Stock Market News: Sensex Sheds 40 Points; Nifty Reclaims 26,000 As Headline Indices Finish Flat

Share Market News: Headline indices ended the session on a flattish note on December 23. The Sensex finished at 85,524.84,down by 42.64 points or 0.05 per cent, and the Nifty 50 finished at 26,177.15, up by 4.75 points or 0.02 per cent.

The headline indices mirrored the movement of global markets. The Nifty 50 traded largely with a slow but upward trajectory, reflecting sustained buying interest. On the policy front, investor sentiment was buoyed by India’s announcement of a Free Trade Agreement with New Zealand. The agreement is expected to allow duty-free entry of Indian goods into New Zealand.

Shriram Finance and Coal India Lead Gainers

Shares of Shriram Finance and Coal India came out as top gainers among Nifty 50 stocks as they closed 3.73 per cent and 2.42 per cent higher on the NSE. Other Nifty gainers included ITC and Ultratech Cement Company which finished the session with gains of 1.53 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively. As many as 24 constituents of the benchmark finished in the green territory, while 26 finished in the red.

Nifty Metal and Nifty FMCG Gain

The Nifty Metal and the Nifty FMCG indices gained the most among all sectoral indices as they ended higher by 0.54 per cent and 0.52 per cent, respectively. The broader market indices extended gains on December 23. The Nifty SmallCap 100 finished up by 0.37 per cent and the Nifty MidCap 100 closed the session flat. Nifty Bank, which tracks the 12 most actively traded and valuable banking stocks, too, ended flat at 59,299.55.

Asian Markets on December 23

Asian indices finished the session mixed, as the Nikkei 225 and the Hang Seng finished the session lower by 0.08 per cent, respectively. Other Asian indices like the Shanghai Composite and the KOSPI ended higher by 0.07 per cent and 0.28 per cent, respectively.

Primary Market Action On December 23

KSH International IPO shares listed with a discount on December 23. On the SME board public issues of Dhara Rail Projects, Nanta Tech, Admach Systems, Bai Kakaji Polymers and Apollo Techno Industries opened for subscription.

Market Cues

The current week will be a holiday-shortened one as the stock market will remain closed on December 25. D-Street is set to track key global economic cues such as US durable goods orders and gross domestic product figures. The data is set to be released by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics later today. Trading volumes are likely to remain subdued during the holiday-shortened week.