Stock markets end lower in volatile trade

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower in a volatile trade on Wednesday (December 24, 2025) as trading volumes remained subdued amid the year-end holiday-shortened week and mixed trends in global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped by 116.14 points, or 0.14%, to settle at 85,408.70. During the day, it hit a high of 85,738.18 and a low of 85,342.19.

The 50-share NSE Nifty edged lower by 35.05 points, or 0.13%, to 26,142.10.

From the 30-Sensex firms, InterGlobe Aviation, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever and Tata Steel were among the biggest laggards.

However, Trent, UltraTech Cement, Maruti and Power Grid were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index ended lower while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng settled in positive territory.

European markets were trading marginally higher. U.S. markets ended higher on Tuesday (December 23).

“Indian equities moved largely sideways in a holiday-shortened week, with trading volumes remaining subdued as the year draws to a close – a trend mirrored across broader Asian markets. The RBI’s recently announced liquidity initiatives, including Open Market Operations (OMOs) and a USD/INR buy-sell swap, are expected to improve systemic liquidity and help stabilise currency volatility,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday (December 23, 2025) said it will purchase government securities worth ₹2 lakh crore and conduct a $10 billion buy/sell dollar-rupee swap auction to inject liquidity in the banking system.

The OMO purchase and swap auctions will be conducted between December 29, 2025 and January 22, 2026.

Announcing the decision, the RBI said it will continue to monitor evolving liquidity and market conditions and take measures as appropriate to ensure orderly liquidity conditions.

The latest announcement comes days after the RBI conducted ₹1 lakh crore OMO purchase auctions of Government of India securities and USD/INR buy/sell swap auction of $5 billion for a tenor of three years.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,794.80 crore on Tuesday (December 23), according to exchange data. Domestic institutional investors, however, remained buyers as they bought equities worth ₹3,812.37 crore.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.18%, up at $62.49 per barrel.

Snapping the two-day gaining streak, the Sensex on Tuesday dipped 42.64 points or 0.05% to settle at 85,524.84. The Nifty ended marginally up by 4.75 points, or 0.02%, to 26,177.15.