Equity benchmarks opened on a weak note on Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street and subdued Asian markets, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of key US inflation data. The BSE opened at ₹84,518.33 against its previous close of ₹84,559.65 and declined further to ₹84,294.21, down 265.44 points or 0.31 per cent, while the NSE opened at ₹25,764.70 compared to its previous close of ₹25,818.55 and slipped to ₹25,735.40, losing 83.15 points or 0.32 per cent, as of 9.50 am.
The weakness in domestic equities mirrored a sharp sell-off in US markets, where the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow extended their losing streak amid profit-booking in high-valuation technology and artificial intelligence stocks. “Global markets enter today’s session on a cautious footing following a sharp overnight sell-off in the US,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money. “Renewed skepticism around AI capex returns, reports of funding pullbacks in data-centre investments, and a visible rotation toward defensive sectors have reinforced a risk-off tone.”
Despite the broader market weakness, technology stocks emerged as outperformers during early trade. led the gainers on the Nifty 50, rising 1.00 per cent to ₹1,618.00, followed by which gained 0.80 per cent to ₹263.24. added 0.45 per cent to ₹868.10, while advanced 0.35 per cent to ₹3,229.00 and climbed 0.34 per cent to ₹401.15.
On the losing side, witnessed the steepest decline, falling 2.24 per cent to ₹338.60, followed by which dropped 2.01 per cent to ₹1,756.90. declined 1.76 per cent to ₹3,549.10, slipped 1.51 per cent to ₹8,761.00 and lost 1.30 per cent to ₹7,042.00.
Market analysts highlighted that selling pressure remained valuation-driven rather than panic-led. “The selling seen so far does not reflect panic; instead, it appears to be a valuation-led reset following a strong rally, rather than any indication of a structural breakdown,” Ponmudi added. “From a domestic perspective, Nifty 50 continues to trade within a rising channel structure. The 25,800–25,700 zone remains a critical near-term support.”
Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities, noted that technical indicators suggested fragility. “Technically, Nifty’s near-term setup remains fragile as long as it hovers below the all-time high of 26,326, with sellers actively capping every bounce,” he said. “While bears continue to dictate momentum, the crucial support at 25,693 remains the line in the sand.”
Institutional activity showed foreign institutional investors turned net buyers on December 17 after 14 consecutive sessions of selling, purchasing equities worth ₹1,171 crore, while domestic institutional investors also remained supportive with net buying of ₹768 crore.
Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, drew attention to global developments. “The trend of weakening AI trade is gathering pace in the US market. This trend is likely to continue in early 2026, and this will favour non-AI markets like India,” he said. “What investors should do now is to accumulate high quality fairly-valued stocks on market weakness.”
Sectorally, the Nifty PSU Bank index rose 1.20 per cent in the previous session, while the Media index fell 1.80 per cent. Analysts advised traders to remain selective and adopt a buy-on-dips strategy given prevailing volatility and global uncertainties.