UltraTech acquires Kesoram’s cement, LTIMindtree partners with Metasphere

Opening Bell:

Gift Nifty is up by 25.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market.

Asia-Pacific markets started down despite Wall Street gains, as investors await private factory activity surveys. China’s November Caixin manufacturing PMI draws attention after two months of sector contraction. PMI readings from Japan, South Korea, and India are also anticipated. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell by 0.55% after a three-day rise. South Korea’s Kospi slid by 0.89%, Kosdaq by 0.79%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 hovered near flatline. The Topix opened 0.21% higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures signaled a positive start at 17,052 versus the previous close of 17,042.88.

The Dow Jones hit a new high for the year after rising 520 points on Thursday, closing at 35,950.89. This surge marked its best month since October 2022, with an 8.9% gain in November, breaking a three-month losing streak. The S&P 500 also climbed 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite slightly dipped by 0.2% due to profit-taking in leading Big Tech stocks. November saw the S&P 500 rise by 8.9% and the Nasdaq by 10.7%, their strongest monthly performances since July 2022, and both were trading close to their 2023 highs, just 1% away.

European markets closed higher Thursday, rounding off a bumper month as investors assessed euro zone inflation data that suggests pressures from rising prices are easing. The regional Stoxx 600 closed up 0.5% at a 10-week high.

Stocks News:

👉 Biocon: Subsidiary Biocon Biologics has completed the integration of Viatris’ biosimilars business in 31 European countries. The subsidiary had acquired global biosimilar business of Viatris in November last year.

👉 UltraTech Cement: The flagship company of Aditya Birla group has acquired the cement business of Kesoram Industries in a share-swap deal. UltraTech will issue one share for every 52 shares of Kesoram, implying an offer price of ₹173.15 per share, a 34% premium to Kesoram’s last close. The deal is estimated to be valued at ₹7,600 crore, including the debt the company will take on from Kesoram.

👉 LTIMindtree: The technology consulting and digital solutions company has been selected as a strategic partner by Metasphere, a wastewater application specialist, to scale its smart sewers management platform.

👉 Flair Writing Industries: Will make its stock market debut on Friday. The issue price has been fixed at ₹304 per share. The ₹593 crore IPO was subscribed over 46 times on the third and final day of bidding.

👉 Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 8,147.85 crore, while domestic institutional investors sold Rs 780.32 crore worth of stocks on November 30, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed.  

Domestic and International Events

• U.S. crude declined Thursday, erasing early gains, as traders grew more convinced that OPEC+, a group composed of OPEC plus its oil-producing allies, will not deliver on promised output cuts. The West Texas Intermediate contract for January fell $1.20, or 1.54%, to $76.66 a barrel, while the Brent contract for January lost 14 cents, or 0.17%, to trade at $82.96 a barrel.

• Gold slipped on Thursday but stayed on track for a second straight monthly gain as expectations that the Federal Reserve may soon cut interest rates enhanced the appeal of non-yielding bullion. Spot gold slipped 0.4% to $2,035.53 per ounce after hitting a near seven-month peak in the previous session. Prices have gained 2.7% so far this month.          

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