Sensex Today, Nifty Today (Dec 18, 2025): Benchmarks Turn Flat After Early Dip; IT and Financials Support; SEBI Fee Revamp Lifts AMCs; Ola Electric Hits Fresh Low

Mumbai, December 18, 2025 — Indian equity benchmarks struggled for direction on Thursday as the market attempted to stabilise after three straight losing sessions. The BSE Sensex was flat around 84,567, while the NSE Nifty 50 inched up to about 25,829 by mid-morning, with gains in information technology and financials helping offset broader weakness across sectors. ^[1]

The session began on a cautious note. In early trade, the Sensex slipped more than 200 points to around 84,345, while the Nifty fell below 25,800, as investors digested muted global cues and watched the rupee’s moves closely. ^[2]

Why the Sensex and Nifty are struggling for direction today

A key theme on Dalal Street has been the absence of near-term triggers. Reuters cited analysts saying the market may remain range-bound in the coming weeks, as investors wait for clearer domestic and global signals—and as the U.S.–India trade deal overhang continues to weigh on sentiment. ^[3]

Recent sessions have also been shaped by concerns over foreign outflows and the rupee’s slide earlier this month. The benchmark indices have fallen about 0.9% over the last three sessions, Reuters reported, keeping traders wary of chasing risk aggressively even when dips appear. ^[4]

Early dip, then recovery: what drove the intraday turnaround?

Thursday’s price action followed a familiar script: an early decline, followed by selective buying in heavyweights.

IT stocks provided crucial support, with the Nifty IT index in positive territory and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rising after it outlined an AI-led growth strategy. ^[5]
Financials helped steady the benchmarks, even as a majority of sectoral indices traded in the red. Reuters reported 10 of the 16 major sectors were lower at one point, while midcaps and smallcaps were broadly flat—underscoring the “stock-specific” nature of Thursday’s market. ^[6]

Market watchers also highlighted that Wednesday’s session ended with a third consecutive decline—setting up Thursday as a potential “pause-and-reset” day rather than a decisive reversal. On December 17, the Sensex closed at 84,559.65 (down 120 points) and the Nifty at 25,818.55 (down 41 points), with uncertainty over the U.S. rate outlook and trade-deal progress cited as key drags. ^[7]

FII flows: a break in the selling streak, but investors want confirmation

A notable support for sentiment came from foreign investor flows. After an extended selling run, foreign investors snapped an eight-session selling streak on Wednesday, buying shares worth ₹11.72 billion (provisional data), Reuters said. ^[8]

However, traders remain cautious: provisional inflow data can be revised, and the market is still watching whether foreign participation turns consistently positive into year-end—especially amid currency volatility and global policy uncertainty. ^[9]

Rupee watch: stabilisation helps, but 2025 remains a tough year for the currency

Currency moves stayed in focus. The Economic Times live blog reported the rupee opened around 90.35 per U.S. dollar and strengthened slightly in early trade. ^[10]

Wednesday’s sharp bounce in the rupee was an important backdrop for Thursday’s market tone. ET reported the rupee settled near 90.38 on December 17 after strong central bank intervention helped curb a five-session slide. ^[11]

Still, the larger trend remains a concern for global allocators. Reuters reported that the rupee has declined about 6% against the dollar in 2025 and hit a record low of 91.075 earlier, with tariffs, trade uncertainty and portfolio outflows cited as major pressures. ^[12]

SEBI’s mutual fund fee revamp sparks rally in AMC stocks

One of the biggest domestically driven stories influencing Thursday’s tape was the market reaction to SEBI’s fresh reforms on mutual fund fees and disclosures.

Reuters reported that SEBI approved measures to encourage a clearer cost break-up and mandated disclosure of fee components, while also revising the proposed cap on brokerage paid by mutual funds to 6 basis points (after feedback), from an earlier proposal of 2 bps—still below the current maximum levels cited in the report. SEBI also deferred a decision on a conflict-of-interest framework for senior officials. ^[13]

As the market opened on December 18, asset management companies were among the most closely watched names. Reuters noted HDFC Asset Management and Nippon Life India Asset Management jumped about 5% each on the regulatory tailwind, with related stocks in the AMC/broking ecosystem also gaining. ^[14]

The Economic Times live blog echoed the same theme, noting that AMC stocks were likely to stay in focus as the regulator introduced the concept of a Base Expense Ratio (BER) for mutual fund schemes. ^[15]

Stocks in focus on Dec 18, 2025

Beyond the headline indices, Thursday’s news flow was dominated by stock-specific triggers across financials, EVs, renewables and corporate actions.

