15.12.202511:43:55UTC+00Indian Stocks Finish Subdued

On Monday, India's BSE Sensex experienced a slight decline, closing at 85,213, effectively bringing an end to a two-day upward trend. This downturn was largely influenced by the continuous withdrawal of foreign funds and the prevailing uncertainty concerning a potential trade agreement between the United States and India. Foreign investors have already extracted $2 billion from Indian equities in December alone, constituting the most significant outflow in the past three months. Meanwhile, India's Trade Secretary announced that the US and India were nearing a "framework deal," albeit without specifying a timeline. Last week, India's Chief Economic Advisor mentioned that a trade agreement might only be finalized by March. The softness in the auto and financial stocks overshadowed the buying interest seen in the FMCG, consumer durables, and IT sectors. Following a cautionary note from JM Financial regarding the adverse impact on the automotive and auto components sector due to Mexico’s tariff hike, shares of Mahindra & Mahindra (-1.9%), Maruti (-0.9%), and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (-0.3%) witnessed declines. Adani Ports (-0.8%) and Bajaj Finserv (-0.8%) also registered losses. On the positive side, the key gainers included Hindustan Unilever, Trent, HCL Tech, Infosys, and Asian Paints.