On the 30-share Sensex, gains were led by Eternal, Adani Ports, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel and UltraTech Cement, up 1-1.3%. Laggards on the index included ITC, BEL, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever and Bajaj Finserv. FMCG stocks, led mainly by ITC, took a huge hit, down 5% after the Finance Ministry announced February 1 as the date from which additional excise duties will be levied on tobacco products. ITC shares fell 4.5% to the day’s low of Rs 385, while those of Godfrey Phillips fell 8% to Rs 2540.15 on BSE. The Finance Ministry late on Wednesday notified an excise duty of Rs 2,050-8,500 per 1,000 sticks, depending on the length of the cigarettes, with effect from February 1.
Broader market benchmarks were mixed, with midcaps slightly in the green while smallcaps fell around 0.2%.
Expert views
Analysts say the coming days will be eventful, starting with December auto sales data, third-quarter corporate results, budget expectations and other news related to the global economy, such as possible Fed action in 2026. Third-quarter results should be closely watched for indications of a rise in profits. “This is important as there is a lot of hope that there will be a recovery in earnings going forward. Earnings growth will be the single most important factor that will determine the market trend in 2026. FII flows in 2026 will also depend on the earnings performance and expectations around it,” VK Vijayakumar of Geojit Investments Ltd said.FII/DII tracker
On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a little over Rs 3,597 crore on December 31, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers at Rs 6,760 crore.
Global markets
Wall Street indexes closed lower on Wednesday amid light trading on the last day of 2025, reflecting weakness in global markets. Investors also made gains in precious metals as markets emerged from a volatile year. Despite the decline, US stocks ended the year just below record highs, buoyed by robust double-digit gains over the past 12 months.
All three major US stock indexes ended firmly in negative territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 303.77 points, or 0.63%, to close at 48,063.29. The S&P 500 fell 50.74 points, or 0.74%, to 6,845.50, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 177.09 points, or 0.76%, to end at 23,241.99.
European shares edged lower but remained slightly below record levels, posting their strongest annual percentage gain in four years. The rally in European stocks during the year was driven by lower interest rates, fiscal stimulus in Germany and a rotation away from expensive US technology-related stocks.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.1%, while the FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 1.62 points, or 0.07%. Emerging market stocks ended the session higher. The MSCI Emerging Markets index rose 2.37 points, or 0.17%, to 1,404.90.
Asian markets outside Japan also closed marginally higher, with MSCI’s Asia-Pacific stock index excluding Japan rising 0.05% to 722.41. However, Japanese shares underperformed their regional peers. The Nikkei index fell 187.44 points, or 0.37%, to close at 50,339.48.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of major currencies including the yen and euro, rose 0.01% to 98.25. The euro was slightly stronger, rising 0.02% to $1.1748.
Rough impact
Crude oil prices fell as oversupply concerns outweighed geopolitical risks. Prices recorded their biggest annual decline since 2020. US crude fell 0.91% to settle at $57.42 per barrel, while Brent crude ended the session at $60.85 per barrel, down 0.78% on the day.
Rupee vs dollar
The Indian rupee weakened in early trade on Wednesday, falling 8 paise to 89.95 against the US dollar as continued foreign fund outflows and a subdued start for domestic equities weighed on the currency.
(with input from agencies)
#Sensex #starts #200point #jump #Nifty #auto #bank #stocks #rise