The Nifty 50 index dipped 0.03% to 26,033.95, while the BSE Sensex shed 0.06% to 84,988.94 as of 10:15 a.m. IST. Benchmarks have been trading in a narrow range in recent sessions, reflecting subdued investor activity ahead of the year-end.
Broader small-cap and mid-cap segments were largely unchanged, with twelve of the 16 major sectors in the red. The metal index bucked the trend, advancing 1.4%, with 13 of its 15 constituents rising. The sector has gained about 5% over the past eight sessions, driven by stronger demand signals from China and expectations of two additional U.S. rate cuts in 2026, which have supported metal prices.
Among individual stocks, Vedanta rose 2% after being declared the successful bidder for the Depo Graphite mining block. Coforge gained 2% after announcing the $2.35 billion acquisition of artificial intelligence firm Encora, a move aimed at strengthening its AI capabilities and expanding its footprint in the U.S. and Latin America. Conversely, Hikal fell 2.3% following the disclosure of revenue discrepancies due to employee misconduct, leading to a reversal of 807 million rupees for the September quarter.
Foreign portfolio investors continued to offload Indian equities, selling shares worth 3.18 billion rupees ($35.4 million) on Friday, according to provisional data. So far in 2025, foreign investors have sold a record $18.03 billion in Indian stocks.
“With the holiday season and the year-end approaching, trading volumes remain thin, keeping markets muted,” said Aakash Shah, research analyst at Choice Broking. Daily trading volumes of Nifty 50 stocks have declined to 250 million shares in December from 300 million in November.