NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on December 26

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open lower on Friday, December 26, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Ahmedabad declined 0.24% or 62 points to 26,115 despite positive cues from Asian markets.

The Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Wednesday, December 24, dragged down by losses in index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Sun Pharma, InterGlobe Aviation, Hindustan Unilever and Larsen & Toubro. The SENSEX fell as much as 183 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 26,123.

The SENSEX ended 116 points lower at 85,409 and NIFTY50 index declined 35 points to close at 26,142.

Asian markets

Most of the Asian markets were trading higher with Japan's Nikkei rising 1%, Singapore's Straits Times advanced 0.05% and South Korea's KOSPI advanced 0.75% while Hong Kong and Thai markets were shut on account of holiday.

Wall Street update

The S&P 500 Index gained for a fifth day Wednesday in a shortened session ahead of the Christmas holiday and silver also advanced for a fifth straight session and gold climbed as much as 0.6% as geopolitical tensions persisted.

Spot silver advanced as much as 2.2% to $73.4393 an ounce. The white metal has risen about 150% this year in a rally that has accelerated since a historic short squeeze in October, news agency Bloomberg reported.

Gold for immediate delivery edged toward its record above $4,525 an ounce that was hit on Wednesday. Frictions in Venezuela, where the US has blockaded oil tankers, have added to the precious metal’s haven appeal, the report added.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹1,721 crore on Wednesday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹2,381 crore, data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

The FIIs have so far this month sold shares worth ₹13,177 crore and for the calendar year they have been net sellers to the tune of ₹1,56,852 crore, according to the data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).

Stocks to watch

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, the Bengaluru-based firm said in a statement.

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.

KNR Constructions Limited, in a regulatory filing, said the company is likely to invest ₹566.83 crore (in the form of equity and sub-debt) in the SPVs against which the company is expected to receive a total sum of ₹1,543.19 crore.

The share purchase agreements (SPAs) with Indus Infra Trust were signed on December 24, 2025, for four SPVs -- KNR Palani Infra Private Limited, KNR Ramagiri Infra Private Limited, KNR Guruvayur Infra Private Limited and KNR Ramanattukara Infra Private Limited.

Of the 67 cancelled flights, only four were for operational reasons, and the rest were due to "forecasted" bad weather at various airports, including Agartala, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Varanasi, Bengaluru, among others, as per the website.

Aviation regulator, DGCA, has announced the period between December 10 and February 10 next year as the official fog window this winter.

As part of the DGCA fog operations (CAT-IIIB) norms, airlines have to mandatorily roster pilots who are trained to operate in low-visibility conditions, as well as deploy a CAT-IIIB-compliant aircraft fleet for such operations.

According to its latest Enforcement Report, the US health regulator stated that Hawthorne-based Sun Pharma/ Taro is recalling 17,664 units of Ciclopirox Shampoo, an antifungal medication that treats seborrheic dermatitis, a condition that causes dry, flaky, and itchy skin.

The company is recalling the affected lot due to "Failed Impurity/Degradation specifications," the USFDA stated.

The company initiated the Class II nationwide recall on December 9 this year.

As per the USFDA, a Class-II recall is initiated when the use of, or exposure to, a violative product may lead to temporary or medically reversible health consequences, or when the likelihood of serious adverse health outcomes is minimal.

The company, which emerged as the fifth-largest listed realty firm last fiscal in terms of sales bookings, has recently launched a new project, 'Sarvam at DXP Estate', spread over 13.56 acre.

The project, located on Dwarka Expressway, Sector 37D in Gurugram, will have 1,798 apartments.

In the first phase, the company is offering 50% of the total units for sale in a price range of ₹3-4 crore per unit.

Trade setup

In a holiday-shortened week, Indian markets have bounced back sharply from lower levels to hold the gains above 26,000 for the third consecutive session. The global market cues remain buoyant, with the US tech stocks leading the rally across the globe.

On the technical charts, the NIFTY50 posted an inverted hammer candlestick pattern, indicating a continued non-directional stance for the index. On the upside, the 26,277 remains a crucial resistance level for NIFTY50, while the 20 SMA level of 26,016 remains the crucial support for the index.

On the options data front, the 26,000 puts hold the highest open interest, indicating a strong support for the current expiry. Similarly, 26,200 calls witnessed heavy open interest addition, indicating a strong resistance at these levels for the coming monthly expiry.

IPO market update

Quick commerce unicorn Zepto is set to pre-file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator Sebi on Friday through a confidential route, as it targets a stock market listing sometime next year, according to sources.

The move positions Zepto to become one of the youngest startups to list on Indian stock exchanges.

If the listing goes through, Zepto will join its rivals Zomato and Swiggy, both of which are already listed on the exchanges.

"Zepto is set to pre-file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with Sebi on December 26," people familiar with the developments told PTI.

Eternal, which owns Zomato and quick commerce platform Blinkit, was listed in 2021, while Swiggy, which operates Instamart, made its stock market debut in November 2024.