The last trading day of 2024, December 31, saw a mixed trend for the benchmark indices, the Nifty and Sensex. Due to market pressure from IT giants, Sensex stayed in the red while Nifty managed to fight its way into the green. Some respite was offered by gains in oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and PSU bank equities, but as the year came to an end, anxiety persisted due to a rising dollar index and ongoing FII selling.
The Sensex closed at 78,139.01, down 109.12 points, or 0.14 percent, while the Nifty ended up at 23,658.15, up 13.25 points, or 0.06 percent. Approximately 1571 shares fell, 97 shares remained steady, and 2239 shares increased.
The resiliency of small and midcap stocks was demonstrated by their respective gains of 0.7 and 0.1 percent. In addition, the two have held up better, dropping only 5% over the previous three months. In contrast, Nifty has lost over 9% in the same time frame.
Heavyweights Infosys, TCS, and HCL Tech pulled the IT index lower, causing it to plummet more than 1% in the afternoon. Due to market concerns after the US Federal Reserve signaled fewer rate reductions in 2025 than expected, the sector, which is highly dependent on US revenues, faltered. Following suit, real estate stocks had a 0.3 percent decline in the index, driven mostly by Lodha, Godrej Properties, and DLF. As private lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank declined, the Nifty Bank index also fell by 0.23 percent.
With Sun Pharma, Lupin, Cipla, and Dr. Reddy leading the charge, Nifty Pharma turned out to be a top performer, rising nearly a percent. While oil and gas stocks gained 1%, auto stocks recovered slightly, increasing 0.4 percent.
As 2024 came to a close, the market experienced its ninth year of expansion, with the Nifty and Sensex gaining by around 9% and 8%, respectively, to close off the year strongly. The Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices produced remarkable gains of more than 20 percent each, highlighting the tenacity and promise of smaller stocks, while the larger market grabbed center stage.
