Indian share markets finished at fresh life-time highs on the last trading day of 2017, capping off a remarkable year which saw the benchmark surging by 28%.

At the closing bell last week, the BSE Sensex closed higher by 209 points and the NSE Nifty finished higher by 53 points. The S&P BSE Mid Cap finished up by 0.7% while S&P BSE Small Cap finished up by 0.6%. Gains were largely seen in power sector, auto sector and software sector.

Top Stocks to Watch Out

Biocon share price is expected to be in limelight today after the company's proposed biosimilar trastuzumab has been approved by Brazilian regulatory agency ANVISA, through their partner Libbs Farmaceutica. Biosimilar trastuzumab, indicated for breast cancer treatment, has been co-developed by Biocon and Mylan.

Infosys share price is expected to see some action today after it was reported that the company will divest its entire investment in ANSR Consulting Holdings, Inc, for a total amount of US$1 million.

In news from telecom sector, as per an article in The Economic Times, Bharti Airtel is set to enter into a deal with Amazon that will allow India's top telecom market leader to distribute the American ecommerce giant's content through the Airtel TV app. Through the content tie-up, Bharti Airtel is aiming to ring-fence its high-paying customers in an intensely competitive market.

Shriram Transport Finance share price is expected to see some action today as after it was reported that the company has raised Rs 4 billion by issuing bonds on private placement basis.

As per a leading financial daily, the government has provided over Rs 75 billion fresh equity to six stressed state-run banks to help them meet the prescribed regulatory capital requirement and state its commitment to keep banks well-funded. Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Uco Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Dena Bank and Central Bank of India have received equity through preferential issue of shares with two of them informing stock exchanges about the decision.

NTPC share price is expected to see momentum today as the group company will cross the 51,000-MW mark on Sunday midnight with the beginning of commercial operations of Unit-2 of the Kudgi Super Thermal Project.

DLF share price finished the previous trading session down by 1.7% on the BSE. As per an article in The Livemint, the promoters of the company have infused Rs 90 billion in the company and the amount will be utilized to reduce debt significantly. In the previous week, DLF promoters concluded the sale of a 40% stake in rental arm DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd for Rs 119 billion.

IPO Segment

As per an article in The Financial Express, IPO's in India saw inflows of about US$24 billion into Indian markets from local and overseas investors.

Year 2017 has seen the highest number of grossly oversubscribed issues. Latest to join the list of grossly oversubscribed issues is the IPO of Astron Paper and Board Mill Ltd which got subscribed by more than 243 times last week, and listed at a staggering 140% premium over issue price on BSE.

After such stellar response to IPOs in the current year, all focus and attention will shift to the major IPOs in the upcoming new year 2018 which includes IPOs of HDFC Asset Management Company, NSE and IRCTC to name a few.

However, the market euphoria is something similar to what was seen in 2007-08. When everyone around you is clamoring to get a piece of the IPO pie, it makes sitting tight difficult. And, why should you sit tight when stocks like Avenue Supermart lets you pocket a cool 100% gain from day 1 of the listing?

History suggests that these cases are few and far between. More than 70% of the IPOs listed in 2007 and 2008 are in the red, even today when the Sensex is at an all-time high.

This allows us to stay on the fence when it comes to investing in IPOs. But it doesn't make sense to completely ignore this space. For every Reliance Power-like issue, there have been issues like Maruti, TCS, and Jubilant Foodworks Ltd (with returns over 4,000%, 1,000% and 500% respectively) that have created immense wealth for shareholders. A merit-based selection primarily including valuation, business, and management quality is the logical way to go about it.

Bitcoin Falls Below US$14,000

Bitcoin prices rebounded below US$14,000 after moves by South Korea to curb speculation and protect retail customers took the cryptocurrency down more than 8%.

The digital currency has slumped about 23% from its record US$19,511 reached on 18 December, when CME Group Inc. introduced its futures contract.

Meanwhile, the ministry of finance on Friday cautioned people against the risks of investing in virtual currencies such as Bitcoin that are not backed by government fiat, and compared them with Ponzi schemes.

Global Markets Remain Mixed

Global stock indices were mostly higher on Friday, putting them on track to close out the year with strong gains.

When investors return from the New Year holiday, they'll have a week full of economic data to mull. Purchasing manager indices and data on the services industries come before the monthly government jobs report and the minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting.

Oil Prices Rise

Oil prices hit their highest since mid-2015 on the final trading day of the year as an unexpected fall in American output and a fall in commercial crude inventories stoked buying. Oil prices settled above US$60 a barrel on Friday for the first time since late June 2015.