Stock markets trade higher in early deals

Indian equities opened higher as Sensex and Nifty tracked firm global cues and steady DII buying. RBI’s Rs 2 lakh crore liquidity infusion via OMO and swaps boosted sentiment, though FII selling capped gains amid consolidation in early trade Wednesday

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rallied in early trade on Wednesday, tracking a positive trend in global markets and consistent buying by domestic institutional investors.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 115.8 points to 85,640.64 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 40.7 points to 26,217.85.

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From the 30-Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Trent, Bharat Electronics, Adani Ports and Eternal were among the gainers.

However, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded in positive territory.

US markets ended higher on Tuesday.

“As 2025 draws to a close the market appears to be moving to a consolidation phase with an upward bias. The strong domestic macros and the supportive earnings growth expectations in Q3 and Q4 of FY26 and for FY27 will provide the fundamental support to the market.

“The sustained domestic inflows and consistent DII buying will impart resilience to the market. However, since FIIs may sell the rallies, a sharp breakout is unlikely,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Vijayakumar further said that the RBI decision to do an additional OMO (Open Market Operations) to the tune of Rs 2 lakh crore will significantly enhance liquidity and bring down yields.

“This is positive for credit growth and banking stocks,” he added.

The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday said it will purchase government securities worth Rs 2 lakh crore and conduct a US$ 10 billion buy/sell dollar-rupee swap auction to inject liquidity in the banking system.

The OMO (Open Market Operations) purchase and swap auctions will be conducted between December 29, 2025 and January 22, 2026.

Announcing the decision, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it will continue to monitor evolving liquidity and market conditions and take measures as appropriate to ensure orderly liquidity conditions.

The latest announcement comes days after the RBI conducted Rs 1 lakh crore OMO purchase auctions of Government of India securities and USD/INR Buy/Sell Swap auction of USD 5 billion for a tenor of three years.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,794.80 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, remained buyers as they bought equities worth Rs 3,812.37 crore.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 0.02 per cent up at USD 62.39 per barrel.

Snapping the two-day gaining streak, the Sensex on Tuesday dipped 42.64 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 85,524.84. The Nifty ended marginally up by 4.75 points or 0.02 per cent to 26,177.15.