SENSEX, NIFTY pare gains after gap up opening; Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank top drags

The Indian equity benchmarks came off intraday highs after staging a gap up opening on Friday, June 20, as gains in index heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bharti Airtel were offset with losses in Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahinda and Infosys. The SENSEX rose as much as 289 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 24,881.

As of 9:30 am, the SENSEX was up 134 points at 81,496 and NIFTY50 index rose 51 points to 24,844.

Mixed Asian cues

Asian markets were trading on a mixed note. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.15% and China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.10% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.67% and South Korea's KOSPI index climbed over 1% after China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Friday. The decision was widely expected as Beijing rolled out sweeping monetary easing measures a month earlier to support the economy, news agency Reuters reported.

The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept at 3.00%, while the five-year LPR was unchanged at 3.50%.

Sectoral landscape

Seven of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading higher led by the NIFTY PSU Bank index's 0.75% gain. NIFTY Bank, Financial Services, Realty and Auto indices also rose around 0.25%.

On the other hand, select IT, metal, consumer durables and oil & gas shares were facing a mild selling pressure.

Subdued broader markets

Broader markets were trading on a subdued note as NIFTY Midcap 100 index rose 0.1% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index declined 0.2%.

Premier Energies, Waaree Energies, Indus Tower, SJVN and Bharti Hexacom were top gainers in the NIFTY Midcap 100 index.

In NIFTY Smallcap 100 index Indiamart, Brigade, Nuvama and Piramal Enterprises were among the gainers.

Stocks in action

HDFC Bank owns a 94.36% stake in HDB Financial Services. The initial share sale has reserved a portion for eligible HDFC Bank shareholders.

“This is to inform you that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company is scheduled to be held on Thursday, 26th June 2025, to inter alia consider and approve the proposal for issue of bonus shares, subject to the requisite approval,” Nestle India said in a regulatory filing dated June 19.

NIFTY50 gainers and losers

Mahindra & Mahindra was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock rose 1.56% to ₹3,143. Eternal, Jio Financial Services, Coal India, Shriram Finance and Power Grid were also among the gainers.

On the flipside, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank and Wipro were among the losers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 2,032 shares were advancing while 976 were advancing on the BSE.