Markets fall marginally despite firm global trend

Equities succumbed to profit-taking on Thursday, with the benchmark sending with minor losses for the second straight session. The Nifty declined by 8.9 points (0.06%) to close at 14,137.35 while the Sensex fell 80.74 points (0.17%) to close at 48,093.32. The markets bucked the global trend, which was largely positive on account of the  Democratic sweep in Georgia run-off polls.

The US markets in the previous trading session touched their all-time highs on expectations of a Democratic Party win in the Georgia run-off elections. Additionally, US President Donald Trump agreed to hand over power to President-elect Joe Biden, which led to arise in Dow Jones mini futures. The markets in France and Germany were up by 0.39 % and 0.4%, respectively, while the UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 was down by 0.48% in early trade.

The markets in China, Taiwan and South Korea ended with gains, rallying between 0.7% and 2.14%.  Siddhartha Khemka, head – retail research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said, “Global cues  were positive with S&P500 soaring to all-time highs on Wednesday as investors expected that the Democratic sweep in Georgia would lead to more fiscal stimulus and infrastructure spending despite violence in Washington.”

The Indian markets witnessed some stock-specific actions after the Maharashtra government decided to slash premiums and levies charged on construction till December 30. Additionally, Sobha reported that its sales booking shave crossed that of pre-Covid-19 levels, which also infused optimism. The Nifty Realty Index rallied by 1.35 %. Brokerages believe that the ability to keep debt levels in check remains a key monitorable.