FIRST TRADE: Sensex tumbles nearly 400 pts, Nifty falls to 23,552

Tracking weak Asian markets, Indian equities on the last trading session of the year 2024 opened lower. At the start, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 0.51 per cent or 396.7 points at 77,851.43, while the NSE's Nifty50 index was down 0.39 per cent or 93 points at 23,551.9.

Sectorally, IT and Realty were the worst hit with the IT index plummeting up to 2 per cent, while Pharma, PSU Banks and Oil & Gas indices traded with mild gains.

In 2024, Nifty steadily climbed from January to September, reaching a historic high of 26,277.35, before giving up some gains to still close the year with an impressive 8 per cent  rise. This marked Nifty’s ninth consecutive year of positive returns, despite FIIs selling shares worth Rs 3,03,000 crore.

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, "December has been weak for equity markets globally. S&P 500 is down by 2.34 per cent and Nifty is down by 2.6 per cent. Markets are preparing to move into the New Year with caution since uncertainty is high and valuations are stretched. The high U.S. bond yield and strong dollar will ensure that FIIs will continue to sell on every rise."

DII buying will not be strong enough to take the market much higher. The fact is that even the DIIs and HNIs don’t have the conviction to accumulate stocks, except in certain pockets of fair value. Conviction to accumulate stocks will emerge only when macro indicators suggest recovery in growth and earnings, he added.

As we look ahead to 2025, rising US bond yields present a key risk, noted Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.

Asian stocks

The key MSCI Asia ex Japan index traded in the red- down 0.18 per cent at 571.16. Most Asian markets traded on a negative note in a cautious year-end trading. Shanghai Composite and Taiwan Weighted indices were down by as much as 0.8 per cent at the last count, while Japan markets are observing a holiday for the rest of the week.