The stocks most likely to witness significant movement on the bourses on December 21 are Next Mediaworks, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, Vakrangee, Container Corporation of India and Indian Energy Exchange.

Vakrangee gained approximately 4 per cent intraday as the company launched domestic money transfer services at its Nextgen outlets.

The board of oil explorer ONGC has approved a share buyback program for approximately 25 crore equity shares of the company at Rs. 159 per share. This is the company's first-ever share buyback program.

Omkar Speciality Chemicals can now produce Halquinol product on receiving the grant of the process patent. The stocks hit its upper circuit limit on Thursday morning. 

Bank officer's unions have called for a strike on December 21 and 26 which may keep banks closed until December 27, except on Monday, December 24. 

Often investors talk about investing in cyclical stocks to beat the markets in the long run. Dnyanada Kulkarni investigates the funda of investing in cyclical stocks and evaluates the historical performance of cyclical stocks versus non-cyclical stocks.

Following stocks are close to their 52-week low as at 2.04 p.m. on December 20, 2018.

The recommendations provided in this column are taken from various market sources such as brokers, analysts, dealers and investment strategists, etc. These recommendations may not be backed by strong fundamentals. Therefore we advise readers to use their own discretion before investing in these recommendation

Om Metals Infraprojects bagged an order of Rs. 615.16 crore from the Water Resources Department, Government of Rajasthan. The contract is awarded on EPC basis and is inclusive of operations and maintenance for 5 years.

In this edition, we have reviewed Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals and MOIL. We suggest our reader-investors to HOLD Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals and MOIL 

The markets on December 20, 2018 opened gap down. BSE Sensex is trading at 36,370.70, down by 113.63 points and the Nifty is trading at 10,932.75, down by 34.55 points. 

I have 8 shares of Federal Bank bought @ Rs 83 per share. Should I hold them or sell?

Corporate Social Responsibility

Indian youth are moving towards mutual funds as their preferred investment avenue. We have received a query on starting a MF investment from one such young investor. Let’s find out what he has to say.

The following table lists top-ranked equity funds based on DSIJ's proprietary research methodology. We have evaluated each funds underlying portfolio of stocks and ranked them based on their expected portfolio returns. 

Glenmark gets USFDA nod for ear drops Pharma major Glenmark has received the final approval from United States Food and Drug Association (USFDA) for Fluocinolone Acetonide Oil, 0.01 per cent.

Under the law, as on today, you can file the return of income only for last financial year 2017-18 relevant to assessment year 2018-19 Jayesh Dadia Chartered Accountant I am an individual holding 90% equity shares in a private limited company which owns residential property.

Mutual funds are for all reasons and seasons. Here are a list of advantages mutual funds offer to the investors 

Most of us understand the importance of retirement planning and saving enough to achieve financial goals, however, few recognize the significance of starting early

HUL and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited (GSK CH India) entered into a scheme of amalgamation whereby 4.39 shares of HUL will be allotted for every share in GSK CH India.

Investing through SIP is a very effective investment strategy as you commit to investing a certain percentage of your “take home salary” and that goes a long way in ensuring that you save as you earn. Moreover, the commitment to invest every month takes away emotions out of your decision-making process. 

On Dalal Street over the last couple of weeks, it was a thrilling ride as a host of events unfolded one after another, Some of these events were scheduled, while few others were not on the cards, like the surprise resignation of the RBI governor Urjit Patel. Also, the markets were extremely volatile as the exit polls indicated that the BJP may lose the assembly polls and the final outcome was in line with the exit poll estimates.

The year 2018 happens to be quite eventful for the equity markets. There were lot of events that led to the heightened volatility in the equity markets. It all started with the reintroduction of long term capital gains (LTCG) tax, then came the rise and fall of crude oil prices, and most recently, the results of elections in five states and, finally, the resignation of Urjit Patel as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India. 

The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday. The Indian equity market reacted to this hike and was down more than 200 points in the morning session on Thursday.

The scrips in this column have been recommended with a 15-day investment horizon in mind and carry high risk. Therefore, investors are advised to take into account their risk appetite before investing, as fundamentals may or may not back the recommendations.

Overall volumes in futures & options currently stand at 1.40 crore contracts with a turnover of Rs. 8,34,692.34 crore.

