Stock markets trade lower in early deals amid relentless foreign fund outflows

Market Performance - Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on December 3, 2025, with the Sensex dropping 165.35 points to 84,972.92 and the Nifty declining 77.85 points to 25,954.35, marking the fourth consecutive day of decline [1] - The Sensex fell 503.63 points, or 0.59%, to settle at 85,138.27, while the Nifty declined 143.55 points, or 0.55%, to 26,032.20 on December 2, 2025 [4] Investor Activity - Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹3,642.30 crore on December 2, 2025, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth ₹4,645.94 crore [2] Currency and Economic Sentiment - The Indian rupee fell 6 paise to a record low of 90.05 against the U.S. dollar, contributing to fragile market sentiment [3] - Market sentiment remains pressured due to FII outflows, a weak rupee, and pressure on banking stocks, as noted by Prashanth Tapse from Mehta Equities Ltd [3] Sector Performance - Major laggards from the Sensex firms included Hindustan Unilever, Bharat Electronics, Titan, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, NTPC, and State Bank of India [2] - Gainers included Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and ICICI Bank [2] Global Market Context - In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 were in positive territory, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded lower [3] - U.S. markets ended higher on December 2, 2025, providing a contrasting backdrop to the Indian market's performance [3] Commodity Prices - Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was quoted at $62.43 per barrel, reflecting a slight change of 0.03% [4]