Top Stock Losers and Gainers on Dec 17: Garden Reach, PB Fintech, Akzo Nobel Insights

The Indian stock market was on a losing streak for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, December 17 when it defaulted at the opening on the release of global cues and poor risk appetite which continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Despite the recovery of the Indian rupee from its recent slump, the market was not able to gain any immediate relief.

The Nifty 50 which suffered a setback of 0.64% in the previous session has now lost a further 0.16% finishing at 25,818 and breaking the key support level of 25,850. The S&P BSE Sensex gradually lowered too, losing 0.14% at 84,559 points. As a result, the two indices have dropped more than 1.4% in December.

Broad Markets Under Pressure

The weakness has not merely been confined to the leading indices but has also affected the broader market index which has stayed heavily in the red, with the Nifty Midcap 100 depreciating by 0.66% while the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell more sharply at 0.74%. This has shown that there is a continued selling pressure in the riskier investment segment.

Global Cues Weigh on Sentiment

Investor sentiment continued to be low as a result of contradictory signals from the US labor market which have obscured the Federal Reserve’s future rate hike speculation. This uncertainty has resulted in a decline in the risk appetite globally which has had a cascading effect clearly visible in the emerging markets of which India is one such market.

The US employment growth bounced back in November, but the unemployment rate increased to a four-year high of 4.6%. Now the market is keenly awaiting the US consumer inflation data for November which is due for release on Thursday.

Sectoral Performance: Media, Realty Drag; PSU Banks Shine

Out of the sectoral indices, most lost ground. The Nifty Media index was the biggest loser with a drop of 1.71%, followed by Nifty Consumer Durables (-0.96%) and Nifty Realty (-0.84%).

Some areas, however, provided relief. The Nifty PSU Bank index showed a strong recovery, increasing by 1.29%, while Nifty IT and Nifty Metal recorded small advances of 0.29% and 0.25%, respectively.

Rupee Surges Nearly 1% After RBI Intervention

Simultaneously, the Indian rupee was able to reverse its course significantly, by almost 1% against the US dollar to close at 89.97, which is still above its record low of the last trading session. This strong turnaround was made possible after the RBI took necessary measures, thus resulting in the rupee's largest one-day gain for some time.

Akzo Nobel, Ola Electric Lead Market Losers

From the stocks that were traded, Akzo Nobel India turned out to be the worst performer, plummeting by 13.6% to ₹3,132, which is its lowest point since June 2025. This sharp decline followed a large block deal which might be in the nature of a promoter stake sale.

Block deals at ₹3,159 per share accounted for a total of around 51.9 lakh shares (about 11.4% equity) which has turned investor confidence negative.

Indian Overseas Bank was also a heavy seller on the market, descending by 6.2% to ₹34.30, after the government declared an Offer for Sale (OFS) to lessen its stake.

The shares of Ola Electric continued to descend, dropping 4.6% to ₹32.90, after the stock's all-time low of ₹32.70 was reached during the session. The decrease was prompted by the founder Bhavish Aggarwal's sale of a stake, where approximately 2.6 crore shares were sold off through a public deal on December 16.

Defence and EMS Stocks Stay Weak

The stocks that were favorites with the street in the defence sector faced continued selling pressure resulting in the already low stock prices to fall further. The shares of Data Patterns (India), Shipping Corporation, Cochin Shipyard, Garden Reach Shipbuilders, and Bharat Dynamics lost between 2.5% and 4.5%.

Similarly, EMS stocks moved back into negative territory again after a brief recovery. Amber Enterprises, Dixon Technologies, and Kaynes Technology dropped 3%, 2.6%, and 2.2%, respectively.

India Cements, Hindustan Zinc Among Top Gainers

Despite the overall bearish market, some stocks managed to stand out. India Cements was the leader of the gainers’ list with a surge of 7.9% to ₹441.10. Other noteworthy gainers were Indraprastha Gas (+5.1%), Kirloskar Oil Engines (+4.4%), and Swan Corp (+3.2%).

Reliance Infrastructure owned by Anil Ambani and Reliance Power were among the stocks that drew buying interest, with the latter rising by 5% and the former by 3.1%.

In addition, selected banking stocks ended the day in a more favorable position, with gains between 1.5% and 2% being recorded by Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, Bank of India, City Union Bank, Bank of Baroda, and State Bank of India.

Market Outlook

There is a possibility that volatility will continue to be a characteristic of the market, due to the global cues staying unclear and the investors' attention being drawn to the key US inflation data. Although RBI's intervention has countered the rupee's weakness to a certain extent, the equities market may still remain cautious until clearer signals come through the global macroeconomic developments.