Equity markets ended largely flat on Thursday, with the BSE Sensex closing marginally lower at 78,472.48 points, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 22.55 points to finish at 23,750.20, as thin trading volumes and lack of fresh triggers kept investors cautious on the last derivatives expiry day of the year.

Adani Ports emerged as the top gainer among Nifty stocks, surging 5.22 per cent, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra (1.90 per cent), SBI Life Insurance (1.66 per cent), Maruti Suzuki (1.63 per cent), and Shriram Finance (1.56 per cent). On the losing side, Titan led the decline with a 1.17 per cent drop, followed by Asian Paints (-0.99 per cent), Tata Consumer Products (-0.80 per cent), JSW Steel (-0.80 per cent), and Grasim Industries (-0.67 per cent).

Market breadth remained negative, with 2,329 stocks declining compared to 1,639 advances on the BSE. A total of 4,074 stocks were traded, with 155 stocks hitting 52-week highs and 80 touching 52-week lows. Five stocks hit the upper circuit while two reached the lower circuit limit.

“On the last expiry day of the year, the domestic market remained flat throughout the day amidst holidays in peer markets and a lack of major domestic or global triggers,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. He added that concerns over FII outflows and the depreciating rupee persist, given the strengthening US dollar index.

Sectoral performance was mixed, with auto, pharma, financials, PSU Bank, realty, and healthcare indices gaining up to 0.84 per cent. However, FMCG, IT, metal, private bank, and media sectors faced losses, with declines of up to 1.46 per cent. The Nifty Bank index closed at 51,170.70, down 62.30 points.

In stock-specific news, tobacco manufacturer Godfrey Phillips saw its shares surge 10 per cent after announcing the appointment of Siddharth Chawla as its Chief Operating Officer, effective January 7, 2025.

Market volatility increased as indicated by the India VIX, which surged 6.50 per cent to 14.04. “Investors are awaiting fresh triggers to get a sense of market direction before committing to any big bets,” noted Satish Chandra Aluri from Lemonn Markets desk. He emphasized that markets are entering a new macro regime in 2025, with rising uncertainty on inflation and growth leading to a “higher for longer” interest rates in the US.

Technical analysts observed that the Nifty has been struggling to cross the 200-Day Simple Moving Average hurdle near 23,855 over the last three sessions.

“For traders now, the immediate breakout level is 23,850, above which the market could move up to 23,950-24,000. Conversely, if it drops below 23,650, it could retest the levels of 23,550-23,500,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities.

The Nifty Next 50 index gained 0.45 per cent to close at 69,165.85, while the Nifty Midcap Select rose 0.27 per cent to 12,791.65. Global cues remained muted as most international markets were closed for the Boxing Day holiday.