The Indian stock market experienced a choppy start today, with the Sensex displaying initial volatility and the Nifty trading below the 26,200 mark. Both benchmark indices oscillated before finding a direction, reflecting a cautious sentiment among investors.
Market Performance:
The Sensex edged higher by 77.53 points, reaching 85,602.37, a modest gain of 0.09%. This placed the index approximately 0.65% below its 52-week high of 86,159.02, suggesting the market is trading close to its recent peak. The Nifty mirrored this cautious optimism, demonstrating resilience despite sectoral variations. On December 23, 2025, the Sensex closed slightly negative at 85,524.8, a decrease of 0.05%. The Nifty50 finished with a slight increase of 4.75 points, or 0.02%, settling at 26,177.15.
The breadth of the market was healthy, with advances outpacing declines. On the BSE500, 351 stocks advanced, while 143 declined, resulting in an advance-decline ratio of 2.45. This indicated broad-based participation in the market rally.
Sectoral Performance:
Realty was the top-performing sector, gaining 0.97%, fueled by positive investor sentiment in property development and infrastructure. The Information Technology (IT) sector, however, faced headwinds, declining by 0.60% due to profit-taking and caution amidst global technology stock volatility. The small-cap segment outperformed with a gain of 0.35%, supported by select high-growth stocks, while mid-cap stocks also showed positive momentum, rising by 0.26%.
Top Drags:
Infosys and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) were among the top drags on the market. Technology stocks experienced some decline after recent gains.
Infosys: Infosys ended down by 1.28% on December 23. However, today, the current price of Infosys (INFY) is 1,670.60 INR, an increase of 3.11% in the past 24 hours.
HUL: HUL's three-month performance has shown negative returns. As of December 19, 2025, the share price of Hindustan Unilever Ltd is ₹2,280.00 (NSE) and ₹2,281.80 (BSE).
Global and Economic Factors:
Investors are closely monitoring global cues and economic data. Data released after trading hours on Monday revealed that India's infrastructure output rose by 1.8% year-on-year in November 2025, a recovery from the revised 0.1% decrease in the previous month. Traders are also awaiting the release of second-quarter Q3 US GDP data and the PCE index for further guidance on the US economic outlook. An upbeat session on Wall Street, fueled by a rally in tech stocks amid renewed optimism about AI-related shares, supported market sentiment.
Overall Sentiment:
The market's initial choppy movement suggests a degree of uncertainty among investors. While domestic factors and sectoral performances are playing a role, global cues and economic data are also influencing market sentiment.
