Mumbai, Dec 31 The domestic benchmark indices closed flat on Tuesday as stock markets prepared to move into the New Year with caution amid high uncertainty and valuations.
The final day of 2024 concluded with minor losses, despite a recovery from the day's lows. Losses were mainly in IT and realty stocks, while other sectors saw gains.
Sensex ended at 78,139.01, down by 109.12 points or 0.14 per cent, and Nifty settled at 23,658, up by 13.25 points or 0.06 per cent.
Nifty Bank ended at 50,887, down by 65.75 points, or 0.13 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 57,153.45 after dropping 36.30 points, or 0.06 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 18,763.30 rising 123.35 points, or 0.66 per cent.
Nonetheless, the market's focus is expected to shift back to domestic Q3 results for insights into potential growth and earnings recovery and to the Union budget, offering a short to medium-term perspective amid global uncertainties, said experts.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,321 shares ended in green and 1,648 shares in red, whereas there was no change in 110 shares.
On the sectoral front, IT, Financial Services and Realty were major losers, whereas PSE, Oil & Gas, Auto, PSU Bank, Pharma, FMCG, Metal, Media, Energy, Private Bank, Infra, and Commodities sectors were major gainers.
In the Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra, Zomato, TCS, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Hindustan Unilever were the top losers. Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC, Ultra Tech Cement, Tata Steel, SBI, Tata Motors, and L&T were the top gainers.
According to Rupak De of LKP Securities, following a weak start, the Nifty recovered smartly during the day.
"However, the technical setup remains unchanged as the index failed to break above any significant moving averages. Despite this, sentiment appeared to improve throughout the session," he added.
"The rupee traded lower at 85.68, down by 0.12rs, as the dollar index's recent 7 per cent rally continues to exert pressure on the domestic currency."
"The immediate range for the rupee is expected between 85.55 and 85.80 as markets await fresh global triggers,” said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,893.16 crore on December 30, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,173.86 crore on the same day.
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