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Sensex, Nifty end flat on expiry day
Dec-26-2024

Indian equity benchmarks ended a largely range-bound session on a flat note on Thursday amidst holidays in peer markets and a lack of major domestic or global triggers. Markets made a positive start and extended gains as traders took support with a private report that India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth, which plunged to 5.4 per cent in the July-September quarter, is making a comeback in the October-December period, according to high-frequency indicators cited in the State of the Economy report by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). However, key indices soon erased initial gains and were trading flat throughout the day as trading volumes remained subdued due to year-end holidays as investors wrapped books for the year. Some concern came as net foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country has slowed considerably, with latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its December bulletin showing that it decelerated to $2.1 billion during April-October 2024 from $7.7 billion a year ago, majorly due to the rise in repatriation and net outward FDI. Besides, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,454.21 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. 

Traders overlooked a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bulletin showing that the Indian economy is recovering from the slowdown in momentum witnessed in the September quarter, driven by strong festival activity and a sustained upswing in rural demand. Traders also paid no heed towards the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s (MoSPI) latest release of the results of Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) for 2023-24 for the reference period October, 2023 - September, 2024, showing that there was significant growth in establishments, employment, and productivity in the unincorporated non-agricultural sector, demonstrating the sector's recovery from pandemic-related challenges and its resurgence with renewed momentum.  

On the global front, Asian markets settled mostly higher in thin holiday trade on Thursday, amid uncertainty about the Federal Reserve's interest-rate path and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's tariff threats. European markets remained closed on Thursday amid festive season. Back home, on the sectoral front, Cement industry stocks were in limelight with a private report that the Indian cement industry, witnessing a consolidation and heightened rivalry between two corporate houses snapping smaller players, pins its hope on 2025 for an improvement in sales realisation, higher margins and acceleration in demand, expecting around 8 per cent sales growth helped by an increased government spendings on big-ticket infra projects. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 0.39 points to 78,472.48, and the CNX Nifty was up by 22.55 points or 0.10% to 23,750.20.            

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 78,898.37 and 78,173.38 respectively. There were 12 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index. 

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.11%, while Small cap index was down by 0.24%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.81%, Power up by 0.45%, Healthcare up by 0.45%, Realty up by 0.39% and PSU up by 0.28%, while FMCG down by 0.34%, Basic Materials down by 0.30%, Telecom down by 0.16%, Metal down by 0.14% and Industrials down by 0.12% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports &SEZ up by 5.19%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.57%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.49%, Sun Pharma up by 1.31% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.97%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 1.05%, Asian Paints down by 1.00%, Nestle down by 0.75%, Zomato down by 0.56% and Reliance Industries down by 0.56% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has formulated a strategy to boost India's exports to America, aiming to capitalise on potential opportunities that may arise as the US President-elect, Donald Trump, has threatened to impose high tariffs on Chinese goods. As part of its plan, the body has urged the government to provide financial assistance for Indian exporters to participate in exhibitions across the US.

FIEO Vice President Israr Ahmed has said ‘we have identified five key sectors in the strategy -- apparel, electronics, toys, footwear, and organic chemicals -- as areas of focus to drive growth in exports to the American market’. He emphasised the need for aggressive promotion and visibility in the US market, stating that increased financial support would enable Indian exporters to showcase their products effectively and tap into emerging opportunities created by the shifting trade dynamics. 

He said ‘capacities are being built as big factories are coming up in the country. We have to increase our presence in the US. We are asking for more fundings under the Market Access Initiatives (MAI) scheme to seize the opportunities. The scheme should focus on the US for at least three years.’ He noted that FIEO is also looking at joining hands with associations of the US in these sectors. He said a lot of apparel firms are shifting bases to India from Bangladesh due to political uncertainties there. About the major challenges for exporters, Ahmed said 'liquidity', and added that export finance, too, has come down.

FIEO has urged the government to relax the requirement of making payments to MSMEs within 45 days of buying goods and services, besides a five-year extension of interest equalisation scheme. Further, he said FIEO is discussing with the commerce ministry the issue of documentation (if RodTEP benefits to an exporter is crossing Rs 1 crore) to deal with countervailing duty cases on domestic products over the RoDTEP scheme. The move is important as countervailing or anti-subsidy duties were imposed on certain domestic units by the US and the European Union.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 23,854.50 and 23,653.60. There were 31 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 5.22%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.90%, SBI Life Insurance up by 1.66%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.63% and Shriram Finance up by 1.56%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 1.17%, Asian Paints down by 0.99%, Tata Consumer Products 0.80%, JSW Steel down by 0.80% and Grasim Industries down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Asian markets settled mostly higher in thin holiday trade on Thursday, extending santa claus rally with Hong Kong and Indonesian markets were still shut for the holidays. Although, investors were remained cautious amid uncertainties over the US Federal Reserve's interest-rate path and US President-elect Donald Trump's tariff threats. Chinese shares gained marginally after authorities agreed to issue 3 trillion yuan worth of special treasury bonds next year to stimulate growth and counter tariffs, while the People's Bank of China held the interest rate on the one-year medium-term lending facility steady at 2% and drained the most cash since 2014 with a one-year policy tool. Japanese shares rose amid a weaker yen after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda maintained his dovish stance in his speech on Wednesday, saying the central bank must scrutinize the impact of Trump's policy and overseas risks.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,398.08

4.73

0.14

Hang Seng

--

--

--

Jakarta Composite

--

--

--

KLSE Composite

1,613.70

10.71

0.67

Nikkei 225

39,568.06

437.63

1.11

Straits Times

3,761.45

-8.10

-0.22

KOSPI Composite

2,429.67

-10.85

-0.45

Taiwan Weighted

23,246.94

26.81

0.12
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