Sensex, Nifty slip for fourth day amid trade deal uncertainty

The headline equity indices closed marginally lower today, extending their losing streak to a fourth consecutive session. Investor sentiment remained cautious amid continued uncertainty over a potential U.S.-India trade agreement, which capped risk appetite. That said, a rebound in the rupee and early signs of fresh foreign investor inflows offered some support. The Nifty ended below the 25,850 level, weighed down by weakness in auto and energy stocks, even as IT and consumer durables shares saw selective buying interest.

The S&P BSE Sensex shed 77.84 points or 0.09% to 84,481.81. The Nifty 50 index slipped 3 points or 0.01% to 25,815.55. In four consecutive sessions, the Sensex slipped 0.92% while the Nifty declined 0.89%.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 2.74%), Larsen & Toubro (down 0.75%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.47%) were major drags today.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.05% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.28%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,629 shares rose and 2,509 shares fell. A total of 207 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 1.32% to 9.71.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.14% to 6.592 compared with the previous session close of 6.601.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.2550 compared with its close of 90.3800 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2025 settlement slipped 0.44% to Rs 134,298.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.13% to 98.53.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.39% to 4.133.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2025 settlement gained 15 cents or 0.25% to $59.83 a barrel.

Global Markets:

European market traded higher on Thursday ahead of the Bank of England's policy rate decision.

Asian market ended lower, led by renewed weakness in technology stocks as lingering concerns over stretched artificial intelligence valuations resurfaced. Investor sentiment was further dampened by expectations of a hawkish stance from the Bank of Japan, adding to regional market pressure.

Artificial intelligence-related stocks dragged indexes after a media report stated that Oracle's primary investor, Blue Owl Capital, has pulled out from funding one of its data center projects.

The Bank of Japan kicked off its two-day meeting, with the central bank expected to raise rates to 0.75% Friday, its highest level in 30 years.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes fell, with the S&P 500 down 1.16%, and the Nasdaq Composite seeing the largest loss of 1.81%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.47%.

Traders are awaiting the release of the U.S. consumer price index reading for November, due Thursday morning. It will mark the first consumer inflation report issued to the public since the government shutdown ended last month. Media reports stated that the headline inflation is expected to have grown at a pace of 3.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Shares of asset management companies jumped on Wednesday after SEBI on Wednesday (17 December 2025) decided to lower mutual fund expense ratio limits, now termed the Base Expense Ratio or BER. The BER will exclude all statutory levies such as GST, stamp duty, SEBI fees and exchange charges.

HDFC Asset Management Company surged 7.18%, Nippon Life India Asset Management jumped 5.46%, Motilal Oswal Financial Services climbed 4.34%, UTI Asset Management Company rose 2.09%, Nuvama Wealth Management advanced 1.70%, while Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC added 1.51%.

Antony Waste Handling Cell zoomed 18.85% after its subsidiary, AG Enviro Infra Projects, has bagged two contracts for collection & transportation of municipal solid waste (MSW) in Mumbai by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The total value of the contracts is around Rs 1,330 crore.

Ola Electric Mobility fell 4.98% after founder and promoter Bhavish Aggarwal sold nearly 6.8 crore shares worth about Rs 234 crore through open market transactions over two days.

Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) rose 1.48% after the company announced 2 January 2026 as the record date for its proposed 5-for-1 stock split.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries declined 2.74%. The company announced that the US FDA, post an audit, has determined the Baska facility inspection classification as Official Action Indicated (OAI).

Aurobindo Pharma advanced 1.50%. The company said that the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has completed the inspection of APL Healthcare's Unit-IV, wholly owned subsidiary, located at Palchur village, Andhra Pradesh (AP). At the end of the current inspection, a 'Form 483' was issued with 5 observations which are procedural in nature.

GMR Power and Urban Infra shed 0.66%. The company said that its board has approved raising up to Rs 1,200 crore through the issuance of equity shares and convertible warrants to select investors on a preferential basis.

Thyrocare Technologies slipped 3.26%. The company announced that its board has approved the appointment of Dr Ramesh Kinha as chief operating officer (COO) with effect from 18 December 2025.

Max Healthcare Institute added 1.78% after the company announced that its board has approved the acquisition of of 100% equity stake in Yerawada Properties Private (YPPL), Pune, Maharashtra.

Patel Engineering advanced 1.62% after it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Arunachal Pradesh for the restoration and development of the 144 MW Gongri Hydropower Project in West Kameng District.

Mahindra Lifespace Developers shed 0.46%. The company has announced the launch of Mahindra Blossom, a premium residential development in Whitefield, Bengaluru, with a potential GDV of approximately Rs 1,900 crore.

IPO Update:

KSH International received bids for 1,11,40,233 shares as against 1,36,16,438 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:42 IST on Thursday (18 December 2025). The issue was subscribed 0.82 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.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News