Stock market today: Key things to know before the opening bell on January 1

Markets worldwide ended the year cautiously as geopolitical and economic factors weighed on them. The US markets closed in the red for the third consecutive day, with major indices closing nearly 0.4% lower. On the other hand, the Asian markets started the new year with losses following the lead of US markets. The Chinese and the Hong Kong markets traded in deep red on Wednesday morning

Taking cues from their global counterparts, the Indian markets are expected to open in the red in the first trading session of 2025.

US Markets

The US markets closed 2024 with impressive returns as the year was ruled by the performance of tech stocks like Nvidia, Tesla, and Meta, which made NASDAQ one of the top-performing indices in 2024. The NASDAQ closed 30% higher in 2024, followed by S&P500 at 24% and Dow Jones at 12.8% in a similar period.

Asian markets

Asian markets opened in 2024 on a cautious note, taking the lead from their Wall Street counterparts. The Chinese and Hong Kong indices traded nearly 2% lower on January 1 as trade war fear loomed over the already crumbling Chinese economy. On the other hand, the Japanese Nikkei Index also traded 400 points lower on Wednesday morning. Both the Asian giants gave impressive returns in 2024 in the range of 18-20%.

Crude Oil prices

The crude oil prices started 2024 on a positive note with WTI and Brent crude oil prices gaining over 1% each on Wednesday morning. The WTI crude oil prices traded 1% higher at $71.7 per barrel, and Brent crude oil prices traded 0.9% higher at $74.7 per barrel.

Chart check

The SENSEX and NIFTY50 hovered aroudn 200EMA levels in the last trading session of 2024. The SENSEX managed to close above 200 DEMA levels on Tuesday, while NIFTY50 faces heavy resistance at 200 DEMA levels of 23,680 levels.