On Thursday, December 18, Indian stock market benchmarks ended with modest losses, weighed down by heavyweights such as HDFC Bank and Sun Pharma.
The Indian equity benchmark indices began the session on a tentative note; however, at lower levels, bulls regrouped and buying interest emerged, helping the Nifty 50 briefly move past the 25,900 mark. Despite this recovery, the indices failed to sustain at higher levels and pared most of their gains by the close, ending the day with minor losses. Consequently, the benchmarks extended their losing streak to the fourth consecutive session. The Nifty 50 closed marginally lower by 3 points, or 0.01%, at 25,815.55, while the Sensex declined by 77.84 points, or 0.09%, to settle at 84,481.81.
The profit-booking seen at higher levels in the Indian markets can be attributed to the cautious stance adopted by market participants ahead of the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) interest rate decision scheduled for December 19.
Among individual stocks,
On the sectoral front, 5 out of all 11 sectoral indices closed in positive territory. The Nifty IT sector emerged as the top gainer with the majority of the constituents ending the session in green. The Nifty IT index logged its highest single day gain of 1.21%, since December 4, 2025. On other hand, Nifty Media emerged as the top loser, down by 1.27%.
On Thursday, the broader market indices outperformed the frontline gauge by ending the session in green. The Nifty Midcap 100 index and Nifty Smallcap 100 gained 0.32% and 0.10%, respectively.
The key drivers of the index gains were:
On the other hand, these stocks dragged the index:
As of December 18, 2025, market breadth was in favour of declining stocks. About 1,662 stocks declined, while 1,035 stocks advanced.
Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.
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