Markets held firm in afternoon trade on Monday, May 25, 2026, consolidating the sharp gap-up gains seen at the open, though momentum eased from morning highs as investors turned cautious near key resistance levels. The BSE Sensex was trading at 76,254.90, up 839.55 points or 1.11 per cent, as of 12.30 pm. The NSE Nifty 50 was at 23,954.25, a gain of 234.95 points or 0.99 per cent at the same time, after briefly testing the psychological 24,000 mark in early trade before facing selling pressure.
Market breadth remained positive. Of 4,338 BSE stocks traded, 2,841 advanced and 1,276 declined, while 221 remained unchanged. A total of 135 stocks hit 52-week highs against 45 at 52-week lows. Upper circuit stocks numbered 256, compared to 149 in lower circuits. Nifty’s Advance-Decline ratio stood at 43:7.
Eicher Motors remained the top gainer on the Nifty50, trading at ₹7,356, up 5.36 per cent on volumes of over 8.97 lakh shares. Adani Enterprises rose 2.91 per cent to ₹2,796.30. Shriram Finance advanced 2.52 per cent to ₹964.75, while Eternal gained 2.42 per cent to ₹247.80 on heavy volumes of over 1.37 crore shares. Wipro rose 2.39 per cent to ₹207.97 on the back of over 4.07 crore shares changing hands, reflecting continued appetite for IT stocks following last week’s 4.25 per cent sectoral gain.
On the losing side, Max Healthcare was the steepest decliner, falling 2.66 per cent to ₹996. Hindalco Industries dropped 2.42 per cent to ₹1,082.40. ONGC slipped 1.76 per cent to ₹284.90, under pressure from the sharp fall in crude prices, which compress upstream margins. Bajaj Auto declined 0.55 per cent to ₹10,491.50, and Sun Pharma edged lower 0.53 per cent to ₹1,834.80.
The SBI Securities mid-market note flagged that the Nifty has entered a sideways consolidation band. The 23,850–23,870 zone is now acting as immediate support, with resistance at 24,100–24,120. A breach above 24,120 could take the index toward 24,320, while a slip below 23,850 opens the next support at 23,600–23,500. On the options front, meaningful call writing was seen at the 24,000 and 24,100 strikes, while 23,900 and 23,800 put strikes carry substantial open interest, indicating the market is in a tug of war near current levels. For Sensex, support is placed at 75,900 and resistance at 76,700.
In commodities, MCX Crude Oil was trading in the ₹8,700–₹8,800 zone after breaking below the ₹9,000 level, with the near-term bias remaining cautiously bearish. US Oil traded near $90–$91. MCX Gold held above ₹1,59,000 with immediate resistance at ₹1,59,500–₹1,60,000. COMEX Gold was in the $4,550–$4,580 range. MCX Silver was holding above ₹2,76,000, while COMEX Silver traded in the $77–$78 band. The USD/INR pair was in the ₹95.3–₹95.4 zone, pulling back from the recent record low of ₹96.96, supported by cooling crude prices and easing geopolitical tensions.