Dec 31 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks opened higher on Wednesday, led by metal stocks after the government imposed a three-year import tariff on select steel products, while concerns over foreign fund outflows capped gains in the year's final session.
The Nifty 50 index rose 0.3% to 26,012.35, while the BSE Sensex index gained 0.27% to 84,881.34, as of 9:19 a.m. IST.
Fourteen of the 16 major sectors logged gains at the open. The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose about 0.5% each.
Metal index gained 1.1%, led by steelmakers such as Tata Steel, JSW Steel and Jindal Steel, jumping between 2.3% and 4%.
The three-year import tariff is aimed at curbing cheap shipments from China to protect the domestic industry.
The Nifty 50 had declined about 1% in the last four sessions on persistent foreign selling in light year-end trading. Foreign investors have offloaded shares worth a record $18.5 billion in 2025.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Harikrishnan Nair)
