India equity benchmarks likely to open flat amid foreign outflows, low year-end volumes

Traders monitor screens at the National Stock Exchange as markets prepare for a muted opening.

India’s key equity indices are expected to begin Wednesday’s session on a muted note, with persistent foreign fund outflows and thin year-end trading volumes offsetting positive cues from global markets.

Gift Nifty futures were trading around 26,234 as of 7:46 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 could open close to Tuesday’s closing level of 26,177.15.

Asian exchanges gradually increased by nearly 0.3%, following the overnight rise on Wall Street as a result of the economic growth data showing that the U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, facilitated by strong consumer spending. The optimistic U.S. growth figures are regarded as favorable for the Indian IT and pharmaceuticals sectors, which have a considerable part of their sales coming from the U.S. market.

On the other hand, the mood in domestic stocks is still quite low because FPI’s (foreign portfolio investors) selling has not yet stopped.Provisional data showed foreign investors sold Indian shares worth ₹17.95 billion on Tuesday. FPIs have withdrawn about $1.3 billion so far in December and a total of $17.7 billion in 2025.

Market participation has also weakened ahead of the holiday season. On Tuesday, the cash market turnover was approximately 9% down compared to the prior day and almost 15% under the November average at the National Stock Exchange. Trading volumes are usually low across worldwide markets in the last weeks of the year because of Christmas and New Year holidays.

Stocks to watch

  • Emcure Pharmaceuticals: The company said the U.S. drug regulator classified its Gujarat manufacturing facility as “No Action Indicated” following a recent inspection.
  • Vikran Engineering: The firm secured an order worth ₹20.35 billion for the development of 600 MW solar power projects in Maharashtra.
  • Coal India: The company’s board has given in-principle approval for the listing of its subsidiaries South Eastern Coalfields and Mahanadi Coalfields.

With limited triggers and low volumes, markets are expected to remain range-bound in the near term.

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