Equities Extend Fed-Led Rebound; Auto Sales Hit Record November High

An end-of-day recap of all that transpired in the Indian markets, highlighting the major price movements and the factors driving them

Automobile Sales Hit Record November High

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By Dehuti Jani

Dehuti Jani is an experienced project manager who also works as an independent financial journalist.

December 12, 2025 at 12:33 PM IST

Indian equities advanced on Friday, extending the previous session’s Federal Reserve–led rebound, helping limit weekly losses. Sentiment improved ahead of India’s retail inflation data due after market hours, with forecasts pointing to a slight uptick from October’s record low. A call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, centred on strengthening economic ties and progressing toward a long-pending trade agreement, further supported market confidence. The Nifty 50 rose 0.57% to 26,046.95, while the Sensex gained 0.53% to 85,267.66, aided by strong buying in metals. However, broader indices remained weak, with mid-caps down 0.5% and small-caps lower by 0.7%, as 11 of 16 major sectors logged weekly declines.

India’s automobile sector delivered its best-ever November performance, driven by festive-season demand and GST-related efficiencies. Passenger vehicle sales surged 19% year-on-year to 412,405 units, while three-wheelers and two-wheelers grew 21.3% and 21.2%, respectively, according to SIAM.

Top Movers of the Day
Lloyds Engineering Works rose 3.2% today after announcing the launch of its new defence unit, Lloyds Advanced Defence Systems.

Dynacons Systems & Solutions surged 9.9% after winning a ₹7,499 million Device-as-a-Service contract from Jammu & Kashmir Bank.

Indoco Remedies gained 4.8% after receiving an Establishment Inspection Report from the US FDA, while Tejas Networks rallied 7.3% after emerging as the largest supplier by package count for BharatNet Phase-III.

Shakti Pumps climbed 5% following a ₹239.8 million order from the Jharkhand government for 1,200 solar pumping systems.

Oil refiners were active after YES Securities highlighted strong upside potential up to 27.5% for CPCL, MRPL, BPCL and Reliance Industries, amid robust refining margins and lower crude prices.

KPI Green Energy rose 4.2% ahead of a December 17 board meeting to consider fundraising, while Refex Industries tumbled 20% to a fresh 52-week low on heavy sell-off pressure.

Among key movers, IndiGo fell 9.5% for the week amid regulatory scrutiny following mass flight cancellations, while Tata Steel gained 2.9% this week after acquiring iron-ore pellets maker Thriveni Pellets, breaking a five-week losing streak.

Futures & Options
Nifty December 2025 futures closed at 26,148, trading at a premium of 101.05 points to the Nifty’s cash close of 26,046.95, after the benchmark gained 0.57% for the day. Volatility eased further, with the India VIX slipping 2.81% to 10.11, signalling continued stability following the Fed-led global rebound. Hindustan Zinc, Kaynes Technology India and Vedanta were the most actively traded stock futures in the session, while traders continued to position ahead of the 30 December 2025 expiry of the December series.

Bonds
Indian government bond yields ended higher as markets turned cautious ahead of a heavy debt supply and inflation print. The benchmark 10-year yield rose to 6.5931%, up from 6.5832% on Thursday. This comes despite the Reserve Bank of India’s sizable ₹500 billion bond purchase on Thursday conducted at higher-than-expected cut-off prices which had briefly supported secondary-market yields. Early Friday sentiment remained fragile as traders braced for increased supply pressures and the rupee’s slide to another record low added to the upward bias in yields.

Forex
The rupee ended nearly flat on Friday after briefly touching a fresh record low but still logged its second straight weekly decline as uncertainty around the long-pending US-India trade deal continued to weigh on sentiment. The rupee closed at 90.4150 per dollar, down 0.5% for the week, after slipping to 90.55 in early trade before likely RBI intervention helped stabilise the currency.

Crypto
Crypto markets reflected cautious optimism on Friday, with major tokens edging higher as sentiment stabilised ahead of key macro cues. Bitcoin reclaimed the $92,000 level, signalling renewed buying interest, while Ethereum held firm above $3,200, maintaining its critical support zone. Broader altcoins also strengthened, with Solana leading gains with a near-5% rally as traders rotated into high-throughput Layer-1 networks and activity-rich ecosystems.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures were mixed on Friday as investors continued rotating out of high-growth tech names following the Federal Reserve’s latest rate cut and fresh signals on the inflation outlook for 2026. Dow Jones futures rose 0.30%, extending Thursday’s record close, while S&P 500 futures hovered flat, inching up 0.03%. In contrast, Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.20%, reflecting ongoing pressure on technology stocks after Thursday’s slide in Nvidia, Google and other major growth names.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury yields inched higher on Friday, with the 10-year note rising to around 4.17% and the 2-year yield near 3.54%, as markets continued to digest the Federal Reserve’s latest 25 bps rate cut and looked ahead to data-dependent policy signals. The modest uptick reflected cautious optimism about the Fed’s trajectory in 2026, while the curve maintained its traditional upward slope, with longer-duration yields holding above front-end notes.

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