The Indian stock market benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty 50, are likely to start Monday, December 29, on a mixed note. Asian markets also traded mixed as the final trading week of the year got underway.

On Friday, Indian equities ended lower as investors continued selling due to a lack of fresh cues and mixed signals from overnight global markets.

Domestic Market Recap

On Friday, Indian indices closed in the red:

• Sensex slumped by 367 points (0.43%) to close at 85,041.45
• Nifty 50 moved down by 100 points (0.38%) to settle at 26,042.30

Gift Nifty

Gift Nifty was trading near 26,094, around 20 points higher than the previous Nifty futures close, hinting at a muted start for Indian markets.

Overnight Wall Street Performance

The US stock futures traded flat in early Asian hours on Friday. The S&P 500 hit a new record high and posted weekly gains as investors returned to markets after the Christmas holiday.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped by 20.19 points (0.04%) to close at 48,710.97.
• S&P 500 down by 2.11 points (0.03%), ending at 6,929.94.
• The Nasdaq Composite was lower by 20.21 points (0.08%), finishing at 23,539.10.

Gold Prices

• Spot gold was trading 0.43% lower at $4,514.79 per ounce.
• The US gold futures slumped by 0.34% at $4,537.35.

Silver Prices 

Silver briefly crossed the $80-per-ounce mark for the first time before falling sharply in volatile trade on Monday. Experts said speculative buying and tight supply conditions drove the recent rally.

Crude Oil Prices

• Brent crude soared by 1.23% to $60.99/barrel
• US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading 1.27% higher at $57.47/barrel

Overnight Major Global Events Driving Sentiment

1. Geopolitical cues: Global attention has shifted back to geopolitics at the start of the week, after Donald Trump said he made “significant progress” in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as the US pushes for a peace deal to end Russia’s invasion.
2. China’s Fiscal Spending: China’s government announced plans to increase fiscal spending in 2026, signalling sustained policy support to drive economic growth despite challenging global conditions. At the same time, official data released over the weekend showed that industrial profits fell for a second consecutive month in November, highlighting continued pressure on corporate earnings from weak domestic demand and persistent deflation.

Discover the next big investment! Tradz by EquityPandits’ IPO screener helps you identify promising initial public offerings. Download Tradz by EquityPandit and get ahead of the curve! Sign Up Now & Find Your Next IPO Gem!