Indian stocks began the final trading session of 2024 deep in the red, with benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex extending their losing streak into a second day.
This was primarily due to sharp declines in IT and realty stocks, which overshadowed gains in the energy and metal sectors.
Despite a solid performance in some areas, the overall market sentiment remained weak.
The slump can be attributed to the sour mood of persistent foreign institutional investor (FII) selling, which has continued unabated, even with the typically subdued activity during the holiday season.
Overseas investors have been net sellers for ten consecutive sessions, offloading stocks worth ₹24,044.15 crore.
On Monday, foreign institutional investors sold stocks worth approximately ₹1,893.16 crore. Last week, the FPIs offloaded ₹6,322.88 crore in total.
The Sensex had fallen by 376.65 points, or 0.48%, to 77,871.48, and the Nifty was down by 91.25 points, or 0.39%, to 23,553.65.
Indian markets were also tracking the broader trends in Asia, where elevated US Treasury yields weighed on emerging markets.
The Nifty slipped around 0.7% to hit an intraday low of 23,460.45
Stocks in focus in India
On the stock-specific front, Vodafone Idea shares fell despite Citi Research maintaining a bullish outlook.
The Department of Telecommunications’ waiver of the bank guarantee requirement for pre-reform spectrum auctions was seen as a positive catalyst.
Meanwhile, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders saw a 2% rally after securing a ₹1,990 crore contract from the Defence Ministry for the construction and integration of an Air Independent Propulsion plug for DRDO.
In terms of sectoral performance, the IT index was the worst performer, losing nearly 3%, dragged down by sharp declines in heavyweights like Infosys, TCS, and HCL Tech.
The Realty index followed closely, shedding over 1%, with stocks such as Lodha, Godrej Properties, and DLF leading the fall.
The Nifty Bank index also traded lower, down by 0.5%, with private lenders like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank contributing to the decline.
However, Nifty Pharma and PSU Bank indices managed to post small gains, rising around 0.3%.
Broader market indices also mirrored the weak sentiment, with the small and midcap stocks down by 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
Asian markets under pressure
Asian stocks edged lower on Tuesday in cautious trading as the year comes to a close.
With Japan and South Korea’s markets closed for the New Year’s Eve holiday, and markets in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong closing early for the holiday, trading volumes were thin.
China’s CSI300 index dipped 0.52% on Tuesday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose by 0.3% in early trading, reflecting some positive momentum.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down by 53.70 points, or 0.65%, at 8,181.30, after hitting a low of 8,168.70 earlier in the session.
US stocks end in red on Monday
US stocks opened sharply lower on Monday, extending last Friday’s sell-off but recovered some ground by the close.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 418.48 points, or 1.0%, at 42,573.73.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 235.25 points, or 1.2%, to 19,486.78, while the S&P 500 slipped 63.90 points, or 1.1%, to 5,906.94.
Despite a rebound, the markets remained in negative territory, with technology stocks notably lower.
Key US economic data, including construction spending, jobless claims, and manufacturing PMI, will be released Thursday.
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