Stock market outlook for the week: NSE, BSE activity possibly muted during festive season – analysts weigh in on investor sentiment – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: As another week of December approaches, the stock markets will bring hope for investors, but also caution. Foreign investors, currency movements and global macroeconomic data announcements will boost investor sentiment this week. Notably, this week will not have the usual five trading days, as Thursday, December 25 is a stock market holiday due to Christmas. This will be significant as it is the last full week ending 2025. However, an expert quoted by PTI said market activity could be subdued due to Christmas and New Year.“This week marks the start of the end-of-year festive period and will be shortened due to the Christmas holidays, which may keep trading volumes subdued. On the domestic front, markets will monitor infrastructure output data along with updates on bank loan growth, deposit growth and foreign exchange reserves. Currency movements and crude oil prices will also remain important variables,” said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.Meanwhile, Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth technology company, was quoted by PTI as saying, “While strong domestic liquidity continues to act as an effective buffer against deeper downside risks, making the market structure more resilient, the re-emergence of foreign fund inflows is increasingly seen as a potential catalyst for the market’s next leg, improving overall risk appetite.”Speaking further on international factors, he added: “Globally, the performance of major markets – especially the US – will be closely watched for directional signals.” That said, the sustainability of momentum heading into the week will largely depend on key global macroeconomic indicators, particularly the upcoming US GDP and core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data, which are expected to provide a clearer insight into the health of the US economy amid changing inflation-growth dynamics, said Ponmudi R.Last week, the benchmark BSE fell 338.3 points, or 0.39 percent, while the Nifty fell 80.55 points, or 0.30 percent. Meanwhile, the Sensex on Friday rose 447.55 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 84,929.36, while Nifty rose 150.85 points, or 0.58 percent, to close at 25,966.40. “Selling pressure dominated most sessions; however, a recovery on the final trading day – driven by value buying and renewed interest from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) – helped limit the downside.” Mishra added.Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research – Wealth Management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, also shared his insights and said, “This week, we expect markets to trade within a positive bias range following signs of improving FII participation (buying in back-to-back trading sessions providing some relief after weeks of relentless selling) and a marginal recovery in the INR against the USD. Several global markets will see subdued activity due to the Christmas and New Year holidays.“Key macro data to be released this week includes US and UK GDP and US consumer confidence data. Overall, the market is likely to remain sideways, with investor focus gradually shifting to the upcoming third quarter corporate earnings season,” he added.(Disclaimer: The recommendations and views on the stock market and other asset classes given by experts are their own. These views do not represent the views of The Times of India)