Nifty, Sensex Slide for Second Session as Rupee Hits Fresh Low

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

By Dehuti Jani

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

December 16, 2025 at 11:36 AM IST

Indian equities traded lower on Tuesday, extending the previous session’s decline as caution prevailed amid persistent foreign portfolio outflows, a weakening rupee and continued uncertainty over a potential trade agreement with the United States. The rupee slipped to a fresh all-time low against the dollar, adding to pressure on risk sentiment. The Nifty50 fell 0.64% to 25,860.1, while the BSE Sensex lost 0.63% to 84,679.86, reflecting sustained selling through the session. Broader markets underperformed, with mid-caps and small-caps declining 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively.

Sectoral performance reflected broad-based weakness, with 15 of the 16 major sectors trading in the red. Financials, metals, IT and realty led the declines, while defensive pockets such as select consumer and healthcare stocks showed limited resilience. Overall sentiment remained cautious, marked by profit-taking and risk aversion as investors adopted a wait-and-watch stance amid uncertain global cues. Separately, markets also tracked domestic policy developments after a bill proposing to raise foreign direct investment in the insurance sector to 100% was introduced in the Lok Sabha, drawing opposition protests.

Top Movers of the Day

Axis Bank shares slid over 4%, hitting an intraday low of ₹1,228.4, after Citi Research reiterated a Neutral stance, citing delays in net interest margin (NIM) recovery. NIMs are now seen bottoming out in January-March 2025-26 or April-June 2026-27, later than earlier guidance.

Kirloskar Oil Engines surged 11% to a 52-week high of ₹1,262, supported by strong July-September 2025-26 performance. The company crossed ₹15 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time and posted record April-September 2025-26 sales of ₹30.27 billion.

Bharti Airtel gained around 2% amid expectations of a 15% tariff hike by December 2025, according to Motilal Oswal, aided by low inflation and a favourable policy backdrop.

Eternal (Zomato parent) dropped 5% to ₹285.7, marking its sharpest intraday fall in seven months, as investors assessed the impact of newly implemented labour codes that mandate social security contributions for gig workers.

Fertiliser stocks advanced after the finance minister assured adequate supply for the Rabi season. FACT jumped 7.6%, Paradeep Phosphates and Madras Fertilisers rose about 6%, while Chambal Fertilisers gained 5%.

Ashok Leyland touched a fresh high of ₹168.8, up 1%, driven by smoother adoption of AC norms in trucks and GST rate rationalisation boosting demand.

MTNL rallied 9.3% after its board approved the sale of residential property in Mumbai to NABARD.

Meesho soared 13% to a new high of ₹193.5, taking its gains since listing to 74% over its IPO price of ₹111.

IndusInd Bank came into focus after the RBI approved HDFC Bank’s plan to acquire up to a 9.5% stake, to be completed within one year.

The ICICI Prudential AMC IPO, sized at ₹106.03 billion, remained in strong demand on its final day, with subscriptions crossing 15.7 times by afternoon trade.

Futures & Options
Nifty December 2025 futures closed at 25,932, trading at a premium of 71.90 points over the Nifty’s cash market close of 25,860.10. The India VIX, a gauge of near-term market volatility, eased 1.82% to 10.06, indicating a slight cooling in risk perception. Vedanta, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were the most actively traded individual stock futures contracts in the NSE’s F&O segment.

Bonds
Indian government bond yields were largely steady on Tuesday as investors awaited fresh cues from a state debt sale and the Reserve Bank of India’s scheduled bond purchases. The benchmark 10-year yield eased to 6.5745%, down from 6.5931% on Monday, reflecting mild consolidation after recent volatility. State governments raised ₹153.3 billion in the latest yield- and price-based auction of State Development Loans conducted on 16 December 2025. Most issuers saw full acceptance of their notified amounts across maturities ranging from four to 30 years, although a few states were selective on pricing, underscoring cautious demand at prevailing yield levels.

Forex
The rupee fell to a fresh lifetime low on Tuesday as weak risk appetite intensified pressure from importer hedging demand and persistent portfolio outflows, amid ongoing uncertainty over a US–India trade deal. The currency touched an intraday low of 91.0750 per dollar before ending 0.3% lower at 91.0275, marking its fourth consecutive session at record lows. The rupee has now depreciated over 6% in 2025, making it one of the weakest emerging market currencies this year, with traders expecting continued central bank intervention to curb volatility but little scope for a sustained recovery without progress on trade negotiations.

Crypto
Crypto markets remained under pressure, with total market capitalisation slipping to $2.92 trillion amid broad-based profit booking. Bitcoin fell below $86,000, while Ethereum slipped under $3,000, signalling short-term weakness as both failed to hold key technical support levels. Losses were sharper across altcoins and memecoins, reflecting their higher sensitivity to risk-off sentiment and thinner liquidity, even as investors turned cautious amid global macro uncertainty.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures slipped on Tuesday as investors braced for the release of November’s jobs report, adding to caution already evident after losses in AI-heavy names. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.34%, while S&P 500 futures declined 0.56% and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.83%.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury yields fell today as investors brace for a significant week of delayed economic data, including the November jobs report and CPI inflation figures. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield is currently trading around 4.17%, reflecting a slight decline of approximately one basis point from the previous session.

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