The domestic benchmark indices — Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex — traded with modest gains during the afternoon session after surging to record highs in early trade, lifted by investor optimism stemming from US Fed rate cut and foreign fund inflows.
According to Prashanth Tapse, Sr. VP research analyst at Mehta Equities Ltd., the rally was powered by resilient domestic inflows, improving global risk appetite, and renewed optimism around Q3FY26 earnings. “While the undertone remains constructive, we expect only a measured upside from current levels likely limited to a few percentage points in the near term.”
traded 217.91 points or 0.25 per cent higher at 85,827.42 at 12.43 pm after hitting a record high of 86,055.86 during the session. Nifty 50 traded with 38.95 points or 0.15 per cent gains at 26,244.25, hitting an all-time high of 26,310.45.
The earlier lifetime high of BSE Sensex was 85,978.25 and Nifty scaled to its record intra-day high of 26,277 (both recorded on September 27, 2024).
Nifty at a new peak shows what steady earnings and steady hands can achieve, echoed, Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.
In addition, broad buying across sectors, including financials and banking, added momentum. However, most sectoral indices saw profit-taking, with oil & gas, PSU banks, consumer durables, realty and auto among those that declined and moved into negative territory.
Bank Nifty also hit a record high of 59,866.60 in today’s session. ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra, HDFC Bank and Canara Bank emerged as the top players.
The midcap and smallcap indices dipped 0.13 per cent and 0.54 per cent, respectively.
Bajaj twin shares, HUL lead Nifty 50
Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, Shriram Finance, Larsen & Turbo and Bajaj Finserv led the gainers of Nifty 50 at the time of writing, while Eicher Motors, Eternal, ONGC, Adani Enterprises and Bajaj Auto declined the most.
Out of a total 3,045 stocks traded on the National Stock Exchange at 12.34 pm, market breadth was nearly balanced, with 1,427 stocks advancing and 1,503 declining, while 115 remained unchanged. A total of 63 stocks, including Ashok Leyland, Axis Bank, Hero Motocorp, MCX and BHEL, touched their 52-week high, whereas 55 slipped to their 52-week low.
Additionally, 84 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, compared with 30 stocks that were locked in the lower circuit.
Ashok Leyland lead gainers of midcap, Whirlpool drags smallcap
Ashok Leyland, M&M Financial, Coromandel, SRF and Godfrey Phillips soared 1-6 per cent under the midcap basket. Motilal OFS, Indian Bank, Waaree Energies and Alkem declined 1.5-3 per cent.
Smallcap stocks Tejas Networks, Gillette, Reliance Power, IKS and Laurus Labs soared 2-6 per cent, while Whirlpool dragged over 11 per cent. Natco Pharma, Kaynes Tech, Radico and Five-Star Business were some other losers, depreciating 2-5 per cent.
Investors should guard against over-enthusiasm or ‘FOMO buying’, as the rally continues to be narrow, Tapse stated, adding that a large part of the mid-cap and small-cap universe including several sector leaders remains in a corrective or fragile zone despite headline indices hitting all-time highs.