SENSEX, NIFTY50 close marginally higher after hitting record highs

The Indian equity benchmarks came off record highs on Thursday, November 27, as gains in ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, ITC, Hindustan Unilever and Larsen & Toubro were offset with losses in State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, Eternal and Maruti Suzuki on account profit booking.

During the session, the SENSEX advanced as much as 446 points to hit an all-time high of 86,055.86 and NIFTY50 index surged to fresh record high of 26,310.45 after a gap of 14 months.

The SENSEX rose 111 points to close at 85,720 and NIFTY50 index advanced 10 points to 26,215.55.

Market analysts note that sentiment remains strongly bullish, supporting a buy-on-dips approach. They point to firm global cues, steady domestic institutional inflows, and strength in banking stocks as key drivers of the positive trend.

However, they warn that with indices at record highs, traders and investors should watch crucial resistance levels and manage risk carefully, as volatility could increase in the sessions ahead.

Analysts at HSBC, Jefferies, and JPMorgan have, of late, turned bullish on Indian equities, citing a combination of strong domestic growth prospects, encouraging corporate earnings, and supportive macroeconomic conditions.

They highlight that India’s economic recovery continues to gain momentum, driven by resilient consumption, infrastructure spending, and favourable policy measures.

Factors such as the GST rate cut, nil income tax up to ₹12,00,000, and lower interest rates are the key factors that the analysts believe would help pump-prime the economy further.

Sectoral landscape

Eight of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by NIFTY Media index's 0.8% gain. NIFTY Bank, Financial Services, IT and Private Bank indices also rose between 0.2%-0.5%.

On the flipside, realty, healthcare, consumer durables, metal and auto shares witnessed selling pressure.

Mid- and small-cap shares ended on a lacklustre note as NIFTY Midcap 100 index closed 0.08% higher while NIFTY Smallcap 100 index dropped 0.53%.

NIFTY50 gainers and losers

Bajaj Finance was top gainer in the NIFTY50 basket of shares, the stock rose 2.43% to close at ₹1,035. ICICI Bank, Shriram Finance, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv, Hindalco and HCL Technologies also rose between 0.77%-1.37%.

On the other hand, Adani Enterprises, Eicher Motors, Eternal, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki and SBI Life were among the top losers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was marginally negative as 1,990 shares ended higher while 2,157 closed lower on the BSE.