Stock Market Today: Sensex Falls 533 Points, Nifty Settles Below 25,900 Amid Depreciating Rupee, Weekly F&O Expiry

Stock Market Today: Benchmark indices declined for the second day in a row on December 16 amid mixed global cues, continued weakness in the Rupee, and weekly Nifty futures and options (F&O) expiry.

At close, Sensex was down 533.50 points, or 0.63 per cent, at 84,679.86, and Nifty 50 was down 167.20 points, or 0.64 per cent, at 25,860.10.

Broader market indices reflected the same sentiment as Nifty Midcap 100 ended 0.83 per cent lower, Nifty Smallcap 100 closed 0.92 per cent in the red, and Nifty 500 settled 0.65 per cent in the negative territory.

The rupee slipped to a new low at 91.27 against the US dollar earlier today. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said a further sharp fall in the rupee was “not expected today” as November trade data has come in better than anticipated. He said covering of short positions may be contributing to the day’s move, while sustained foreign institutional investor (FII) selling is "acting like a vicious cycle pulling the rupee down.”

Vijayakumar noted that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) typically intervenes to curb sharp currency weakness by selling dollars, but said the central bank has recently allowed the rupee to weaken. He attributed this approach to India’s low inflation, which stood at 0.71 per cent in November, adding that rupee depreciation is currently not hurting the economy.

India’s trade deficit narrowed by over 61 per cent to $6.6 billion in November 2025, due to strong growth in merchandise exports and a decline in imports. Data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed total exports rose 15.5 per cent to $74 billion during the month, while imports slipped 0.6 per cent to $80.6 billion.

Banks, Realty Emerge Top Sectoral Losers

Nifty Realty tumbled 1.29 per cent and Nifty Private Bank plunged 1.23 per cent, emerging as the biggest sectoral losers of the day. Nifty PSU Bank slipped 0.89 per cent, Nifty Metal and Nifty IT declined 0.84 per cent each, and Nifty Financial Services also went down by 0.79 per cent. Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Chemical also ended the day lower. Nifty FMCG ended about flat, while Nifty Auto closed 0.09 per cent lower.

Nifty Consumer Durables bucked the trend, rising 0.55 per cent. Nifty Bank closed 0.72 per cent in the red, down by 427.20 points to close at 59,034.60.