The Indian equity markets faced a fifth straight session of decline, impacted by continuous foreign outflows and growing uncertainties surrounding the trade agreement between India and the US. The Sensex closed with a loss of 605 points, settling at 83,576, while the Nifty dropped by 193.5 points to close at 25,683.
Investor caution prevailed ahead of a US Supreme Court decision on the legality of US tariffs and the upcoming release of domestic inflation data for December on Monday. The benchmark indices hit a two-month low, with Nifty slipping below the psychological level of 25,700, opening at 25,840 and experiencing profit booking to reach an intraday low of 25,648.
Market sentiment was influenced by US President Donald Trump’s approval of a sanctions bill that could lead to 500% tariffs on nations purchasing Russian oil. Notably, ONGC and Bharat Electronics were among the significant gainers on the Nifty index.
In sectoral performance, Nifty realty witnessed the most substantial decline at 2.12%. With the exception of IT, PSU Bank, and Oil and Gas sectors, all other indices traded in the negative territory, with auto down by 1.11% and FMCG and consumer durables down by 1.17%.
The broader markets mirrored the benchmark indices’ trend, as the Nifty Midcap 100 index fell by 0.69%, and the NSE Smallcap 100 declined by 0.79%. Analysts suggested that despite geopolitical challenges, the market is expected to trade within a mixed bias range. They anticipate robust domestic GDP growth and a potential recovery in Q3 results led by midcaps, which could help stabilize investor sentiment.
Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated by 22 paise to 90.11 against the dollar, influenced by weakness in domestic equity markets and ongoing FII selling.
