The Sensex fell 116 points, or 0.14%, to end at 85,408.70, while the Nifty 50 slipped 35 points, or 0.13%, to close at 26,142.10.
On the 30-stock Sensex, shares of Tata Motors PV, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries and Hindustan Unilever were among the biggest drags, declining between 0.5% and 1%.
IT stocks slipped about 0.5% after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security moved to amend the H-1B visa selection process, shifting allocations toward higher-skilled and higher-paid workers rather than the lottery-based system.
Market breadth was mixed, with small-cap stocks edging up 0.3% while mid-cap shares fell 0.6%.
Markets will remain closed on Thursday in observance of the Christmas holiday.
Expert views
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, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, adding that the RBI’s recently announced liquidity initiatives, including OMOs and a USD/INR buy–sell swap, are expected to improve systemic liquidity and help stabilise currency volatility.”On the global front, stronger-than-expected US GDP data points to economic resilience, although rising unemployment has tempered optimism. Gold extended its rally on a softer dollar and elevated geopolitical risks, supported by increasing expectations of continued Fed policy easing. Meanwhile, Brent crude hovered near multi-year lows, reinforcing a benign inflation outlook. Looking ahead, market activity is likely to remain muted, though investors will be closely tracking developments on the trade front,” said Nair.
Global Markets
Global equities held near record levels on Wednesday, rounding out a year marked by strong, artificial intelligence-fuelled gains, while commodities including gold and silver extended their rally to fresh all-time highs as 2025 nears its close.
In the U.S., the S&P 500 finished at a record overnight, with the long-awaited Santa Claus rally finally taking shape. Risk appetite was supported by data showing the U.S. economy grew far faster than expected in the third quarter, a development that lifted equities but pressured government bonds.
European markets were mixed in early trading. The STOXX 600 was flat, while the UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2%. Trading volumes were thin, with exchanges in Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris operating shortened sessions, and markets in Germany and Milan closed.
U.S. equity futures were little changed, with Nasdaq and S&P 500 contracts hovering near flat levels amid holiday-thinned liquidity.
Asian markets advanced earlier in the session, tracking Wall Street’s gains. The MSCI Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan rose 0.4%, taking its year-to-date gain to 26%, its strongest annual performance since 2017.
Crude impact
Oil prices edged higher for a sixth straight session on Wednesday, buoyed by signs of resilient U.S. economic growth and renewed concerns over potential supply disruptions from Venezuela and Russia. The modest gains, however, did little to alter the broader picture, with crude still on track for its sharpest annual decline since 2020.
Brent crude futures rose 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $62.53 a barrel by 0908 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate added 18 cents, or 0.3%, to $58.56.
Rupee vs Dollar
The Indian rupee ended slightly lower on Wednesday, slipping about 0.1% to 89.7850 against the U.S. dollar, as demand for the greenback from local corporates and the rollover of maturing positions in the offshore non-deliverable forward market offset supportive signals from gains across most Asian currencies.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was on track for its weakest annual performance in more than two decades, as investors increasingly bet that the Federal Reserve will have scope to deliver further interest-rate cuts next year, even as policy trajectories among other major central banks continue to diverge.
(with inputs from agencies)