Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed down for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday (December 18, 2025) amid a soft trend in global markets and uncertainty over the trade deal with the US.
Falling for the fourth day in a volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 77.84 points or 0.09% lower at 84,481.81. During the day, it moved between a high of 84,780.19 and a low of 84,238.43, falling 541.76 points.
The 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 3 points or 0.01% to 25,815.55. After a slow start, Nifty attempted recovery during the first half but failed to sustain higher levels later in the day.
Losses in energy, auto and pharma shares dragged the indices down, while gains in IT shares helped par the losses. Selective buying in financials and metals also helped the recovery in the pre-close session.
Among Sensex companies, Sun Pharma fell the most by 2.74%. Tata Steel fell 1.26 percent, Power Grid fell 1.15 percent and Asian Paints fell 0.89 percent. HDFC Bank, L&T, NTPC and Bharti Airtel were also among the laggards.
However, Tata Consultancy Services jumped 1.94%, Tech Mahindra 1.74% and Infosys jumped 1.51%. Adani Ports, Axis Bank and HCL Tech were also among the gainers.
Global cues and currency concerns continued to weigh on sentiment, keeping traders cautious, said Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments Ltd, said, “After three consecutive declines, early gains were supported by rupee appreciation driven by value buying and central bank intervention. However, uncertainty over a possible US-India trade deal dampened sentiment, leading to profit-booking later.”
In the broader equity market, the BSE midcap gauge rose 0.05%, but the smallcap index fell 0.28%.
Among sectoral indices, power declined 1.01%, followed by oil & gas (0.81%), capital goods (0.80%), utilities (0.75%) and industrials (0.66%).
However, BSE Focused IT rose 1.24% and Information Technology rose 1.10%. Services (0.79%), realty (0.33%) and financial services (0.13%) also rose.
“Indian equity markets made a decent recovery from the day’s lows despite widespread weakness in Asian equities. However, mild selling pressure emerged at higher levels, leading cautious traders to reduce their positions ahead of the release of US consumer price inflation data,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of online trading and wealth tech firm Enrich Money.
According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) became buyers on Wednesday (December 17, 2025) as they bought equities worth Rs 1,171.71 crore. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also bought shares worth ₹768.94 crore in previous trade.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.42% to $59.93 a barrel.
On Wednesday (December 17, 2025), the Sensex closed at 84,559.65, down 120.21 points or 0.14%. Nifty fell 41.55 points or 0.16% to 25,818.55.
published – December 18, 2025 05:08 PM IST