This section gives a recommendation of a stock having stock margin padding price below Rs 100 with sound fundamentals and expected to give handsome returns over a one-year time horizon

Overall volumes in futures & options currently stand at 1.40 crore contracts with a turnover of Rs. 8,34,692.34 crore.

This column gives you scrip chosen by the research team during the fortnight that is fundamentally strong and expected to give good capital appreciation over a time period of 1 year

Expecting that the ruling BJP will be humbled in the five state elections, which will then prod the BJP government to unleash a series of populist measures in a run-up to the 2019 general elections and thereby boost the rural economy, the Indian equity market witnessed boardbased buying.

There are hidden benefits of investing in tax saving mutual funds, it not only helps you to save tax, but it also helps you in building wealth in the long-term. DSIJ recommends five best equity-linked savings schemes.

Your special report about liquid mutual funds reduced my confusion on how to deal with liquid MFs and savings bank account. Hoping to see many such informative stories.

I read your special story on media stocks. I agree with your observations. Is it a good time to accumulate select media stocks?

Markets in 2019 look promising and in my view will behave much better than they did in 2018. With the new RBI governor taking office, I expect a change in the stance by the RBI. Some slightly market-friendly policies may be on the cards in the coming year.

After a difficult 2018 the year 2019 promises to be a year full of action for investors. Yogesh Supekar talks how the year 2018 has been while Karan Bhojwani shares outlook for markets in 2019.

The tax saving season has arrived one month early this time as many investors have started their search for tax-saving instruments now, instead of waiting for the month of January. In the already crowded space, the recent move by the government to ease some of the constraints imposed on NPS (National Pension Scheme) earlier has increased one more contender

The index had surged over 600 points from the lows witnessed on December 11 and the present structure on the chart looks slightly overstretched, and hence, we may see some consolidation. In case of consolidation, the zone of 10,870-10,880 is likely to act as a support level.  Stocks in news: Orient Electric, Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Endurance Technologies, Om Metals Infraprojects, TCS, Pfizer, KPIT Technologies, Cosmo Films and Canara Bank.

Indian markets are likely to witness a gap-down opening as the cues from global markets are depressing. The SGX Nifty indicates Nifty could open around the level of 10,895 with loss of 0.82 per cent.   

KEC International has won orders across multiple business arms accumulating to Rs. 1,491 crore.

The stocks most likely to witness significant movement on the bourses on December 20 are KEC international, Tata Teleservices, Premier Explosives, Dabur India and Tata Steel.

Shares of Strides Pharma traded in positive in early trade on Wednesday as the company is set to receive US$42 million from Agila transaction.

The shares of Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) rose 20 per cent after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) sanctioned a merger between the company and Airtel.

To propel its digital initiative, Karnataka Bank entered into a strategic partnership with Paisabazaar.com, wherein it will use their platform to offer its home loan products to customers.

The shares of Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (MIDHANI) rose as high as 5.96 per cent after the company finalized an order worth Rs. 600 crore. The contract pertaining to the same will be signed shortly.

Does a fall in the crude oil prices trigger a fall in bond yields and hence leads to better returns from gilt funds? Read on to find out if this relation holds true.

Investors who are investing for their child’s education or marriage are offered various products and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is one of them. Read on to find out if MFs are better off compared to Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana.

Following stocks are close to their 52-week low as at 12.46 p.m. on December 19, 2018.

The markets on December 19, 2018 opened gap up. BSE Sensex is trading at 36,453.66, up by 106.58 points and the Nifty is trading at 10,955.20, up by 46.50 points. 

The merger between IDFC Bank and Capital First was effectuated on December 18 and the merged entity will be christened IDFC First Bank. The stocks of IDFC Bank and Capital First were trading up more than 2 per cent on Wednesday. 

The company's promoter released a pledge on 80 lakh shares of Mangalore Chemical & Fertilizers Limited (MCF). On Wednesday, the stock of MCF was buzzing and moved up by more than 3 per cent in the morning session.

Overall volumes in futures & options currently stand at 1.16 crore contracts with a turnover of Rs. 6,95,867.95 crore.

Overall volumes in futures & options currently stand at 1.16 crore contracts with a turnover of Rs. 6,95,867.95 crore.

