Final Trade: Sensex drops 384 pts; Nifty slips below 24,700; Titan BPCL top losers

Indian equity markets started the week on a bearish note, with the benchmark indices closing lower on Monday, December 16, as investors exercised caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later this week. Weak global cues further weighed on market sentiment.

Indices performance

The BSE Sensex fell 384.55 points or 0.47 per cent to close at 81,748.57, after slipping as much as 581.84 points intraday to hit 81,551.28. The NSE Nifty dropped 100.05 points or 0.40 per cent, ending the session at 24,668.25.

Sectoral highlights

Among the Sensex constituents, heavyweights like Titan, Adani Ports, UltraTech Cement, Tata Consultancy Services, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, and JSW Steel led the losses. In contrast, select financial and utility stocks, including IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Axis Bank, provided some relief.

Global market impact

Major Asian markets, including Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, ended in the red on Monday. European indices were trading lower, reflecting weak sentiment across global markets. Wall Street also closed mostly lower on Friday, further adding to investor concerns.

Macroeconomic indicators

India’s wholesale price-based inflation (WPI) eased to a three-month low of 1.89 percent in November, driven by a decline in food prices. However, this positive macroeconomic development had little impact on market performance.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to show buying interest, purchasing equities worth Rs 2,335.32 crore on Friday, as per exchange data.

Crude oil update

The global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.75 percent to USD 73.91 per barrel, reflecting a drop in global energy prices amid ongoing uncertainties.

Previous session recap

On Friday, December 13, the Sensex had surged 843.16 points or 1.04 percent to settle at 82,133.12, while the Nifty gained 219.60 points or 0.89 percent to close at 24,768.30.

Investors remain cautious, with global factors and the Federal Reserve's policy decisions likely to dictate market movement in the near term.