Wipro signs multi-year digital transformation partnership with Finastra

Opening Bell:

SGX Nifty is down by 66.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market.

Asia-Pacific markets traded lower as recession fears grow. Disappointing US retail sales for November suggested inflation is taking a toll on consumers and raising fears that the Fed’s rate hikes are tipping the economy into a recession. The Japanese Nikkei is down by 1.59 percent. South Korea’s Kospi is down by 0.41 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined by 0.79 percent in the early morning trades.

US stock indices closed sharply lower on Thursday, with each of the major averages suffering their biggest daily percentage drop in weeks, as fears intensified that the Federal Reserve’s battle against inflation using aggressive interest rate hikes could lead to a recession. S&P 500 was down 2.49 percent whereas Nasdaq composite declined by 3.23 percent.

Stocks News:

?Wipro signs multi-year digital transformation partnership with Finastra in the Middle East. The IT services company has announced a partnership with Finastra, a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, to drive digital transformation for corporate banks in the Middle East.

?Promoter entity Sapphire Foods Mauritius has offloaded 39 lakh shares in Sapphire Foods, one of the largest franchisees of Yum! Brands Inc in the subcontinent, via open market transactions.

?LIC raises stake in HDFC AMC by buying additional 2.03% shares. Life Insurance Corporation of India has increased its stake in the asset management company by buying additional 2.03% stake via open market transactions. LIC upped stake in HDFC AMC to 9.053%, from 7.024%.

?Deepak Fertilisers announces demerger of mining chemicals & fertiliser businesses. The company has announced demerger of its mining chemicals & fertiliser businesses. The board members of Smartchem Technologies (STL), a subsidiary of Deepak Fertilisers, approved a corporate restructuring plan with the objective of unlocking growth potential of each of the businesses.

?Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net sold shares worth Rs 710.74 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth Rs 260.92 crore on December 15, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Domestic and International Events

Oil prices slid about 2 percent on Thursday as traders worried about the fuel demand outlook due to a stronger dollar and further interest rate hikes by global central banks.
Corporate bond issuances jumped sharply in November as most companies and banks tapped the market to refinance their high-cost borrowings after rates on these instruments eased.
British consumer confidence crept up this month but is still close to all-time low levels as households see their incomes eroded by high inflation, market research firm GfK said on Friday.
India’s merchandise exports posted a marginal increase in November on a year-on-year basis to $31.99 billion, data released by the commerce ministry on December 15 showed. The rise in exports in November was a mere 0.6 percent.