Equities End Flat as FII Outflows, US Trade Uncertainty Keep Sentiment Muted

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

India stocks fall, rupee fall

By Dehuti Jani

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

December 15, 2025 at 11:52 AM IST

Indian equity benchmarks ended nearly flat on Monday, reflecting a cautious start to the week amid persistent foreign fund outflows and uncertainty around a potential US–India trade deal. The Nifty50 slipped 0.08% to close at 26,027.30, while the BSE Sensex eased 0.06% to 85,213.36. Foreign investors have sold about $2 billion worth of Indian equities so far in December, marking the heaviest monthly outflows in three months. Market breadth was mixed, with nine of the 16 major sectoral indices closing higher. Small-cap stocks edged up 0.2%, while mid-caps ended marginally lower by 0.1%.

Banking, financials, autos, metals, pharma and realty stocks saw broad weakness, weighing on the benchmarks. M&M, Maruti Suzuki, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid and NTPC were among the top Sensex drags. In contrast, defensive and consumption-oriented pockets provided support, with Nifty Media gaining 1.79% and Nifty FMCG rising 0.69%. HUL, Trent, HCL Tech, Infosys and Asian Paints were the key gainers, highlighting investors’ preference for relatively resilient themes amid subdued risk appetite.

Top Movers of the Day
Texmaco Rail advanced after its JV, Touax Texmaco Railcar Leasing, awarded an order worth ₹1.32 billion for BLSS and BVCM wagons, to be executed in tranches by July 2026.

Vedanta extended gains, rising 1.5% to a fresh high of ₹551.45, marking its fifth straight session of gains (up 8% over the period). The move followed Vedanta being declared the successful bidder for the Genjana Nickel, Chromium and PGE block, strengthening its critical minerals portfolio.

Hindustan Zinc hit a 52-week high of ₹571.60, gaining over 12% in five sessions. Jefferies initiated coverage with a ‘Buy’ rating and a target price of ₹660, citing strong leverage to silver and zinc prices and low-cost operations.

Lumax Auto Technologies jumped 8% to a record ₹1,597.20, buoyed by optimism around GST rate rationalisation, lower financing costs and strong demand outlook for the auto sector.

Vodafone Idea climbed 3% to a 15-month high of ₹12.02, extending its three-day rally to 12%, amid reports that the government may grant a 4–5 year interest-free moratorium on over ₹830 billion of AGR dues.

PVR Inox gained 5.8%, supported by the opening of five new screens in Hyderabad and strong box-office performance of recent releases.

Geojit Financial Services surged over 8% after about 42 million shares (around 15% equity) changed hands in block deals at an average price of ₹68.01.

Wheels India rose 6.2% after signing a technical assistance agreement with Japan’s Topy Industries for aluminium alloy wheels.

On the downside, ONGC slipped over 3% after Axis Capital initiated coverage with a ‘Sell’ rating, flagging a potential 14% downside.

Shares of Urban Company slipped sharply on Monday, falling nearly 6% intraday to a low of ₹121.40 on the NSE after the three-month anchor lock-in period ended. Around 41 million shares, or about 3% of the company’s outstanding equity, became eligible for trading following the lock-in expiry, according to estimates by Nuvama.

SEPC Ltd rallied over 13% after securing entry into a ₹33 billion mining consortium project.

Pumps and engineering stocks saw strong buying with Shakti Pumps India surged 12% to ₹730, with 16.3 million shares (13.2% equity) traded, WPIL jumped 12% to ₹413.90, Oswal Pumps rose 7% to ₹564, Roto Pumps added 6% to ₹65.04.

Corona Remedies debuted strongly, listing at ₹1,452, a 37% premium over its IPO price of ₹1,062, while Wakefit Innovations listed flat at ₹195 on the NSE.

Futures & Options
Nifty December 2025 futures settled at 26,103.30, trading at a premium of 76 points to the Nifty’s cash close. In the cash market, the Nifty 50 slipped 19.65 points, or 0.08%, to 26,027.30. Market volatility ticked up modestly, with India VIX rising 1.40% to 10.25, indicating a slight pickup in near-term uncertainty. InterGlobe Aviation, Kaynes Technology India and HDFC Bank were the most actively traded individual stock futures in the NSE’s F&O segment.

Bonds
Indian government bond yields were largely steady on Monday after the Reserve Bank of India included liquid papers in this week’s open market purchases, supporting sentiment. The benchmark 10-year yield ended at 6.5931%, unchanged from 6.5931% on Friday, after easing to an intraday low of 6.5741%. The muted move reflects a pause after recent volatility, with RBI support helping cap further upward pressure on yields.

Forex
The rupee weakened further on Monday, slipping past the 90-per-dollar mark to log a record low for the third consecutive session, pressured by persistent portfolio outflows and concerns over a prolonged stalemate in US–India trade negotiations. The currency touched an all-time low of 90.7850 during the session, taking its year-to-date decline to around 6%. The rupee later pared some losses to close at 90.73, compared with 90.4150 in the previous session, with traders pointing to likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India to limit volatility.

Crypto
Crypto markets today characterized by a "risk-off" sentiment and year-end profit-taking, leading to subdued performance for major assets. Bitcoin is trading at approximately $89,912.72, hovering just below the key $90,000 level as it faced a minor daily decline. This downward pressure is attributed to fragile investor confidence, high leverage, and low liquidity magnifying price swings. Concurrently, Ethereum is around the $3,120 to $3,130 range, also experiencing slight pressure and general range-bound trading as the market awaits clearer direction amidst global economic uncertainty.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures were higher on Monday, with major indices showing a cautious upward trend as investors look past last week's technology-led selloff and brace for a packed week of critical economic data releases. S&P 500 futures were last around 6,859, up approximately 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are trading near 49,061, indicating a gain of about 0.3%. Nasdaq 100 futures were at roughly 25,578, also up around 0.4%.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury yields are generally lower in early trading as the market anticipates key US economic data releases this week, particularly on the labour market and inflation, which could influence future Federal Reserve interest rate decisions. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield is trading now around 4.17% to 4.18%, down slightly from its previous close of 4.184% on Friday.

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