NIFTY50 below 26,050, SENSEX slumps 384 pts in afternoon session; Ola Electric, Castrol India among buzzing stocks

The Indian benchmark indices, SENSEX and NIFTY50, continued trading in negative territory during the afternoon session on Friday, December 26, as Asian shares traded mixed and FII outflows.

On Wednesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹1,993.18 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹2,531.65 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data.

The SENSEX fell an intra-day low of 85,020.97. Meanwhile, the NIFTY50 touched the session’s low of 26,034.30.

At 12:42 PM, the S&P BSE SENSEX fell by 384.30 points, or 0.45%, to 85,024.41, while NSE’s NIFTY50 was trading at 26,036.20, marking a 105.90 point, or 0.41% decline.

Shares of Sun Pharmaceutical, which fell 1.36%, contributed to the decline of the NIFTY50 index. It was followed by Shriram Finance (-1.27%), TCS (-1.14%), Tech Mahindra (-1.12%) and HCL Technologies (-1.03%), which were among the top losers.

On the other hand, the top winners included Titan Company (1.67%), NTPC (0.93%), Bharat Electronics (0.83%), Hindalco Industries (0.80%) and Nestle India (0.76%).

Buzzing stocks on December 26: Check list

Shares of railway companies, including IRCTC (up by 6.69%), RVNL (13.62%), and Ircon International (9.22%), among others, were trading in positive territory on Friday, December 26, as the new fares announced by the government took effect from today.

Under the new regime, ordinary non-AC second-class fares for journeys beyond 215 km have been increased in slabs. Passengers travelling 216–750 km will pay ₹5 more, while those covering 751–1,250 km will see a ₹10 increase. The hike rises to ₹15 for distances of 1,251–1,750 km and ₹20 for journeys between 1,751 km and 2,250 km, according to a commercial circular issued by the Railway Board.

For Sleeper Class Ordinary and First Class Ordinary, fares have been revised uniformly at the rate of 1 paise per kilometre for non-suburban journeys.

In Mail and Express trains, the fare increase has been capped at 2 paise per kilometre across both non-AC and AC classes, including Sleeper, First Class, AC Chair Car, AC 3-Tier, AC 2-Tier and AC First Class. A passenger travelling 500 km in a non-AC Mail/Express coach will pay about ₹10 more.

Stocks of defence component manufacturers, such as Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (3.48%), Hindustan Aeronautics (1.24%), Bharat Dynamics (2.46%), and others, were trading in the green ahead of the annual Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting, due later in the day on Friday, December 26.

The meeting will be headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Key agenda items include overhauling four regiments of T-90 tanks, enhancing the Navy's capabilities with ten new tugs and SDR software radios, and acquiring seven fuel mission simulators for the Air Force, as per news reports.

Shares of Apollo Micro Systems surged as much as 4.56% to an intra-day high of ₹275 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), after it bagged orders worth ₹100.247 crore from a private company, deliverable to the Ministry of Defence.

The orders for the supply of unmanned aerial systems are expected to be executed within a period of four months, the company stated in a regulatory filing on Friday.

Stock of the country's leading copper producer, Hindustan Copper, rose for a sixth straight session on Friday, December 26, to hit a fresh record high of ₹469.50 per equity share, bolstered by surging prices of copper in the international and domestic markets amid reports of shortage of the red metal.

Copper futures for delivery on December 31 rose as much as 4.22% to hit a lifetime high of ₹1,205.40 per kilogram on the MCX.

On the Comex, Copper futures rose as much as 3.65% to hit an intraday high $5.78 per pound, a few points shy of its record high of $5.96.

Ola Electric Mobility stock rallied as much as 5.37% to ₹37.25 apiece on the NSE, as the company received a sanction order from the Ministry of Heavy Industries for the release of incentives amounting to ₹366.78 crore under the production-linked incentive scheme.

The sanction pertains to the demand incentive for the determined sales value for FY 2024-25 and authorises a payment of ₹366.78 crore to be released through IFCI Limited, the designated financial institution for disbursement under the scheme, it said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

The incentive has been sanctioned in accordance with the applicable terms and conditions of the PLI-Auto Scheme, as amended from time to time, it added.

Shares of Castrol India gained as much as 4.61% to an intra-day high of ₹198.13 per unit on the NSE.

This comes after Motion JVCo, Stonepeak, and the CPP Investment Board launched an open offer to acquire a 26% stake in the company. The consortium plans to purchase up to 25.71 crore shares at ₹194 per share, representing a 2% premium over Wednesday’s closing price.

This development follows British Petroleum’s (BP) agreement on Wednesday, December 24, to sell a 65% stake in Castrol’s parent company to Stonepeak at an enterprise valuation of $10 billion.

Post-transaction, Stonepeak will hold a 65% stake in Castrol, while BP’s ownership will be reduced to 35%. BP will also have the option to divest its remaining stake after a two-year lock-in period.

The stock of Panacea Biotec zoomed as much as 16.78% to an intra-day high of ₹419.40 per equity share on Friday, on an increase in UNICEF order value for the supply of its WHO pre-qualified fully liquid Pentavalent vaccine, Easyfive during calendar years 2023-2027.

UNICEF increased the value by $2.55 million ( or ₹23 crore) to $16.8 million from $14.25 million in the year 2026 and increased the value for supply in 2027 by $2.70 million ( or ₹24 crore) to $15.8 million from $12.48 million previously.

Furthermore, it placed an additional award for the supply of Easyfive-TT worth $ 3.68 million (or about ₹33 crore) in the year 2027.

Swiggy (-2.16%) and Eternal Ltd (-1.81%) shares are trading in the red on December 26, amid Zepto IPO buzz and gig workers’ strike.

Shares of Blinkit and Instamart parent companies declined amid gig and platform workers nationwide strike on December 31. Gig workers' strike comes amid demand for a fair, transparent pay structure. Gig workers have also put forward demands for the immediate removal of 10-minute delivery models that pose a risk to public safety, an end to arbitrary ID blocking and penalties without due process, and job security and social security, including health insurance, accident coverage, and pension benefits.

Another key reason is a new update regarding the much-awaited Zepto IPO. The quick commerce platform plans to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator SEBI on Friday, December 26, via a confidential route, news agency PTI reported, quoting sources.