Indian Stock Market on 30.12.24

Monday’s market action? Not the most thrilling. US stocks slipped as rising Treasury yields continued to put pressure on investor sentiment. The Dow Jones dropped 128.3 points, or 0.30%, landing at 42,863.86. The S&P 500 lost 50.2 points, or 0.84%, closing at 5,920.67, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 261.6 points, or 1.33%, ending the day at 19,460.41. At the same time, the US dollar was on a roll, hitting a two-year high. As of now, the dollar index was up by 0.18%, sitting at 108.17, just shy of its recent high.

The Japanese yen barely nudged up from five-month lows against the dollar, a result of the persistent interest rate gap between Japan and the US. China’s stock market eked out a small gain, thanks to energy and financial sectors, but the Hong Kong market lost ground. Over in Japan, the Nikkei index retreated by 0.96% on Monday, as profit-taking kicked in after a solid year that saw the index rise almost 20%.

Back home, India wasn’t immune to the global market jitters. The Nifty 50 closed down 0.71%, or 169 points, at 23,644.90, while the Sensex shed 451 points, or 0.57%, to settle at 78,248.13. Weak global cues and a struggling banking sector led the charge lower, with giants like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank taking a hit. The Nifty Bank index dropped by 0.7%, and both PSU and Private Bank indices saw losses. Healthcare and Pharma stocks, which managed to stay afloat, with their respective indices gaining more than 1%.

And as for commodities—gold saw a small dip, with the price of 24-carat gold in India down by ₹10, sitting at ₹7800.3 per gram. Silver also took a hit, dropping ₹100 to ₹95400 per kg. Oil prices rose modestly, buoyed by thin holiday trading and anticipation of upcoming economic data from the US and China.