Sensex, Nifty 50 end flat amid lack of fresh triggers— 10 key highlights from the Indian stock market today

The Indian stock market ended flat on Tuesday, 30 December, as investors kept their bets low amid a lack of fresh domestic triggers and mixed global cues. The Sensex ended at 84,675.08, slipping 20 points, or 0.02%, while the Nifty 50 closed the day 3 points, or 0.01%, lower at 25,938.85. The BSE Midcap index slipped 0.05%, while the Smallcap index dropped by 0.20%.

While the medium-term outlook of the domestic market has improved due to anticipated earnings growth amid healthy growth-inflation dynamics and monetary easing, market participants appear cautious ahead of the start of the December quarter earnings season. Focus is also on geopolitical developments, with news flowing from the India-US trade talks front.

The domestic market is witnessing stock-specific action, which is keeping the indices range-bound. On Tuesday, benchmark indices ended flat as gains in shares of select heavyweights, including Mahindra and Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, and SBI, were offset by losses in those of Infosys, Eternal, and Reliance Industries.

Indian stock market: 10 key highlights from the day

1. Why did the Indian stock market end flat today?

The Nifty 50 remained in a range on the monthly F&O expiry day. While the rupee's rise underpinned sentiment, investors bought and booked profits selectively ahead of the start of the Q3 results season while also awaiting further clarity on the India-US trade talks front.

According to Bloomberg, the Indian rupee rose 19 paise to close at 89.78 per US dollar.

"The domestic market remained volatile and ended the monthly expiry day flat, despite supportive global cues and selective value buying. A stronger rupee provided some respite, yet overall sentiment stayed cautious amid persistent FII outflows," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments.

"Looking ahead, the market is anticipated to stay sideways, awaiting more pronounced outcomes from US-India trade talks and the Q3 results calendar," Nair said.

2. Top gainers in the Nifty 50 index

Bajaj Auto (up 2.32%), Hindalco Industries (up 2.12%), and Shriram Finance (up 2%) ended as the top gainers in the index.

3. Top losers in the Nifty 50 index

Eternal (down 2.21%), Eicher Motors (down 1.92%), and Tata Consumer (down 1.79%) ended as the top losers in the index. As many as 28 stocks ended with losses in the index.

4. Sectoral indices today

Sectoral indices ended mixed. Among the gainers, Nifty Metal jumped 2%, while Nifty PSU Bank and Auto indices clocked gains of 1.69% and 1.08%, respectively.

Nifty Bank rose 0.41% to end at 59,171.25.

Among the laggards, Nifty Realty (down 0.84%), Consumer Durables (down 0.81%), and IT (down 0.74%) lost significantly.

5. Most active counters in terms of volume

Vodafone Idea (67.4 crore shares), YES Bank (26.7 crore shares), and Tata Silver Exchange Traded Fund (22.9 crore shares) were the most active counters in terms of volume on the NSE.

6. 11 stocks jump more than 15% on BSE

Orient Technologies, NRB Industrial Bearings, and Orient Ceratech were among the 11 stocks that surged more than 15% on the BSE.

7. Advance-decline ratio

Out of 4,347 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,918 advanced, while 2,260 declined. Some 169 stocks remained unchanged.

8. Over 100 stocks hit 52-week highs

Some 108 stocks, including Maruti Suzuki India, Canara Bank, and Shriram Finance, hit their 52-week highs in intraday trade on the BSE.

9. Nearly 200 stocks hit 52-week lows

As many as 195 stocks, including ACC, BASF India, Colgate Palmolive (India), Dixon Technologies (India), Godrej Agrovet, Happiest Minds Technologies, Vedant Fashions, PCBL Chemical, Poly Medicure, and Whirlpool of India, hit their 52-week lows in intraday trade on the BSE.

10. Nifty's technical outlook

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, underscored that the Nifty 50 has fallen below the middle Bollinger Band, the RSI has entered a bearish crossover, and the index has also slipped below the 21 EMA, reinforcing the short-term downtrend.

"Immediate support is placed in the 25,850–25,870 zone. A decisive break below this level could intensify bearish sentiment, while resistance is placed at 26,000," said De.

Sudeep Shah, Vice President- Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, believes the 50-day EMA zone of 25,850-25,800 will act as crucial support for the Nifty 50.

Shah said any sustained move below the 25,800 level could lead to further weakness towards the 25,650 level, followed by 25,500. On the upside, the zone of 26,000-26,050 will act as a strong resistance for the index, Shah said.

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