Nifty below 25,850 as heavyweight financials pressure market

The stock market closed lower for a third consecutive session on Wednesday, with all major indices ending in the red as selling pressure in heavyweight financial stocks outweighed gains in select pockets of the market.

The benchmark Nifty slipped below the 25,850 mark, dragged by stocks such as M&M and Larsen & Toubro, while the Sensex fell 120 points, or 0.14%, to close at 84,560. The Nifty declined 42 points to settle at 25,819.

Broader markets underperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap index sliding 322 points to 59,389, keeping overall market breadth tilted firmly in favour of declines.

The Nifty Bank index also ended lower, shedding 108 points to close at 58,927, as profit-taking emerged in key lenders.

In the currency market, the rupee staged a sharp recovery during the session, appreciating nearly 1% against the US dollar, marking one of its strongest single-day gains in recent months.

Among mid-cap stocks, Max Healthcare, Cochin Shipyard, Polycab, Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) and Colgate-Palmolive India were among the top losers, each falling around 4%.

State-run Indian Overseas Bank tumbled more than 6% after the government announced plans to offload a 3% stake via an offer for sale.

In individual stocks, Akzo Nobel India plunged nearly 14% after 5.19 million shares changed hands in a block deal.

Ola Electric Mobility fell close to 5% after founder Bhavish Aggarwal sold 26 million shares at ₹34.99 apiece to repay a promoter loan.

Sammaan Capital dropped 5% from the day’s high after Delhi Police filed a fresh FIR in a probe involving its former promoters.

On the positive side, Meesho surged 20% to hit its upper circuit amid heavy trading volumes after UBS initiated coverage with a ‘buy’ rating.

Hindustan Zinc gained nearly 2% as silver prices touched record highs, while Shriram Finance rose 2% after its board announced it would consider a fund-raising proposal on December 19.

Oil marketing companies ended higher after the PNGRB notified the implementation of the ‘One Nation, One Tariff’ regime, with Indraprastha Gas jumping more than 5%.

PSU bank stocks bucked the broader market weakness, with Canara Bank gaining over 2%.