Taking Stock | Bears tighten their grip as Sensex, Nifty fall 1.5% each; all sectors in the red

Bears tightened their grip on Dalal Street as the market continued to witness profit booking for the fourth straight session on December 23 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in China and Japan.

At Close, the Sensex was down 980.93 points or 1.61% at 59,845.29, and the Nifty was down 320.50 points or 1.77% at 17,806.80.

Amid weak global cues, the market started on a negative note and extended the losses as the day progressed with Nifty and Sensex hitting intraday lows of 17,779.50 and 59,765.56, respectively.

Also Read - Black Friday: Sensex, Nifty down; Covid, recession fears weigh on sentiment

Stocks and sectors

On the BSE Sensex, only one stock (Titan Company) ended in the green, while in Nifty50 only three stocks including Cipla, Divi's Laboratories and Titan Company ended on a positive note.

Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel and Tata Motors were among the biggest Nifty losers.

All the sectoral indices ended in the red, with the Nifty PSU Bank index falling 6 percent and the Nifty Metal, Infra, Auto and Energy indices shedding 2-4 percent.

Index	Prices	Change	Change%
Sensex	84,743.76	-207.19	-0.24%
Nifty 50	25,938.60	-74.85	-0.29%
Nifty Bank	58,967.80	5.10	+0.01%

Nifty 50 25,938.60 -74.85 (-0.29%)

Tue, Nov 18, 2025

• 1D
• 5D
• 1M
• 3M
• 6M
• 1Y
• 2Y

Biggest Gainer	Prices	Change	Change%
Axis Bank	1,264.40	14.80	+1.18%

Biggest Loser	Prices	Change	Change%
Hindalco	793.80	-13.35	-1.65%

Best Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty Bank	58969.40	6.70	+0.01%

Worst Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty Metal	10383.70	-112.20	-1.07%

The BSE midcap index lost 3.4 percent and smallcap index slipped 4 percent.

On the BSE, power and metal indices were down 4 percent each, while auto, capital goods, FMCG, oil & gas and realty were down 2-3.5 percent.

Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 3,000 percent was seen in BHEL, GNFC and Delta Corp.

A short build-up was seen in India Cements, IDFC First Bank and City Union Bank, while a long build-up was seen in Divi's Laboratories, Lupin and Abbott India.

More than 250 stocks touched their 52-week low on the BSE, including Sintex Industries, Vodafone Idea, Gland Pharma, Voltas, Sunteck Realty, Quess Corp, OnMobile Global, Indigo Paints, Indian Energy Exchange and Aarti Industries.

Also Read - BSE MidCap, SmallCap indices turn negative so far in 2022, trade in red in 6 out of 7 sessions

Outlook for December 26

Amol Athawale, Deputy Vice President - Technical Research at Kotak Securities

Markets were caught in frenzied selling as weak global cues and bearish external factors pushed both the key benchmark indices below the psychological levels. Besides the spurt in COVID cases in China & Japan, the better-than-expected US Q3 GDP numbers further raised concerns that the Fed will go for more rate hikes to tame inflation, which further accentuated selling pressure in the markets.

Technically, after a long time, the index closed below the 50-day SMA (Simple Moving Average) and also formed a long bearish candle on weekly charts which is broadly negative.

For traders, as long as the index is trading below 18,000, the correction wave is likely to continue and below the same, the index could slip to 17,600-17,500. On the flip side, 18,000 could act as a sacrosanct resistance zone. The dismissal of 18,000 could push the index to a 50-day SMA or 18,150-18,200.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking

Markets plunged sharply lower, in continuation of the prevailing corrective trend. After the gap-down start, Nifty gradually inched lower as the session progressed and finally settled closer to the day’s low to close at 17,806.8 levels.

The pressure was widespread wherein PSU banks, and metal and energy stocks were hammered badly. The broader indices underperformed the benchmark.

Indications are pointing towards the prevailing corrective move to extend further, with a marginal rebound in between. Meanwhile, mixed global cues will keep the volatility high. Thus, we recommend keeping a check on leveraged positions and preferring a hedged approach.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.