NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on December 4

The Indian equity markets are set to open lower on Thursday, December 4, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Ahmedabad fell 54 points to 26,082 despite mixed cues from Asian markets.

The Indian equity benchmarks declined for fourth straight session on Wednesday, December 3, dragged down by losses in State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel.

The SENSEX fell as much as 375 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 25,891. The benchmarks, however, staged recovery in last hour of trade on the back of buying in information technology shares after rupee dropped to an all-time low of 90.14 against the US dollar.

The SENSEX ended 31 points higher at 85,107 and NIFTY50 index declined 46 points to 25,986.

Asian markets

Most of the Asian markets were trading lower on Thursday as Japan's Nikkei rose 1.3%, China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.17%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.1% and South Korea's KOSPI dropped 1.14%.

Wall Street update

US markets ended close to record highs higher on Wednesday as mixed data on the economy kept alive hopes that a cut to interest rates is coming soon.

The S&P500 advanced 0.3%, Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.86% and tech heavy Nasdaq rose 0.17%.

Stocks broadly got a lift from easing Treasury yields in the bond market. Yields fell after a report suggested U.S. employers outside of the government may have cut more jobs in November than they added, news agency AP reported.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹3,207 crore on Wednesday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹4,730 crore, data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

The FIIs have so far this month sold shares worth ₹8,369 crore and for the calendar year they have been net sellers to the tune of ₹1,52,044 crore, according to the data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).

Stocks to watch

The Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was passed by a voice vote in the lower house, said a PTI report.

"The Bill, once enacted, will give the government the fiscal space to increase the rate of central excise duty on tobacco and related products after GST compensation cess, which is currently levied on all tobacco products like cigarettes, chewing tobacco, cigars, hookah, zarda, and scented tobacco, ceases to exist," said a PTI report.

Currently, a 28% goods and services Tax (GST) plus cess at a varied rate is levied on tobacco and related products. The Bill proposes to levy an excise duty of 60-70% on unmanufactured tobacco. Excise on cigars and cheroots is proposed at 25% or ₹5,000 per 1,000 sticks, whichever is higher.

Cigarettes, depending on length and filter, are proposed to be taxed in the range of ₹2,700-₹11,000 per 1,000 sticks, while chewing tobacco is taxed at ₹100 per kg.

Aviation watchdog DGCA said it is investigating IndiGo flight disruptions and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation as well as the plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.

As part of the calibrated adjustments announced by IndiGo, there will be cancellations and rescheduling of flights, sources said on Wednesday, a day when airports witnessed chaos as hundreds of passengers faced hardships due to services getting cancelled and delayed for long.

The airline, which operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily, on Wednesday said a "multitude of unforeseen operational challenges" have significantly disrupted its operations across the network for the past two days, and apologised to the passengers for the inconvenience.

In his new role, Venugopal will work closely with Isha Ambani, Executive Director of RRVL and the Leadership Team of Reliance Retail, under the overall guidance of Mukesh Ambani and Manoj Modi.

Venugopal, who has 25 years of global leadership experience across retail, e-commerce, technology, and business transformation, will strengthen the retail portfolio, accelerate omnichannel growth, and drive technical and operational excellence across the value chain at Reliance Retail.

With the allotment of shares, the Pune-based lender would become Minimum Public Shareholding compliant with the Sebi norms.

The OFS of Bank of Maharashtra closed for subscription Wednesday at a floor price of ₹54 per share. At this price, the government would mop up about ₹2,492 crore by divesting its 6% stake in the lender.

Prior to the OFS, the government's holding in the bank was 79.60%. With the stake dilution to 73.6%, the bank would be able to meet the MPS norm of 25% as the government stake would come below 75%.

Developed by Stempeutics Research, the therapy offers a disease-modifying treatment option targeting Grade II and III Knee OA and marks a significant advancement in Cipla's entry into Orthobiologic medicine, the Mumbai-based drugmaker said in a statement.

Knee OA is a chronic, progressive degenerative joint disease affecting more than 48.4 million people in India as of 2021, with a rising prevalence even among younger populations.