Sensex tumbles 533 pts, Nifty slips below 25,900 on FII outflows, trade jitters

Benchmark equity indices closed sharply lower on Tuesday, extending losses for a second straight session. Persistent foreign portfolio outflows and a weakening rupee hurt sentiment. Uncertainty over a possible U.S. trade deal also kept investors cautious. Banking stocks led the decline, dragging the Nifty below the 25,900 mark. The broader market also remained under pressure as investors stayed on the sidelines amid negative global cues.

The S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 533.50 points or 0.63% to 84,679.86. The Nifty 50 index lost 167.20 points or 0.64% to 25,860.10. In two consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex slipped 0.68% while the Nifty declined 0.71%.

Axis Bank (down 5.03%), Bajaj Finance (down 1.41%) and Reliance Industries (down 0.92%) were major drags today.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.78% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.69%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,654 shares rose and 2,523 shares fell. A total of 170 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 1.82% to 10.06.

Economy:

The HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index, which tracks month-on-month changes in combined manufacturing and services output, eased to 58.9 in December from 59.7 in November, indicating the slowest pace of output growth since February.

HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI posted 55.7 in December, down from 56.6 in November. The latest reading signalled the smallest improvement in the health of the manufacturing sector for two years, albeit one that was still marked and more pronounced than the series average.

Meanwhile, the HSBC Flash India Services PMI Business Activity Index moderated to 59.1 in December from 59.8 in November. The HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI Output Index also softened to 58.4, compared with 59.6 in the prior month.

Numbers to Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.9800 compared with its close of 90.7800 during the previous trading session.

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.03% to 6.592 compared with previous session close of 6.594.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2025 settlement slipped 0.28% to Rs 133,760.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.06% to 98.22.

The United States 10-year bond yield lost 0.17% to 4.174.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2025 settlement dropped $1.09 or 1.80% to $59.47 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Dow Jones futures are down by 61 points, signaling a negative start for US stocks today.

European market traded lower on Tuesday as ahead of the European Central Bank's year-end policy meeting on Thursday.

The Bank of England, Sweden's Riksbank, and Norway's Norges Bank will also hold their last monetary policy decisions for 2025 this week.

Asian market ended lower, tracking Wall Street declines as investors continued to rotate out of the artificial intelligence trade in the U.S.

Flash purchasing managers index numbers from S&P Global showed that business activity expanded at a slower pace in Australia in December, with the composite PMI falling to 51.1 from November's 52.6.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 lost 0.16% after beginning the session in positive territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped marginally, while the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.59%.

Stocks in Spotlight:

PB Fintech fell 5.52% after a media report said the proposed Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill could lead to tighter regulatory oversight on insurance agent commissions.

Axis Bank dropped 5.03% to Rs 1,219.65 after a foreign brokerage report highlighted a delay in margin recovery. According to the report, the bank's management now expects net interest margins to bottom out in the fourth quarter or early in the first quarter, later than the earlier guidance of a third-quarter trough. The brokerage reiterated a Neutral stance on the stock and maintained a target price of Rs 1,285.

IndusInd Bank fell 0.72% and HDFC Bank shed 0.26%. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its approval to the bank to acquire 'aggregate holding' of up to 9.50% of the paid-up share capital or voting rights in IndusInd Bank. The bank needs to ensure that the 'aggregate holding' in IndusInd does not exceed 9.50% of the paid-up share capital or voting rights of IndusInd, at all times.

RBL Bank slipped 1.30% after Buvanesh Tharashankar, chief financial officer (CFO), tendered his resignation to pursue opportunities outside the bank.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) gained 1.96% after the state-owned telecom firm said its board approved the sale of a residential property in Mumbai. The transaction is part of MTNL's asset monetisation plan. The company will sell the GN Block residential quarters at Bandra Kurla Complex to NABARD through a government-to-government transfer. The deal is valued at Rs 350.72 crore. It has a plot area of 2,680 square metres and a built-up area of about 4,019 square metres.

Shelter Pharma advanced 5.99% after the company has secured an international order from Taha Drugs & Chemicals for D3 Cure Capsules 3 10, with a total order value of $27,540. The order is a fixed-cost contract and is to be executed within two months

Panacea Biotec declined 2.06%. The company announced the appointment of Vinod Goel as chief financial officer (CFO) of the company, effective 15 December 2025.

Ion Exchange India rallied 3.66% after the company received orders aggregating to around Rs 205 crore from multiple customers for Ultra-pure water and Waste water treatment project.

Goel Construction Company advanced 0.83% after the company secured an Rs 86.50 crore service order from Dalmia Cement (Bharat) for the execution of the main plant civil works contract for post-clinkerization work at Kadapa L2, Andhra Pradesh.

RailTel Corporation of India shed 1.24%. The company announced that it has bagged a domestic work order worth Rs 148.48 crore from the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (ORGI), for the procurement of comprehensive annual maintenance contract (AMC) services.

GMR Airports Infrastructure declined 1.29%. The company reported a 7.4% year-on-year (YoY) increase in passenger traffic across all GMR airports, reaching over 11.07 million passengers in November 2025.

Nucleus Software Exports added 0.54% after the company said its FinnOne Neo platform has been successfully implemented by Vietnam's Military Joint Stock Commercial Bank, one of the country's top five lenders.

SEPC rallied 4.71% after the company announced that it had secured a subcontract worth Rs 269.68 crore from Vishnu Prakash R Punglia.

Arvind SmartSpaces advanced 3.25% after the company has acquired a new residential high-rise project in Whitefield, Bengaluru, with a total estimated saleable area of around 4.6 lakh sq. ft. and a top-line potential of approximately Rs 550 crore.

Lemon Tree Hotels added 0.16%. The company has signed a license agreement viz Lemon Tree Hotel, Bandipur, Nepal.

IPO Update:

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company received bids for 1,37,07,56,772 shares as against 3,50,15,691 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on Tuesday (16 December 2025). The issue was subscribed 39.15 times. The issue opened for bidding on 12 December 2025 and it will close on 16 December 2025. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 2,061 and 2,165 per share.

KSH International received bids for 19,44,618 shares as against 1,36,16,438 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:40 IST on Tuesday (16 December 2025). The issue was subscribed 0.14 times. The issue opened for bidding on 16 December 2025 and it will close on 18 December 2025. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 365 and 384 per share.

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