Sensex down 245 pts, Nifty below 25,700; will stock market continue to fall?

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty closed lower on Wednesday, extending their losing streak as both indices have now declined in seven of the past eight sessions. 

Market sentiment remained under pressure due to sustained selling by foreign institutional investors and firm crude oil prices, which outweighed the supportive undertone from steady corporate earnings growth.

At close, the Sensex declined 244.98 points, or 0.29 per cent, to settle at 83,382.71. The Nifty fell 66.70 points, or 0.26 per cent, to end at 25,665.60.

Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said that after a flat-to-soft opening, the Nifty gradually drifted lower to retest key support zones before making a modest late recovery attempt. Buying interest emerged near the previous day’s low of 25,603, which helped the index defend the 25,600 zone and attempt a move toward 25,700, though the momentum lacked the necessary follow-through buying to sustain higher levels.

"Repeated rejection near the 25,900 zone continues to cap upside, with immediate resistance now placed around 25,800," he said.

Asian Paints emerged as top loser on the Sensex, falling 2.29% to Rs 2818.25. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) followed with a 2.13% drop, while Maruti Suzuki, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, and ICICI Bank declined 1.77%, 1.64%, 1.54% and 1.47%, respectively. 

Five stocks, namely HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, TCS, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Maruti Suzuki, contributed heavily to the Sensex’s fall.      

In the Sensex index, shares of ITC hit a fresh 52-week low of Rs 333.35.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE IT index fell 0.96% to close at 36,533.93, while the BSE Auto declined 0.62% to settle at 61,586.24.

Overall, of the 4,344 actively traded BSE stocks, 2,016 closed higher, 2,145 declined, and 183 remained unchanged. During the session, 88 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 222 fell to 52-week lows. Meanwhile, 197 scrips hit their upper circuits, and 153 were locked in lower circuits.

On the technical outlook, Ponmudi R warned that a decisive break below the 25,600 mark could open the door for further weakness toward the 25,500–25,450 levels. He noted that momentum indicators remain weak, with the RSI hovering near 40—reflecting a bearish bias without oversold conditions—while the MACD remains in negative territory. The intraday structure indicates that bears continue to dominate on rallies, even as selective buying emerges at lower support levels, he added.

Domestic markets remained cautious amid lingering uncertainty over the India-US trade deal, according to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited. FIIs also remained risk-averse. 

“However, the restart of negotiations this week has instilled renewed hopes. Metals led the rally as prices climbed on expectations of U.S. rate cuts, supported by softer inflation data and safe-haven demand amid geopolitical tensions. Broader markets performed well given selective buying in mid- and small-cap segments. Globally, equities traded mixed as investors awaited the U.S. December PPI and major bank earnings. Looking ahead, focus will shift to Q3 FY26 earnings, where initial IT results were broadly in line with expectations, though bottom-line performance was impacted by one-off costs," Nair said.