AMN / BIZ DESK
Indian equity benchmarks closed marginally lower on Wednesday after a flat start, as investors stayed cautious ahead of the Christmas holiday amid mixed global signals. Continued selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) also capped any meaningful upside in the market.
The stock exchanges — BSE, NSE and the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) — will remain closed on Thursday, December 25, 2025, for Christmas, with trading set to resume on Friday, December 26.
Commenting on the trend, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said Indian equities moved largely sideways in the holiday-shortened week, with subdued volumes reflecting a similar pattern across broader Asian markets.
On the policy front, the Reserve Bank of India announced plans to purchase government securities worth ₹2 lakh crore through Open Market Operations (OMOs) and conduct a $10 billion dollar-rupee buy/sell swap auction to infuse liquidity into the banking system. These operations will be carried out between December 29, 2025, and January 22, 2026. Nair said the RBI’s liquidity measures are expected to improve systemic liquidity and help stabilise currency volatility.
Globally, he noted that stronger-than-expected US GDP data pointed to economic resilience, but rising unemployment figures tempered overall risk appetite. A softer US dollar, elevated geopolitical risks and expectations of continued policy easing by the US Federal Reserve supported gold prices, while Brent crude trading near multi-year lows signalled a benign inflation outlook.
After surging nearly 396 points during the session, the Sensex ended 116.14 points, or 0.14 per cent, lower at 85,408.70. The Nifty 50 slipped 35.05 points, or 0.13 per cent, to close at 26,142.10, after touching an intraday high of 26,236.40.
Sudeep Shah, Head – Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, said the smallcap index outperformed with gains of around 0.28 per cent, while the midcap index declined 0.60 per cent. He added that the smallcap index has hit fresh highs in each of the last four sessions.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, observed selective buying in financial stocks, though the capital market index slipped nearly 1 per cent. Bank Nifty also came under notable selling pressure.
In the derivatives segment, significant open interest build-up was seen in Manappuram, Syngene, Coal India, Nuvama and Coforge.
Looking ahead, Nair said market activity is likely to remain muted in the near term, though investors will keep a close watch on developments on the trade front.
Sector-wise Performance
Gainers:
- Nifty Media – Top sectoral gainer
- Nifty Realty – Second-best performer
Losers:
- Nifty Oil & Gas – Among the worst hit
- Nifty Chemicals – Weak performance
- Nifty IT – Also closed lower
Financials & Banking:
- Selective buying seen in some financial stocks
- Bank Nifty faced significant selling pressure
Capital Markets:
- Capital market index declined nearly 1 per cent
Broader Markets:
- Smallcap index: +0.28% (outperformed, fresh highs)
- Midcap index: –0.60% (underperformed)
Derivatives – High Open Interest Build-up:
- Manappuram
- Syngene
- Coal India
- Nuvama
- Coforge