Stock market: Sensex slips 338 pts, Nifty below 25,950; rupee hits record low

Domestic benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened lower on Tuesday, tracking weak global cues, continued foreign institutional outflows, and pressure on the rupee.

At 9:18 am, the BSE Sensex declined 281.81 points, or 0.33%, to 84,931.55 after losing nearly 338 points in early trade. The NSE Nifty slipped 90.35 points, or 0.35%, to 25,936.95, after briefly touching a low of 25,923.10.  

Among Sensex constituents, Eternal led losers, dropping 2.80% to Rs 290. Axis Bank declined 1.65%, while HCL Technologies, Infosys and Titan fell 1.35%, 1%, and 0.74%, respectively.

The rupee weakened to a fresh low against the US dollar on Tuesday, sliding to Rs 90.86 in early trade.

Wall Street ended lower overnight as all three major indices closed the session in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.08% to 48,416.56, while the S&P 500 edged 0.16% lower to close at 6,816.51. The tech-savvy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.59% to settle at 23,057.41.

Asian markets traded mostly lower on Tuesday. At last check, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.28% to 49,523.56, while South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.79% to 4,017.39. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged 1.83% lower to 25,159.06.

On Monday, Sensex slipped 54.30 points, or 0.06 per cent, to close at 85,213.36, while Nifty eased 19.65 points, or 0.08 per cent, to settle at 26,027.30.

Amruta Shinde, Technical & Derivative Analyst at Choice Equity Broking Private Limited, said Indian equity markets are likely to begin Tuesday’s session on a subdued footing, with GIFT Nifty signalling an opening around 26,038, nearly 74 points lower.

Shinde noted that market sentiment remains cautiously constructive despite mixed global cues and a lack of major domestic triggers. In the near term, investors are expected to closely track global market trends, movements in crude oil prices, and institutional fund flows for clearer direction.

“On the previous session, the Nifty 50 opened weak but recovered from its intraday low of 25,904 to touch a high of 26,047, indicating buying interest at lower levels, albeit without strong follow-through. The index continues to trade within a consolidation range of 25,900–26,100, reflecting market indecision. Immediate resistance is placed at 26,150–26,200, with a decisive breakout potentially paving the way toward 26,300. On the downside, key supports are seen at 25,900 and 25,850 in the near term.” Shinde added.

Meanwhile, VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said the market is likely to enter a phase of near-term consolidation. Adding, “Since sustained FII selling is easily getting absorbed by DII buying and economic fundamentals are indicating significant improvement, the market will find support on weakness.”

Vijayakumar noted that the rupee is likely to find support, with the November trade deficit narrowing sharply to $24.53 billion from $41.64 billion in October. This improvement could ease depreciation concerns and, in turn, reduce the pressure on foreign institutional investors to sell on expectations of further currency weakness.

“The weakening of the AI trade continues in the US. Chances are that at some point in 2026, AI trade will weaken significantly facilitating capital flows into EMs like India. However, if the market is to show sustained strength, earnings recovery is essential. Q3 numbers will indicate where earnings recovery is happening. Bank Nifty will continue to be strong,” Vijayakumar said.