1) TCS and IT: AI strategy boosts sentiment

TCS rose after outlining a strategy to become the world’s largest AI-led tech services firm, helping keep the Nifty IT index in the green. ^[16]

2) Shriram Finance: board to weigh MUFG stake sale

Shriram Finance drew attention after the Economic Times reported its board would meet to consider an equity stake sale to Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG)—with the report describing a potential transaction size of over ₹40,000 crore and framing it as a major overseas strategic investment into an Indian NBFC. ^[17]

A Reuters report earlier said MUFG planned to invest over $4 billion for around a 20% stake in Shriram Finance, underscoring strong international interest in Indian financial services. ^[18]

3) Ola Electric: shares hit a fresh 52-week low after promoter stake sale

Ola Electric was among the sharp movers on the downside. ET reported the stock dropped to a new 52-week low of ₹31.84 after founder-promoter Bhavish Aggarwal sold 4.2 crore shares in an open market transaction valued at about ₹142 crore. ^[19]

India Today reported that the promoter’s selling accelerated over two days, with multiple transactions raising investor concerns and triggering fresh selling pressure. ^[20]

Business Standard added that the stock was down sharply over a three-day stretch and noted the company’s explanation that the selling was part of a “one-time, limited monetisation” of a small portion—context that markets weighed against the near-term pressure on the share price. ^[21]

4) KPI Green Energy: rally after Botswana renewable MoU

Renewable energy stocks also featured in the day’s headlines. ET reported KPI Green Energy shares rose as investors reacted to a “landmark” MoU between KP Group and the Government of Botswana focused on large-scale renewable energy development (generation, storage and transmission). ^[22]

A Reuters-powered TradingView update referenced an investment figure of $4 billion tied to the renewable development plan, adding scale and international expansion context to the market reaction. ^[23]

5) Tata Power: ₹2,000-crore bond issue plans

Tata Power stayed on radar after reports it planned to raise around ₹2,000 crore via a bond issue, with proceeds intended for refinancing existing debt, supporting renewable investments and general corporate purposes. ^[24]

Moneycontrol, citing the same development, also highlighted the stated use of proceeds and the timing of the fundraising plan. ^[25]

6) Vedanta: demerger momentum builds as Citi flags value-unlock potential

Vedanta’s restructuring remained a major corporate story. ET reported Citi sees value-unlock potential as Vedanta moves toward a five-way split, following tribunal approval, with a target completion timeline of March 2026. ET also noted a key next hearing date of January 7 related to approvals for the Vedanta Power demerger. ^[26]

The same report outlined the post-demerger structure—five listed, “pure-play” entities—and discussed how debt is expected to be allocated based on cash flows, with the group’s net debt figure cited around ₹48,000 crore in the coverage. ^[27]

7) Other market movers: Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, IPO-linked names

Reuters noted Tata Motors gained after J.P. Morgan initiated coverage with an “Overweight” rating, while Hero MotoCorp fell after Jefferies downgraded the stock to “Underperform.” ^[28]

The Economic Times live blog also flagged IPO-linked and newly listed names, noting HRS Aluglaze listed at a premium on the BSE SME platform and Meesho shares fell after a sharp rally in recent sessions. ^[29]

Volatility collapses: India VIX hits a lifetime low

A striking backdrop to the choppy-but-contained trading pattern is the continued compression in volatility expectations. The Economic Times reported that India VIX hit a fresh lifetime low of 9.84, citing muted trading, a lack of major triggers and thinning derivatives activity—conditions that can sometimes precede sharper moves when a surprise catalyst finally arrives. ^[30]

Leverage check: margin trading hits a record, but growth slows

ET also reported that investor borrowing via Margin Trading Funding (MTF) reached an all-time high in November, with the total MTF book at about ₹1.15 lakh crore, up from around ₹1.12 lakh crore in October. The pace of growth, however, cooled—linked to weaker mid- and small-cap performance and lower turnover. ^[31]

Bond market watch: RBI’s debt purchase keeps yields range-bound

In rates, Indian government bonds were largely range-bound as traders awaited the outcome of the RBI’s scheduled ₹500 billion open-market bond purchase. ET (via Reuters) reported the benchmark 10-year yield hovered around 6.59%, with the RBI set to buy bonds including the former benchmark 6.33% 2035 note. ^[32]

What investors are watching next

With headline indices still searching for direction, traders are focusing on a short list of catalysts that could define the next move:

Follow-through in FII flows after Wednesday’s break in the selling streak. ^[33]
Rupee stability and signs of sustained pressure (or relief) from trade and tariff developments. ^[34]
RBI’s bond-buy outcome and any signal it sends about liquidity conditions into year-end. ^[35]
Corporate actions and record dates, including demerger-related timelines and shareholder eligibility cut-offs (ET flagged December 19 as the record date for a DCM Shriram Industries demerger eligibility check). ^[36]

For now, the market’s message is clear: stock-specific news is driving returns more than the index itself—whether that’s a regulatory reset lifting AMCs, a promoter sale pressuring an EV name, or a corporate restructuring re-rating a metals giant.