Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty jumped in early trade on Friday (December 19, 2025) after four days of decline amid a rally in global markets as a lower-than-expected US consumer price inflation data for November reinforced expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Fresh foreign fund inflows also drove the equity markets higher.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 448.27 points to 84,930.08 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 131 points to 25,946.55. All the 30-Sensex firms were trading in positive territory during the initial trade. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Reliance Industries, Bharat Electronics, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, Power Grid and Tata Consultancy Services were among the biggest gainers.

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. U.S. markets ended higher on Thursday (December 18, 2025). Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 595.78 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth Rs 2,700.36 crore in the previous trade.

Cooling inflation in the U.S. is imparting resilience to the U.S. economy and markets, VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said. "This augurs well for global equity markets as 2025 draws to a close," he added. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.23% to $59.68 per barrel.

"Global markets are trading with a positive bias, led by firm gains in US equities after vlower-than-expected November consumer price inflation data reinforced expectations of further interest-rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve, triggering a shift toward a risk-on environment," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.Logging its fourth day of decline on Thursday (December 18, 2025), the Sensex dropped by 77.84 points or 0.09% to settle at 84,481.81 in a volatile session. The Nifty ended flat, skidding 3 points or 0.01% to 25,815.55.

Ola Electric shares jump 10%

CEO Bhavish Aggarwal completes stake sale to repay Rs 260-crore loan

Shares of Ola Electric Mobility surged nearly 10% on December 19 after the company announced that promoter and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal had sold a small portion of his personal stake to repay a promoter-level loan and eliminate all pledged shares. The stock rose to Rs 34.38 in morning trade, snapping a three-session losing streak.

In a post-market exchange filing on December 18, the company said Aggarwal sold part of his holding to fully repay a loan of about Rs 260 crore. The transaction released the entire 3.93% stake that had been pledged, leaving Ola Electric with zero promoter pledges.

The company clarified that following the sale, the promoter group continues to hold 34.6% stake, with no dilution of control or change in long-term commitment. It described the exercise as a planned, time-bound move at the promoter’s personal level, with no impact on the company’s operations or strategic direction.

Ola Electric shares had fallen over 17% in the previous three sessions amid successive stake sales by the founder, hitting an all-time low of Rs 30.76 on December 18. The stock has lost more than 80% from its peak of Rs 157.4 recorded in August last year.

Trading volumes surged on Friday, with over 19.42 million shares changing hands by mid-morning, nearly 4.8 times the 30-day average. On December 16, Aggarwal informed exchanges that the limited monetisation of his stake was aimed at fully unwinding leverage and removing pledge-related risks and volatility.