Markets opened on a subdued note on Tuesday morning, with benchmark indices trading nearly flat as traders remained cautious ahead of the December derivatives expiry amid thin year-end volumes and continued foreign institutional investor outflows. The BSE , which closed at 84,695.54 on Monday, opened at 84,600.99 and was trading at 84,688.46, down 7.08 points or 0.01 per cent. The NSE 50, which closed at 25,942.10 in the previous session, opened at 25,940.90 and was at 25,938.00, down 4.10 points or 0.02 per cent at 9.45 am.
“Indian equity markets remain in a cautious consolidation-to-mildly bearish phase, driven by ongoing profit booking, expiry-related positioning, and thin year-end liquidity,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, a SEBI registered online trading and wealth tech firm. “Intraday volatility is expected to remain elevated — particularly in the latter half of the session — amid monthly F&O expiry and rollover activity, while mixed global cues and selective domestic buying continue to keep overall sentiment guarded.”
Monday’s session saw the Sensex fall 346 points while the Nifty slipped 100 points, extending losses for a fourth consecutive session. The Bank Nifty eased 79 points to 58,932, reflecting profit booking after recent advances. Sentiment was dampened by an overnight sell-off on Wall Street led by technology stocks, rekindling concerns over stretched AI valuations.
“Nifty 50 continues to form a lower high–lower low structure on the daily chart, indicating short-term weakness, though the broader trend remains intact for now,” Ponmudi R added. “The 25,900–25,800 zone stands out as a critical support cluster, aligning with the 50-day EMA, recent monthly lows, and the 38.2 per cent Fibonacci retracement.”
Among Nifty 50 constituents, led the gainers, rising 1.25 per cent to ₹967.40, followed by up 0.83 per cent at ₹3,621.80, gaining 0.77 per cent to ₹871.65, advancing 0.75 per cent to ₹9,155.00, and up 0.67 per cent at ₹2,095.60. On the losing side, Eicher Motors fell 1.04 per cent to ₹279.90, IndiGo declined 0.97 per cent to ₹5,036.00, Max Healthcare dropped 0.86 per cent to ₹1,055.00, Apollo Hospitals slipped 0.84 per cent to ₹7,025.00, and Bajaj Finserv was down 0.65 per cent at ₹1,999.10.
Foreign Institutional Investors continued their selling streak for the fifth consecutive session on December 29, offloading equities worth ₹2,759 crore. In contrast, Domestic Institutional Investors provided support by purchasing equities worth ₹2,643 crore on the same day, partially offsetting FII outflows.
“The year-end trend, though weak, doesn’t indicate a directional change in the market,” said Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited. “A clear directional change will happen only early in the new year when large institutions are back in action. It would be better for investors to watch the market now and wait for new triggers and new directional moves.”
The broader markets witnessed selling pressure in the previous session, with the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices declining around 0.5 per cent each. Volatility picked up after several muted sessions, with India VIX rising over 6 per cent to 9.72, signalling a modest increase in near-term uncertainty.
On the sectoral front, metal stocks retreated from intraday highs as global prices corrected. Selling pressure was visible across financials, IT, realty, healthcare and consumption-linked stocks. Railway stocks witnessed profit booking after recent sharp rallies, with IRFC and RVNL sliding close to 5 per cent each. Nifty Media, FMCG and PSU indices managed to close marginally higher, supported by selective buying in defensive and energy-related names.
“Bank Nifty is holding up relatively better than the broader market but remains in a mildly negative short-term trend,” Ponmudi R noted. “The index needs to defend the 58,700–58,800 zone, which marks the recent breakout base and an important demand area.”