Stock market today: The bears commanded an upper hand on the last trading session of the calendar year 2023 (CY23) as investors chose to book profits in recent outperformers. Benchmark indices Nifty 50 and Sensex were subdued on the last session of 2023 on Friday, December 29, weighed down by selling in high-weightage financials, oil & gas, and information technology (IT) counters.

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The Nifty index ended 47.3 points, or 0.22 per cent, lower at 21,731.4, and the Sensex settled the day 170.12 points, or 0.23 per cent lower at 72,240.26, pausing the five-day rally. The high-beta Nifty Bank index, whose 12 constituents include SBI, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank, finished the day 216.3 points, or 0.45 per cent lower at 48,292.25.

BPCL, the State Bank of India, ONGC, Infosys, and Coal India were among the top losers, down nearly 3-1 per cent. On the other hand, Tata Consumer Products, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, and Nestle India were among the top gainers in the Nifty basket, trading with gains of around 5–1 per cent.

"The market witnessed mild profit booking on the last trading day of the year. The euphoria is expected to continue during the start of next year on account of the exuberance of rate cuts and the drop in bond yields," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.

"On the other hand, oil prices fell by 10 per cent during the year, which could ease inflationary pressure and support the operating performance of the corporations," Nair added.

"We feel that though the outlook on broader indexes is moderate in the short to medium term, the large caps will maintain their vibrancy due to strong earnings growth and in anticipation of the continuation of premium valuation," the expert further said.

The Nifty and BSE Sensex have risen about 20 per cent each this year and are on course for their best month of 2023 with 8 per cent gains. Both the blue-chip indexes are set to post their second-best year in six. Meanwhile, the Nifty Small-cap 100 and Nifty Mid-cap 100 have outperformed the benchmarks this year, having gained more than double of the Nifty and Sensex, despite valuation concerns.

Global Market

European shares advanced on Friday, with media and energy companies among the top gainers, setting the index up for strong yearly gains in hopes of a softer monetary policy from major central banks next year.

The pan-European STOXX 600 added 0.3 per cent by 0919 GMT and was on track for its seventh straight weekly gain as well as its best December performance since 2021.

Global markets have rallied since mid-December, when the US Federal Reserve hinted that it could consider interest rate cuts next year. However, the European Central Bank (ECB) has not given a similar outlook.

(with Reuters inputs)

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