Markets closed lower for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, with benchmark indices declining by 0.32% as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision, amidst continuous outflows from foreign institutional investors and a weakening rupee.
The Nifty 50 settled at 25,758.00, down 81.65 points or 0.32%, after reaching an intra-day high of 25,947.65 and a low of 25,734.55. The Sensex finished at 84,391.27, declining 275.01 points or 0.32%. It opened at 84,607.49 and fluctuated between 85,020.34 and 84,313.62 during the session. The Bank Nifty fell by 261.95 points or 0.44%, closing at 58,960.40.
Sudeep Shah, Head – Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, noted, “The index opened steady and moved higher initially, hitting an intra-day high of 25,948. However, selling pressure emerged at higher levels, pulling the index down to close near the previous day’s low zone of 25,720-25,740.”
Broader markets experienced sharper declines, with the Nifty Midcap 100 falling by 668.45 points or 1.12% to 59,007.75, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 dropped by 155.65 points or 0.90% to 17,090.15. Market breadth remained unfavorable, with 2,332 stocks declining against 1,857 advancing on the BSE, where a total of 4,337 stocks were traded. Notably, 136 stocks reached 52-week lows compared to just 74 that touched 52-week highs.
Sectoral performance was mixed; Nifty Media emerged as the top gainer, followed by Nifty Metal. In contrast, Nifty IT and Nifty PSU Banks led the declines among sectoral indices. Nifty Financial Services fell by 145.45 points or 0.53% to 27,404.30.
Among Nifty 50 constituents, Eicher Motors was the top gainer, rising by 1.54% to ₹7,233, followed by Hindalco, which advanced by 1.07% to ₹821.60. HDFC Life gained 1.06% to ₹771, Tata Steel rose 0.83% to ₹162, and Sun Pharma climbed 0.70% to ₹1,788.50. Conversely, IndiGo plunged 3.17% to ₹4,810, Eternal dropped 3.09% to ₹282.70, Trent fell 1.77% to ₹4,013, Adani Enterprises declined 1.39% to ₹2,213.90, and JSW Steel slipped 1.31% to ₹1,093.30.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, commented on global market conditions, stating, “Global equity markets experienced continued volatility due to rising Japanese bond yields and indications of BoJ monetary tightening, which are fostering risk-off sentiments in emerging markets.” He added that the focus now shifts to the upcoming US Federal Reserve meeting, where a 25-basis point rate cut is widely anticipated.
Technical indicators continued to show signs of weakness. Shah observed, “The RSI has slipped sharply from 60 to 44 over the last three sessions, indicating weakening momentum and a shift in favor of sellers.” He further noted that the MACD red histogram bars are rising, signaling increasing bearish momentum and enhancing downside pressure.
Looking ahead, market participants await cues from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s commentary regarding the likely trajectory of interest rates in 2026. Ajit Mishra, SVP – Research at Religare Broking, stated, “The key focus will be on the 2026 dot-plot guidance, along with updates from the India-US trade discussions in New Delhi.”
Published on December 10, 2025.
