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Below the Daily market commentary by Mr. Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Equity markets managed to end the last trading session of 2024 on a flattish note, despite weak global cues. Nifty ended at 23,644 level, and delivered almost 9% returns in CY24. Broader market outperformed with Nifty midcap100 and smallcap100 indices gaining 24% each over the calendar year. Amongst sectoral indices, Pharma and Realty were the top performers in 2024, rising 39% and 34% respectively. The IT index witnessed selling pressure today (Tuesday) as tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index dropped over 1% overnight, sending negative cues for the domestic counterparts. Oil and as stocks were in focus on account of rising Singapore Gross Refining Margin (GRM), which increased from $2 to $7 per barrel over the past 3 months. FIIs have continued to sell Indian equities amidst weak INR and rising US Bond yields, taking net outflows to Rs 1.73 lakh crore since Oct’24. However DIIs provided support by investing over Rs1.81 lakh crore over the same period. Looking ahead, 2025 could unfold as a tale of two halves. The first half may see continued market consolidation, influenced by key events such as the Union Budget, the start of the RBI's interest rate-cut cycle, and global policy shifts following Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. President in January 2025. However, a recovery is expected in the second half, driven by increased government spending and improvement in corporate earnings. The pre-quarterly business updates to be released in the first week of January will provide insights into the upcoming result season and would be keenly tracked by investors.  

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