Market Wrap, December 24: SENSEX, NIFTY50 end flat with negative bias; 170 stocks hit 52-week high on BSE

Given the holiday season, trading is expected to be thin for the next few sessions, both in the global and domestic markets.

The markets will be closed tomorrow, December 25, on account of Christmas.

Hence, as per analysts, markets will trade in a tight range for a few sessions given the lack of fresh triggers.

At close, the S&P BSE SENSEX stood at 78,472.87, down 67 points, or 0.09%, while the 50-share index, NIFTY, of the NSE, settled at 23,727.65, down 25.80 points, or 0.11%.

Top gainers and losers

Out of 50 constituents in the NIFTY50 index, 28 declined, and the remaining 22 ended in the green.

The top five gainers of the index were Tata Motors, Adani Enterprises, Eicher Motors, Nestle (India), and BPCL.

Power Grid Corporation, JSW Steel, SBI Life, Titan Company, and Infosys were the top losers.

On the SENSEX, Tata Motors (up 2%) was the top gainer, followed by ITC and Nestle (India).

The biggest loser was Power Grid.

Market Statistics

The market breadth was in favour of declines, as out of 4,092 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,019 scrips declined, and 1,977 advanced, while 96 stocks remained unchanged.

As many as 170 stocks hit their 52-week high levels, while 64 stocks touched their 52-week low levels.

Further, nine stocks hit their upper circuit limit, and one scrip hit its lower circuit.

Buzzing Stocks

Tata Capital is a subsidiary of Tata Sons, and Tata Investment Corporation, as per publicly available information, is one of Tata Sons' largest shareholders.

The stock ended at ₹6,804 on the NSE, up 4.24%.

Other Tata Group stocks, too, gained in the trade.

Tata Technologies stock rallied over 2% to ₹908.55 on the NSE.

Shares of Sagility India were locked in the 5% upper circuit band at ₹48.91 apiece on the BSE. The stock has rallied over 13% in the past one week, as per the BSE data.

According to news reports, global brokerage firm JP Morgan is positive on the stock.

The brokerage highlighted Sagility's strong positioning in the niche healthcare services segment, catering largely to non-discretionary spending, which provides a stable growth outlook even in uncertain market conditions.

Broader Market

The BSE SmallCap index ended at 55,023.17, up 205 points, or 0.37%, while the BSE MidCap index settled at 46,314.02, up 39.71 points, or 0.09%.

Sector Watch

Metal stocks slipped the most on the BSE, followed by power stocks.

The BSE METAL index ended at 29,593.98, down 0.93%.

On the other hand, FMCG, auto, and services counters saw decent gains.

The BSE Fast Moving Consumer Goods index ended at 20,630.73, up 118.26 points, or 0.58%.