Market Report Today: Holiday Lull Leads to Marginal Profit Booking

Market Report Today| Nifty 50| Sensex| Bank Nifty| Stock Market India| Market Report Today| NSE| BSE| FII DII Activity| Intraday Trading Strategy| India VIX

Date: December 24, 2025 Market Sentiment: Cautious / Range-bound India VIX: 9.35 (-0.35%)

Pre-Holiday Consolidation: Market Open and Starting Behavior

The Indian equity benchmarks started the Wednesday session on a relatively flat to positive note, tracking mildly optimistic cues from Wall Street. However, the initial momentum in Market Report Today failed to sustain as the session progressed. The Nifty 50 opened at 26,170.65, attempting to scale toward the 26,250 mark, but met with immediate resistance.

As the morning progressed, a lack of fresh domestic triggers and the upcoming Christmas holiday (December 25) led to thin trading volumes. Investors preferred to take some chips off the table, particularly in sectors that had seen a decent run-up in the previous week. By mid-day, the indices had surrendered their early gains, slipping into a narrow negative territory where they languished for the remainder of the session.

Index Performance Table

Index	Open	High	Low	Close	Change (%)
Nifty 50	26,170.65	26,236.40	26,123.00	26,142.10	-0.13%
S&P BSE Sensex	85,524.07	85,738.18	85,342.19	85,408.70	-0.14%
Nifty Bank	59,322.95	59,450.00	59,080.00	59,183.60	-0.20%
Nifty Midcap 100	60,450.00	60,600.00	60,210.00	60,283.30	-0.37%

Key Takeaway from Today’s Session

The primary takeaway from the Market Report Today is the visible exhaustion at higher levels. While the undertone remains bullish for the long term, the immediate resistance at 26,200 for Nifty and 85,700 for Sensex proved too strong to overcome in a low-volume environment. The significant drop in India VIX to sub-10 levels indicates that while there is no panic, there is a degree of “holiday complacency” in the air.

The Anatomy of the Slide: Reasons Behind Market Movement

Several factors contributed to the marginal decline observed in the Market Report Today:

1. IT Sector Headwinds: News regarding changes to the H-1B visa process in the US weighed heavily on IT majors like Wipro and HCL Tech, as the shift to merit-based prioritization could impact operational costs.
2. Oil & Gas Drag: Reliance Industries and PSU oil companies saw selling pressure due to a slight cooling in global crude prices and profit booking after recent gains.
3. Thin Liquidity: With many global funds on leave for the year-end holidays, the absence of aggressive institutional buying left the market vulnerable to small bouts of retail profit-taking.
4. Profit Booking in Heavyweights: Stocks like ICICI Bank and Sun Pharma, which have performed well recently, saw tactical exits by short-term traders.

Top Gainers and Losers

Top Nifty 50 Gainers:

• Trent: +2.40% (Strong consumer sentiment)
• Shriram Finance: +1.64% (Boosted by credit growth optimism)
• Apollo Hospitals: +1.39% (Defensive buying in healthcare)
• UltraTech Cement: +0.79% (Infrastructure push expectations)

Top Nifty 50 Losers:

• IndiGo (InterGlobe): -1.55% (Yield concerns)
• Adani Enterprises: -1.37% (General volatility)
• Dr. Reddy’s: -1.23% (Sectoral profit booking)
• Wipro: -1.22% (Visa policy concerns)

Institutional Activity (FII & DII)

Institutional participation was muted compared to the usual daily averages.

• FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors): Remained net sellers, offloading equities worth approximately ₹1,795 crore.
• DIIs (Domestic Institutional Investors): Continued to provide a cushion, buying a net of ₹3,812 crore, effectively preventing a deeper correction.

The Road Ahead: Tomorrow Prediction (Dec 26, 2025)

Since the market remains closed on December 25, we look forward to Friday. The Market Report Today suggests that Friday will likely be another range-bound session.

• Nifty: Expect support to hold at 26,100. If 26,200 is breached on the upside with volume, we could see a dash toward 26,350.
• Bank Nifty: The index is hovering near its 20-day EMA. 59,000 is the “make or break” level. A close above 59,500 is needed to trigger a short-covering rally.

Trading Strategy for Friday

• For Bulls: Look to buy near the 26,080–26,100 zone with a strict stop loss at 26,040. Target 26,220.
• For Bears: If Nifty fails to cross 26,200 in the first hour of trade, a short position can be initiated with a stop loss at 26,245 for a target of 26,120.
• Option Traders: With VIX at historic lows, option premiums are cheap. However, avoid “buying the dip” blindly in out-of-the-money (OTM) calls as time decay (Theta) will be high over the long weekend.

Conclusion & Expert View

The Market Report Today reflects a classic year-end consolidation. Experts believe that the “Santa Claus Rally” might be delayed but is not necessarily cancelled. The underlying macroeconomic data for India remains robust, and the current dip should be viewed as a healthy correction in a primary bull market. Investors should use these sideways movements to accumulate quality large-cap stocks in the Banking and Capital Goods sectors.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Is the Indian stock market closed tomorrow?

Yes, the Indian stock markets (NSE and BSE) are closed on Thursday, December 25, 2025, in observance of Christmas.

2. Why did IT stocks fall in the Market Report Today?

IT stocks faced pressure due to the US administration’s announcement regarding a shift in the H-1B visa lottery system to a merit-based mechanism, which could increase costs for Indian IT firms.

3. What does a low India VIX signify?

An India VIX below 10 indicates very low expected volatility and a degree of market complacency. While it suggests a stable environment, it also means that the market could react sharply to any unexpected news.

4. What are the support levels for Nifty for the next session?

Immediate support is placed at 26,100, followed by a stronger psychological support at 26,000.

Market Report Today| Nifty 50| Sensex| Bank Nifty| Stock Market India| Market Report Today| NSE| BSE| FII DII Activity| Intraday Trading Strategy| India VIX

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