Stock markets end lower in volatile trade

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower in a volatile trade on Wednesday 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 per cent, 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 per cent, 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. US markets ended higher on Tuesday.

"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 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 Ltd, said.

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

The OMO (Open Market Operations) 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 Rs 1 lakh crore OMO purchase auctions of Government of India securities and USD/INR buy/sell swap auction of USD 5 billion for a tenor of three years.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,794.80 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Domestic institutional investors, however, remained buyers as they bought equities worth Rs 3,812.37 crore.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.18 per cent, up at USD 62.49 per barrel.

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