Going ahead, the 100-day moving average placed at 10,938 is likely to act as an immediate resistance level. A follow-through move above this would open up for further upside towards the level of 11,000, followed by 11,090. Stocks in news: Biocon, Majesco, NTPC, Karnataka Bank, Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services, Lemon Tree, PVR, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Yes Bank, Piramal Enterprises and Welspun Enterprises.

Indian markets are expected to extend their jubilant run shrugging of mixed cues from the Asian peers. The SGX Nifty indicates that Nifty could open around the level of 10,994, with a gain of 39 points.  

The stocks most likely to witness significant movement on the bourses on December 19 are J. Kumar Infraprojects, TCS, DHFL, MIRC Electronics and Skipper.

Skipper, manufacturer of power transmission and distribution structures, has bagged an order worth Rs. 150 crore for 2,500 towers from multiple telecom operators

J Kumar Infraprojects, a Mumbai based infrastructure company, announced that it secured a new order in the capital city of Delhi for road construction from the National Highway Authority.

Information technology stocks faced selling pressure on Tuesday as the domestic currency gained against the US dollar ahead of US Fed's meeting. IT majors Infosys, Wipro dipped more than 2 per cent.

The AUM of the domestic mutual fund industry has increased by four per cent sequentially for the month of November. Digging deep, this is the trend that we are witnessing.

Pharma major Glenmark has received the final approval from United States Food and Drug Association (USFDA) for Fluocinolone Acetonide Oil, 0.01 per cent. The stock was trading 0.81 per cent higher.

Following stocks are close to their 52-week low as at 12.56 p.m. on December 18, 2018.

The markets on December 18, 2018 opened gap down. BSE Sensex is trading at 36,154.83, down by 115.24 points and the Nifty is trading at 10,853.00, down by 35.35 points. 

Investing in mutual funds is not just about investing money in a good performing mutual funds but also to invest based on the right time horizon. Read on to know more.

Overall volumes in futures & options currently stand at 34.38 lakh contracts with a turnover of Rs. 2,25,807.09 crore.

Overall volumes in futures & options currently stand at 34.38 lakh contracts with a turnover of Rs. 2,25,807.09 crore.

The company has signed an agreement to shut down its loss-making subsidiary in Indonesia. The stock reacted to this development and was locked in its upper circuit limit in Tuesday's morning session.

On the way up, the index may attempt to test the 100-day moving average placed at the level of 10,938, while on the downside, the gap area (10,815-10,845) which was formed on December 17 is likely to provide support to the index. Stocks in news: Tata Steel, Graphite India, Ashoka Buildcon, NMDC, Bombay Dyeing, Bank of Baroda and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.

Indian benchmark indices are likely to open a tad lower following cautious mood in the Asian markets and sharp fall seen on Wall Street overnight. The SGX Nifty indicates Nifty could open around the level of 10,886, down by 27 points.   

The metal index gained 2 per cent on Monday as base metal prices increase in the global markets following the cautious optimism that the US and China will resolve their trade conflict soon.

The stocks most likely to witness significant movement on the bourses on December 18 are Godrej Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDBI Bank, Ashoka Buildcon and Lupin.

The AUM of equity funds has increased in the month of November despite a fall in the equity inflows. Read on to find more.

Integrated construction company Ahluwalia Contracts surged as much as 7 per cent to touch intra-day high of around Rs. 305 apiece, after the company informed the bourses that it has bagged order worth nearly Rs.425.42 crore.

Power Mech Projects, an engineering and construction company, received two orders in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for different capacity of thermal power plants.

Following stocks are close to their 52-week low as at 12.35 p.m. on December 17, 2018.

The markets on December 17, 2018 opened gap up. BSE Sensex is trading at 36,202.70, up by 239.77 points and the Nifty is trading at 10,858.75, up by 53.30 points. 

Investors have to focus on asset allocation while dealing with retirement corpus. Generally, investors worry whether one must continue with the existing asset allocation or one must change it to suit the requirements at the time of retirement. Let’s find out.

Hydrocortisone Valerate Ointment is used in the treatment of skin disease like swelling, itching and redness. As per IQVIA, the market for the said medicine was approx US$11.1 million in the 12-month period ending October 2018 in the US market.

