its promoter are ready to make payment during this month itself even though they have time till 90 days as per the OTS agreement for the settlement, adding, they have money almost ready for payment.
 

Hariom Pipe Industries acquires operating assets

Hariom Pipe Industries has entered into asset transfer agreement with R P Metal Sections on 26 December 2022.

The company is purchasing R P Metal Sections' operating asset which manufactures galvanized pipe and cold roll coil.

The said unit is spread across 13.8 acres of land and located at SIPCOT Industrial growth centre, Perundurai, Tamilnadu. This purchase is for an all cash consideration of Rs. 550 m.
 

India Pesticides' subsidiary receives environmental clearance

India Pesticides announced that its wholly owned subsidiary - Shalvis Specialities has received environmental clearance from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Impact Assessment Division) of Government of India.

It has received permission for setting up manufacturing plant of agrochemicals & intermediates, API ingredients & intermediates and fine chemicals manufacturing unit.

Speaking of India Pesticides, it is an R&D-driven agrochemical producer of technical with a developing formulation business.

It manufactures herbicides, fungicide technical, and active pharmaceuticals ingredients (APIs). It is the sole Indian manufacturer of several technical i.e. Folpet, Thiocarbamate, and Herbicide

The company's focus on R&D and agri technology makes it very interesting. India Pesticides is to the off-patent agro chemical sector what Dr Reddy's and Cipla are to Indian pharma generics.

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