NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on December 31

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open on a flat note on Wednesday, December 31, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Ahmedabad advanced 0.06%% or 16 points to 26,118 amid weak cues from Asian markets.

The Indian equity benchmarks ended little changed on Tuesday, December 30, as gains in Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank and State Bank of India were offset with losses in Infosys, Eternal, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, IndiGo and Asian Paints amid expiry of December NIFTY50 and stock futures and option contracts.

The SENSEX traded in a range of 336 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 25,976.75 and a low of 25,878.

The SENSEX ended 20 points lower at 84,675 and NIFTY50 index advanced 8 points to 25,950.

Asian markets

Most of the Asian markets were trading lower on Wednesday with Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 0.72%, Singapore's Straits Times declined 0.14% while China's Shanghai Composite advanced 0.26%.

Markets in Japan and South Korea were shut on account of new year eve's holiday.

Wall Street update

US shares ended lower on Tuesday, while gold bounced back on the penultimate trading day of 2025. All three major US indices dipped into negative territory in a light-volume pre-holiday session in a subdued ending to a volatile year, news agency Reuters reported.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, S&P 500 dropped 0.14% and tech heavy Nasdaq declined 0.24%.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹3,844 crore on Tuesday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹6,160 crore, data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

The FIIs have so far this month sold shares worth ₹19,023 crore and for the calendar year they have been net sellers to the tune of ₹1,62,698 crore, according to the data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).

Stocks to watch

The GST penalty notice worth ₹45,826,169,80 has been issued for financial year 2018-19 to FY23.

“The GST department has passed an order imposing GST demand along with interest and penalty on compensation received from a foreign supplier and denial of input tax credit. The company strongly believes that the order passed by the GST department is erroneous and not in accordance with law, backed by advice from external tax advisors,” IndiGo said in a regulatory filing.

It further said that the major airline will contest the order and will take appropriate legal remedies against the aforesaid order. “The company is already in appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) in a similar matter for FY 2017-18,” is added.

This follows a day after the IT infrastructure provider firm’s shareholders approved the issuance of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:10—that is, one new fully paid-up equity share of ₹10 each for every 10 existing fully paid-up equity shares of ₹10 each, ranking pari passu in all respects.

“In this regard, we wish to inform you that the Company has fixed Monday, January 05, 2026, as the Record Date for the purpose of determining the eligibility of shareholders entitled to receive the Bonus Shares,” Orient Technologies said in a regulatory filing.

The defence ministry has awarded Bharat Forge Limited (BFL) a contract for the supply of 255,128 CQB carbines (5.56 x 45 mm) to the Indian Army. The deal will be executed within five years.

The 5.56 x 45 mm CQB Carbine is an indigenously designed, developed, and manufactured (IDDM) compact firearm jointly developed by Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), DRDO, and Bharat Forge Ltd, Pune.

As per the direction of the Supreme Court, Amrapali Stalled Projects Investments Reconstruction Establishment (ASPIRE) was formed to complete the stuck projects of Amrapali through NBCC.

NBCC was asked to complete 38,000 flats and hand it over to homebuyers.

In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, the company informed that it has sold 417 residential units at Aspire leisure valley in Greater Noida (W), and Aspire Silicon City, Ph-IV at Sec-76, Noida, UP through e-auction at a total sale value of Rs 1,045.40 crore.

Every year, access to Ladakh through roads remains closed from December to April due to heavy snowfall at high mountain passes such as Zojila and Rohtang.

To ensure uninterrupted fuel availability during this period, Indian Oil undertakes advance stocking before winter sets in, the company said.

These supplies are crucial for civilians as well as for the strategic requirements of the Indian Army in the region.