NTPC Limited acquired Barauni Thermal Power Station (720 MW) in District Begusarai, Bihar. The company acquired the power station from Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited (BSPGCL) effective from December 15, 2018.

The biotech major's Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) manufacturing facility located in Telangana was inspected by USFDA in the month of December. The inspection concluded without any observation.

Overall volumes in futures & options currently stand at 80.12 lakh contracts with a turnover of Rs. 4,80,578.85 crore.

Overall volumes in futures & options currently stand at 80.12 lakh contracts with a turnover of Rs. 4,80,578.85 crore.

Going ahead, the zone of 10,750-10,757 is likely to act as crucial support for the index. On the upside, immediate hurdle is placed around the level of 10,811. Stocks in news: Biocon, Reliance Industries, Wipro, NTPC, Cadila Healthcare, Datamatics Global Services, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Future Consumer and Canara Bank.

Indian markets are expected to open with modest gains as cues from Asian peers are mixed. The SGX Nifty is currently trading at 10,858 level, up by 27 points.   

After witnessing fierce sell-off, crude oil prices traded in contracting consolidation from last three weeks which looks like symmetric contracting triangle in lower time frame. The contracting triangle can be a continuation or a reversal pattern. Although, more often it is a continuation pattern.

Chennai Petroleum Limited reached near its downward sloping trendline formed by connecting highs from January 2018, on the weekly time frame. This coincides by the stock's long-term moving average, i.e. 200-week exponential moving average, which is currently placed at 283.20 level. After registering its 52-week low, the stock is trading in a range for the last nine weeks along with low volumes, which indicates it is just a pull-back and the original downtrend is likely to resume soon.

Mutual fund houses follow different methods of valuation for corporate bonds which lead to discrepancies in the NAV of the fund, to address this issue SEBI is likely to issue uniform guidelines for pricing of corporate bonds in mutual funds. Read on to find out more.

Ministry of Finance has increased the central government's NPS contribution for its employees to 14 per cent from the existing 10 per cent. The government has also tweaked the tax exemption limit for withdrawal on exit making it a Triple E investment plan.

The stocks most likely to witness significant movement on the bourses on December 15 are Aditya Birla Capital, Indian Oil Corporation, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Gujarat Ambuja Exports and Jet Airways. 

The popular index Bank Nifty opened gap-down on Tuesday and formed sizeable bullish candle around its short-term support zone of 25650-25600, which is the 50 per cent Fibonacci retracement level of its entire upward move starting from the low of early October to the high of December 3,2018.

The stock of biotech company Biocon Limited formed an outside bar resembling a Bullish Engulfing pattern on the weekly time frame, which indicates bulls were in dominant position. After six weeks of contracting consolidation, Biocon has recently given a breakout along with decent volumes.

Supreme Court of India dismissed all the petitions seeking court direction for investigating the alleged scam in the procurement of 36 Rafale jets from the French company Dassault Aviation. Also, DoT agreed to issue NOC for the Rcom-RJio deal.

IT giant Infosys gained on the bourses as the company declared the formation of a JV with Hitachi, Panasonic Corporation and Pasona Inc. Shares of the company gained almost 3 per cent intraday.

The stock of Max India saw a phenomenal uptrend during Friday's trading session. There is a buzz in the market that the company is planning an exit from its insurance business. At 14:26 hours, Max India was quoting Rs. 79.80 per share, up by Rs. 13.00 or 19.46 per cent.

Following stocks are close to their 52-week low as at 12.37 p.m. on December 14, 2018.

In a major blow to Fortis Healthcare's efforts to sell stake, the Supreme Court of India has put on hold the Rs. 4,000 crore deal between IHH Healthcare Berhad and Fortis on Friday. Reacting to this development, the stock of Fortis Healthcare plunged more than 8 per cent.

The markets on December 14, 2018 opened gap down. BSE Sensex is trading at 35,924.65, down by 4.99 points and the Nifty is trading at 10,790.35, down by 1.20 points. 

The dispute settlement tribune for the telecom industry rejects TRAI's rules for penalising telecom companies on predatory pricing practices. The TDSAT ruled that TRAI had issued the new definition and rules without enough consultation with the industry.

Overall volumes in futures & options currently stand at 3.27 crore contracts with a turnover of Rs. 18,23,784.25 crore.