Nifty, Sensex open flat on Monday, dampening possibility of a year-end rally

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 30 (ANI): The Nifty 50 index opened at 23,796.90 with a marginal decline of 16.50 points or 0.07 per cent, while the BSE Sensex opened at 78,637.90 points with a decline of 61.17 points or 0.08 per cent.
Experts noted that weak buying sentiments in the markets have dampened the possibility of a year-end rally. Markets are expected to remain under pressure, and any sharp movement is likely to come only after Donald Trump's policy announcements in his second term.
Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert told ANI said, "Looking like a dull week ahead for Indian markets with Santa Claus deciding that market investors did not deserve a rally this year. Asian markets are soft on the back of the tech led slight fall in US markets on Friday. As Trump takes charge of the White House on 20 th Jan, all eyes will be on his first few Executive orders. Stock markets will wait for clarity as with Trump, every statement is to create opportunistic space for negotiations. Not looking good for now for global or Indian markets".
In the sectoral indices on the NSE, all sectoral indices opened with a decline, and selling pressure dominated the markets. In the Nifty 50 list, 14 stocks opened in the green, while 36 stocks declined.
The top gainers included Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, ITC, and Nestle India. The top losers included BPCL, ONGC, Hindalco, and JSW Steel.
"Support remains inside the 23500 and 23640 areas. As before, a daily close above 24150 is needed for bulls to reassert themselves. Seasonally speaking and based on 25 years of data, the Nifty has risen 71 per cent of the time in the last two days of the calendar year with average and median returns of 0.7 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively" said Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research, Axis Securities.
In 2024, the market started with weak sentiment. After that, it outperformed with back-to-back bullish candles, making new highs. However, from October onwards, it has been falling sharply due to heavy FII selling, exceeding Rs 1,70,863 crore in the last three months.
Uncertainty surrounding the U.S. Presidential Election, tensions in the Middle East, rising bond yields, a strong dollar, mixed earnings reports for the September quarter, and elevated stock valuations have all contributed to a grim outlook.
"Nifty 50 is trading around strong resistance at 23800. As we are stepping into a new year, this key level is one to definitely note for 2025. 24650 and 25300 act as strong resistance levels. A breakout above these levels would indicate a strong bullish rally in 2025. 23300 acts as a crucial support level. A breakdown below this support would signal a strong downtrend" said Sunil Gurjar, SEBI Registered Research Analyst, Founder- Alphamojo Financial Services.
In other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and Taiwan's Weighted Index were down at the time of filing this report, while South Korea's KOSPI was up marginally. (ANI)