Dalal Street Remains Cautious, Sensex About 400 Points Down, Nifty Tests 26,200
Both benchmarks opened lower today morning, pressure by selling in heavyweight stocks, even as fresh tariff-related warnings from the US added to investor caution.
- Dalal Street closed lower, mirroring prior session's negative sentiment.
- Heavyweight stock sales and US tariff warnings pressured markets.
- India's services sector growth moderated but remained strong.
Dalal Street ended another session in the red, following the negative sentiment prevalent in the previous trading session. The BSE Sensex settled the day above 85,050, crashing close to 400 points while the NSE Nifty50 closed trading near 26,175, slipping 76 points.
On the 30-share Sensex, ICICI Bank, HUL, Sun Pharma, SBI, and TCS settled among the gainers. Meanwhile, Trent, Reliance, ITC, Kotak Bank, and HDFC Bank stood among the stocks in red.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Microcap250 index slipped 0.67 per cent. On the other hand, the Financial Services index remained among the few trading in green and rose 0.34 per cent.
Sectorally, the Oil & Gas and Media indices dominated in red and crashed 1.75 per cent and 1.05 per cent respectively. At the same time, the Healthcare and Pharma indices led the charge ahead in green and soared 1.85 per cent and 1.69 per cent respectively.
Both benchmarks opened lower today morning, pressured by selling in heavyweight stocks such as Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank, even as fresh tariff-related warnings from the US added to investor caution. In early trade, the Sensex fell 431.95 points to 85,007.67, while the Nifty slid 105.60 points to 26,144.70.
Services Sector Signals Moderation In Growth
Adding to the cautious undertone, India’s services sector closed 2025 on a strong but visibly moderating note, with softer growth in new business and output weighing on overall momentum, according to the latest HSBC India Services PMI survey.
While activity remained firmly in expansion territory, several key indicators eased to multi-month lows, signalling that the pace of growth may be cooling as the economy heads into the new year.
The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index slipped to 58.0 in December from 59.8 in November, marking the slowest rate of expansion in 11 months. Even so, the reading stayed well above the neutral 50 mark, underscoring that services activity continued to expand at a healthy pace despite signs of moderation.
Tariff Warnings And Global Developments Weigh On Sentiment
Market sentiment remained guarded amid renewed volatility driven by geopolitical developments and trade-related concerns. Fresh comments from the US administration warning of possible tariff hikes on India added to the cautious mood.
US President Donald Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was aware of Washington’s dissatisfaction with India’s purchases of Russian oil and warned that tariffs on Indian imports could be raised quickly. Trump made the remarks while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday while travelling from Florida to Washington DC.
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