India’s financial markets opened the week on a jittery note as a string of soft economic indicators, global risk aversion and renewed weakness in the rupee weighed on sentiment. Monday’s decline, despite the robust second-quarter GDP print, underscored that currency volatility and policy uncertainty are currently driving investor behaviour.
October’s industrial output, November’s factory PMI and GST collections all pointed to a loss of momentum. Industrial production grew just 0.4 percent in October — a 14-month low — while factory output rose only 1.8 percent. The manufacturing PMI slipped to 56.6 in November from 59.2 a month earlier. GST receipts showed only marginal growth, with domestic GST falling 2.3 percent; a 10 percent rise in import-related GST helped prevent a sharper slowdown.
With Tuesday being the weekly F&O settlement day, traders expect another soft start. The dollar’s rebound in global markets could pressure the rupee further. Markets are also uneasy over the continued silence surrounding the proposed India–US trade agreement.
GIFT City derivatives indicated a weak open: Nifty closed offshore on Monday at 26,342.50, briefly rose to 26,364 in early trade today, and then slipped to 26,315.
European equities opened December in the red, with all major regional indices closing lower. Investors are watching today’s meeting in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is expected to discuss Ukraine’s newly accepted 19-point peace proposal. Defence stocks fell again, while Airbus dropped 5.8 percent despite the A320 software issue being resolved.
After five consecutive sessions of gains, US markets retreated on Monday, dragged by a sharp sell-off in cryptocurrencies. The slide triggered liquidity stress among leveraged crypto investors.
Nvidia invested $200 crore into processor-design specialist Synopsys, lifting Synopsys shares by 4.85 percent and Nvidia by 1.65 percent.
The Dow fell 427.09 points (0.90 percent) to 47,289.33, the S&P 500 dropped 0.53 percent, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.38 percent. US futures were slightly lower in early Tuesday trade.
Asian markets were broadly positive. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.60 percent, Australia gained 0.30 percent and South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.40 percent after the US cut tariffs on Korean goods to 15 percent. Hong Kong added 0.80 percent. Mainland China was the outlier, slipping 0.35 percent after a surprise fall in the December factory-activity index.
Indian indices erased early record highs on Monday as the rupee weakened sharply and uncertainty persisted around the India–US trade deal. Profit-taking and continued foreign investor selling added pressure. Nifty fell from its new peak of 26,325.80 by over 200 points, while Sensex dropped nearly 650 points from its record 86,159.02. Bank Nifty also slipped after touching a fresh high.
Auto stocks were the day’s bright spot, lifted by strong wholesale dispatches in November, with Tata Motors PV and Maruti reporting better-than-expected sales. IT stocks benefited from the stronger dollar, while metals rallied as global prices climbed. Indigo weakened as a higher dollar raised fuel-cost concerns.
Wockhardt jumped 20 percent after receiving US FDA approval for Zynice, a dual antibiotic used for severe infections resistant to conventional drugs.
Foreign investors sold shares worth ₹1,171.31 crore, while domestic funds bought ₹2,558.93 crore.
Sensex closed 64.77 points (0.08 percent) lower at 85,641.90; Nifty ended 27.20 points (0.10 percent) down at 26,175.75. Mid cap and small cap indices ended mixed.
Market breadth weakened, with more losers than gainers across both exchanges. Nifty faces resistance at 26,220 and 26,300, with support at 26,100 and 26,000.
Hero MotoCorp reported a 31 percent rise in November sales to 6,04,490 units; domestic sales grew 12.4 percent and exports surged 69.7 percent.
Hindustan Unilever appointed Vandana Suri as executive director, home care, replacing Srinandan Sundar, who becomes CEO of Unilever International.
Bajaj Housing Finance promoters will sell a 2 percent stake in the open market.
Afcons International won orders worth ₹884 crore in November.
Bharat Dynamics received defence contracts worth ₹2,462 crore for anti-tank and surface-to-air missiles.
Gold and silver continued their recent rally, supported by expectations that the US Federal Reserve may cut rates next week. Silver hit levels surpassing the Hunt Brothers’ 1980 high, touching $59.30 in holiday trading amid tight physical supply.
Gold, which briefly hit $4,265 per ounce, closed at $4,232.60 and traded between $4,245 and $4,215 this morning. Silver spot prices eased to $56.83 per ounce.
Platinum traded at $1,662, palladium at $1,416 and rhodium at $7,900.
Copper rallied for a second straight day, closing above $11,000 per tonne and hitting a four-month high at $11,299 — a 2.68 percent jump. Aluminium rose 1.08 percent to $2,888.87, while nickel, lead and zinc also firmed. Tin declined.
Rubber gained 1.69 percent internationally to 180 cents per kg. Cocoa fell 0.82 percent, coffee slipped 0.10 percent and tea was unchanged. Palm oil eased 0.51 percent.
The dollar index slipped to 99.41 before inching up slightly. The rupee saw volatile moves, touching 89.79 before closing at 89.55 after the Reserve Bank of India intervened in the afternoon. Traders believe the RBI may allow a gradual depreciation given weak exports and a widening trade gap. Markets increasingly expect the rupee to test 90 per dollar unless the India–US trade deal is finalised or foreign inflows return strongly.
The Chinese yuan strengthened to 12.67 rupees.
Crude prices climbed over 1 percent after the third explosion in a week on Russian oil tankers and lack of progress in Ukraine peace talks. Brent closed at $63.17 and rose to $63.25 in early trade; WTI was at $59.44 and Murban at $65.15. Natural gas jumped 6 percent to $4.890.
Cryptocurrencies continued to slide before staging a mild recovery this morning. Bitcoin fell below $85,000 before edging back near $86,600. Ether dropped under $2,800, while Solana slipped to $123 before rebounding to $127.
