Benchmarks settle with modest gains amid a see-saw session

Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty sustained their positive momentum for the fourth consecutive day and settled with modest gains on Friday, aided by a buying rush in FMCG, banking and telecom sector shares.

The 30-share BSE Sensex benchmark began the trade on a negative note by declining 449.35 points, or 0.53 per cent to 84,029.32. The NSE Nifty started the day off lower by 138.35 points or 0.53 per cent to 25,740.80.

However, both the barometers showed some recovery at the fag end before closing with gains for the fourth session in a row. The BSE Sensex ended 84.11 points, or 0.10 per cent, higher at 84,562.78, while the NSE Nifty went up 30.90 points, or 0.12 per cent, to settle at 25,910.05.

From the Sensex pack, Eternal, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Trent, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Asian Paints, Adani Ports, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, ITC, PowerGrid, Tata Motors Ltd’s Commercial Vehicles business, and Bajaj Finserv were the gainers.

Infosys, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Titan, UltraTech Cement, Maruti Suzuki India, and Larsen & Toubro were the laggards.

“...investors shifted focus to upcoming RBI MPC and US Fed FOMC meetings, adding to the wait-and-watch mood,” Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical Research and Derivatives at SBI Securities, said.

The BSE Midcap gauge fell 0.03 per cent while smallcap went up 0.06 per cent. Among the sectoral indices, Telecommunication climbed by 0.62 per cent, FMCG by 0.54 per cent, Consumer Durables by 0.36 per cent, Bankex by 0.31 per cent, Financial Services by 0.26 per cent, Healthcare by 0.22 per cent, Utilities by 0.21 per cent and Capital Goods by 0.16 per cent. On the other hand, Focused IT, Teck, Commodities, IT, Auto, Metal, Oil & Gas closed lower.

“The market managed to close in the green, supported by banking and FMCG stocks, while the NDA victory in the Bihar state election added impetus to sentiment. A positive turnaround in Q2 FY26 results and benign inflation are making H2 FY26 earnings outlook brighter.

Investors are looking for additional catalysts for a decisive move from current levels. The upcoming RBI policy meeting and any cues on US trade deal are expected to keep market sentiment bullish,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.

A total of 2,270 stocks declined while 1,900 advanced and 149 remain unchanged on the BSE. “Nifty50 recovered more than 150 points from day’s low in the last 30 minutes after the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) received a massive mandate in the Bihar State Election 2025.

“Meanwhile, global weakness and fading hopes of a US Fed rate cut weighed on market sentiment. The US markets fell on Thursday amid a sharp sell-off in high-valuation tech and AI stocks,” Siddhartha Khemka - Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said. Khemka, further stated that hawkish commentary from the Federal Reserve dampened expectations for an interest rate cut in the upcoming December policy meet.