Indian Stock Market Begins the New Year with Caution as Indices Dip
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Mumbai, Dec 31 (NationPress) The domestic benchmark indices commenced the day on a bearish note on Tuesday, with notable selling observed in the IT, real estate, automotive, financial services, FMCG, media, and private banking sectors on Nifty.
As of approximately 9:25 am, the Sensex was recorded at 77,813.49, reflecting a decline of 434.64 points or 0.56 percent, while the Nifty stood at 23,536, down 108.90 points or 0.46 percent.
The market sentiment was mixed. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,096 stocks showed gains, while 1,040 stocks were in the red.
Market analysts noted, "December has historically been a sluggish month for global equity markets. The S&P 500 has dropped by 2.34 percent and Nifty has decreased by 2.6 percent."
They further indicated, "The markets are gearing up to enter the New Year with caution as uncertainty looms large and valuations appear stretched."
The Nifty Bank index fell by 191.50 points or 0.38 percent, reaching 50,761.25. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was at 56,944.80 after a decline of 244.95 points or 0.43 percent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index stood at 18,618.95, down 21 points or 0.11 percent.
On the sectoral front, there was some buying activity in the PSU Bank, Pharmaceutical, Metals, Energy, Commodities, PSE, and Healthcare sectors.
Within the Sensex constituents, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, TCS, Infosys, Zomato, and NTPC emerged as the biggest losers. Conversely, Tata Motors, ITC, Tata Steel, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Nestle India were among the top gainers.
In the prior trading session, the Dow Jones fell by 0.97 percent to close at 42,573.73. The S&P 500 declined by 1.07 percent to close at 5,906.94, while the Nasdaq dropped by 1.19 percent to finish at 19,486.79.
In Asian markets, China was trading lower while Hong Kong showed gains.
Experts stated, "The elevated U.S. bond yield and a robust dollar will likely prompt FIIs to sell on every uptrend. The buying from DIIs may not be sufficient to propel the market significantly higher."
On December 30, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,893.16 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 2,173.86 crore.
