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Informist, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Indices may open tad lower, volume likely to remain subdued

 

MUMBAI--0813 IST--Benchmark equity indices are expected to open a tad lower on Friday, extending losses from Wednesday's session, when they closed 0.1% lower each. Analysts expect the indices to move in a thin range Friday on reduced trading activity in a holiday-shortened week. Indian equity markets were closed on Thursday on account of Christmas. 

 

The GIFT Nifty contracts suggest the Nifty 50 may open in the negative territory. At 0758 IST, the December contract of the GIFT Nifty was at 26114 points, over 28 points below the Nifty 50's close on Wednesday. The Nifty 50 ended at 26142.10 points on Wednesday, down 35.05 points or 0.1%.

 

"Nifty (50) index is moving in a board congestion zone 26325-25700 spot zone. Intraday supports are placed around 25900-26060 spot levels and resistances are at 26230 spot levels," said Vipin Kumaar, assistant vice president of derivatives and technical research at Globe Capital Markets.

 

Major indices in the US closed higher Wednesday, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 posting a record closing high amid a broad rally in a holiday-shortened session. The initial claims for US state unemployment benefits dropped for a second straight week, declining by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 214,000 for the week ended Dec. 20, data from the US Labor Department showed Wednesday. This was lower than the 224,000 claims forecast by the Reuters poll. Fed funds futures trading still indicates two rate cuts by the end of 2026, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

 

Asia-Pacific markets opened higher Friday, with several exchanges in the region, including Australia and Hong Kong, closed for the Boxing Day holiday. Tokyo's core consumer price index, which excludes volatile costs of fresh food, rose 2.3% on year in December, less than market forecasts for a 2.5% gain and slowing from a 2.8% increase in November. The core CPI was however, above the Bank of Japan's 2% target, reinforcing the case for more interest rate hikes. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose around 1%, led by gains in real estate and technology stocks, while the Topix was up 0.5%. (Arya S. Biju)

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Equity Alert: US indices end higher Wed; S&P 500 closes at new record high

 

MUMBAI--0731 IST--US equity indices closed higher Wednesday, with the S&P 500 ending at a new all-time high. The index rose 0.3% to 6932.05 points. Investors continue to hope for the Santa Claus rally, a year-end stock market surge that occurs between the last five trading days of the year and the first two trading days of the New Year. This year, it is from Dec. 24 to Jan. 5.  

 

The Dow Industrial Average ended 0.6% higher and the Nasdaq Composite closed 0.2% higher. Shares of the sports shoemaker, Nike, were among the top gainers after Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., said \he bought shares in the company. The stock ended 4.6% higher. Micron Technology rose 3.8% and shares of the investment banking company Citigroup rose 1.8%, CNBC reported. 

 

On Tuesday, the US Commerce Department issued its third-quarter reading of GDP, that came in at 4.3%, which is higher than the estimate of 3.2% from Dow Jones, as per the CNBC report. The report had been delayed due to the government shutdown in autum. Only a few traders currently expect an interest rate cut in the upcoming Fed meeting on Jan. 28, with an 84.5% probability of interest rates remaining unchanged. On the other hand, 15.5% of traders expect a rate cut, the data from CME FedWatch tool showed.

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Wednesday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6932.05	0.32
NASDAQ Composite	23613.307	0.22
Dow Jones Industrial Average	48731.16	0.6

 

(Adhithya Aji)

 

US$1 = INR 89.79

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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