Indian equities eased on Friday as investors locked in gains near record highs, with thin year-end participation and persistent foreign selling keeping risk appetite in check.
The Nifty 50 index fell 0.38% to 26,042.3, while the BSE Sensex index shed 0.43% to 85,041.45.
The session’s moves trimmed the weekly uptick in the Nifty and Sensex, which rose 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively, snapping a three-week losing run.
“The consolidation near record-high levels continued this week due to the lack of fresh triggers and muted year-end activity,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research of wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
The average daily trading volumes of Nifty 50 stocks in December has been around 250 million shares, compared with about 300 million shares the previous month.
Indian equity benchmarks end flat in thin year-end trade; IT losses weigh
After touching fresh peaks in November, helped by improving earnings expectations, steady growth and supportive policy from the government and central bank, the benchmark indexes have gone quiet in December, down 0.6% and 0.8% for the month so far.
Robust pre-quarterly updates from companies starting on January 1 and a potential trade deal with the U.S. will be necessary to take markets higher from current levels and sustain the rally, Khemka said.
Eight of the 16 major sectors logged weekly gains.
Metals, which rose 2.7% this week, were supported by firmer demand signals out of China and a softer U.S. dollar as markets leaned into expectations for two additional U.S. rate cuts in 2026.
The broader small-caps gained 1.8% this week while mid-caps closed flat.
Among individual stocks, Shriram Finance jumped 6.5% this week, extending last week’s 6.3% rise after Japan’s Mitsubishi agreed to buy a 20% stake in the company for $4.4 billion.
Coal India climbed 4.3% after securing in-principle approval to list units Mahanadi Coalfields and South Eastern Coalfields.
On the day, Ola Electric gained 2.4% after securing the government’s approval for a 3.67-billion-rupee (about $41 million) payout under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
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