Foreign investors fled Indian equities in 2025 at a scale never seen before, pulling out a record Rs 1.6 lakh crore (USD 18 billion) as volatile currency movements, global trade tensions, especially potential US tariffs, and stretched valuations eroded risk appetite, though flows are expected to turn sustainably positive in 2026.
The selloff in domestic information technology stocks intensified on Friday, with the Nifty IT index sliding as much as 5.2 per cent during the session before paring losses to close 1.44 per cent lower.
Market sentiment is likely to remain cautious as investors position themselves for the upcoming Union Budget and the US Fed's interest rate decision, where expectations are muted.
Silver prices rallied sharply by Rs 15,000 to hit a lifetime high of Rs 265,000 per kg in the national capital on Monday, and gold advanced to a fresh record of Rs 144,600 per 10 grams, mirroring strong gains in the global markets.
From the Sensex firms, Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics, Eternal, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the biggest gainers. However, ITC, Bajaj Finance, Titan and Tech Mahindra were the laggards.
Among Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India and Bajaj Finserv were the major laggards. However, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Maruti, Bharat Electronics, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports and HCL Tech were among the gainers.
Even as the benchmark and broader indices were down sharply on Monday due to escalating tensions in West Asia, the Nifty Defence index ended the session in the green.
Equity market investors would track global trends, foreign fund movement and quarterly earnings in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Stock exchanges BSE and NSE will conduct a special Muhurat trading session on Tuesday, October 21.
Foreign investors pulled out Rs 17,955 crore (Rs 2 billion) from Indian equities in the first two weeks of this month, taking the total outflow to Rs 1.6 lakh crore (Rs 18.4 billion) in 2025.' This sharp withdrawal follows a net outflow of Rs 3,765 crore in November, extending the pressure on domestic equity markets.
The rupee slumped 5 per cent in 2025 as persistent capital outflows from foreign investors, alongside heightened dollar demand from importers, making it one of the worst-performing Asian currencies.
The rupee, which was the worst performing Asian currency in 2025 and also in January, was the best performing Asian currency on Tuesday.
'Given that India underperformed emerging markets by 28 per cent in 2025, the worst performance in over 30 years, the timing of the sharp STT hike could have been better.'
From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel tanked the most by 4.57 per cent. ICICI Bank, Power Grid, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Kotak Mahindra Bank were also among the laggards. Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, ITC and Bharat Electronics were among the gainers.
Stock markets closed higher for the second straight session on Tuesday, driven by gains in bank, IT and capital goods shares.
Mutual fund industry extended its bull run in 2025, adding a staggering Rs 14 lakh crore to its asset base and pushing total AUM to a record Rs 81 lakh crore by November, powered by surge in retail participation and record SIP inflows. Venkat Chalasani, chief executive officer of AMFI, told PTI that the industry's outlook remains positive, with steady SIP inflows continuing to offset foreign portfolio investor outflows and strengthening market resilience.
Among Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were the major laggards. However, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Infosys, Adani Ports, Sun Pharma and HDFC Bank were the gainers.
Inflation data, quarterly earnings and global trends will be the major driving factors for stock markets this week, analysts said. Moreover, the trading activity of foreign investors would also influence the equity market trends.
Assessing where their funds are flowing gives traders a hidden edge in predicting the market direction and momentum.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher on Wednesday as a sharp decline in IT blue-chip stocks restricted the rally in the markets.
Among Sensex stocks, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Trent, Infosys, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance were the major laggards. However, Bharat Electronics, State Bank of India, Tata Steel, Eternal, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries were the gainers.
This is the second-worst performance by the pack during this period over the last five years since CY20.
Ambareesh Baliga's quick take on the markets after the increase in STT on futures and options trading...
Tech Mahindra, Trent, Reliance Industries, HCL Tech, Hindustan Unilever, and ITC were also among the laggards. However, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded on Thursday after three sessions of losses, tracking gains in global markets after US President Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone on Greenland. In a volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 397.74 points, or 0.49 per cent, to close at 82,307.37.
Encouraged by softening inflation, the RBI on Thursday decided to cut the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent with a view to boost growth.
Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty surged in early trading session on Tuesday after India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from current 25 per cent.
Strong performance in the beauty and personal care (BPC) segment, margin gains, and expectations of a breakeven in the fashion business lifted sentiment for FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa). The consumer technology platform's stock rose 7.5 per cent on Friday, extending gains over the past week to more than 17 per cent. Most brokerages have upgraded the stock following its third-quarter (October-December/Q3) performance and higher profit expectations ahead.
In an event-heavy week ahead, stock markets' movement would highly depend on macroeconomic data announcements, global trends, RBI's interest rate decision and trading activity of foreign investors, analysts said. India's industrial production data for October 2025 will be released on December 1, an official statement said on Friday.
Stock market benchmarks ended with losses for the third straight session on Wednesday as heightened geopolitical tensions, weak global peers and persistent foreign fund outflows unnerved investors.
The bull-market in gold is not yet over and prices can rise to $6,200 an ounce (oz) by mid-2026, up nearly 25 per cent from current levels, according to UBS.
Trading pattern in the stock market this week will largely depend on the ongoing Q3 earnings announcement from corporates, global trends, and foreign fund movement, analysts said. Moreover, geopolitical developments and any update on trade negotiations would also be keenly tracked by investors, experts noted.
From the Sensex firms, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Bajaj Finance and Reliance Industries were among the major laggards. However, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Electronics, UltraTech Cement and Maruti were among the gainers.
Among Sensex firms, Tata Steel, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Bharat Electronics and Eternal were the major laggards. However, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and ITC were among the gainers.
From the 30-Sensex firms, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma and Bajaj Finance were among the biggest laggards. However, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Bharat Electronics and Reliance Industries were among the gainers.
'When markets go into a budget with excessive optimism, the risk of disappointment is higher.'
ICICI Bank, Eternal, Titan, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services and UltraTech Cement were also among the laggards. However, InterGlobe Aviation, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever and Bajaj Finance were among the gainers.
Capex, infrastructure development, and prudent fiscal management are the key focus areas in the Budget, says Nilesh Shah.
Shares of brokerage-related companies nosedived 18 per cent on Sunday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed raising securities transaction tax on commodity futures to 0.05 per cent from 0.02 per cent in the Union Budget 2026-27.
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Among Sensex firms, Tata Motors, Bharat Electronics, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Axis Bank were the major laggards. However, Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC and HCL Tech were among the gainers.
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