Equities soar amid value buying in power, banking and metal stocks

Equity benchmark index Nifty hit its lifetime peak before closing 182 points higher on Friday, and the BSE Sensex jumped 573 points, powered by strong buying in power, banking and metal stocks. Unabated capital infusion by domestic institutional investors amid a sharp rally in Asian peers also supported the domestic stock market, traders said.

Charting out a firm trend, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 573.41 points or 0.67 per cent to settle at 85,762.01. During the day, it jumped 623.67 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 85,812.27. A total of 2,772 stocks advanced, while 1,449 declined and 150 remained unchanged on the BSE. Rising for the third-straight session, the 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 182 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 26,328.55. During the day, it surged 193.45 points, or 0.73 per cent, to reach an all-time peak of 26,340.

“After the New Year holiday, the global markets initiated 2026 on a positive note, while strong domestic automobile sales helped Indian equities to touch a fresh all-time high. Investor sentiment remains broadly constructive as attention turns to Q3 earnings, which are expected to guide near-term market direction,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark jumped 720.56 points or 0.84 per cent, and the Nifty climbed 286.25 points or 1.09 per cent. From the 30-Sensex firms, NTPC, Trent, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Maruti, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Bharat Electronics were among the biggest gainers. In contrast, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan Company, Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel were the laggards.

“Select index heavyweights provided additional support, enabling the market to sustain its upward momentum despite the absence of strong global triggers, as several overseas markets remained closed due to holidays. Meanwhile, continued weakness in tobacco-related stocks weighed on the FMCG space following recent tax-related developments,” Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

The BSE midcap gauge jumped 0.97 per cent, and the smallcap index climbed 0.79 per cent. Among sectoral indices, utilities surged 2.71 per cent, power (2.26 per cent), energy (1.58 per cent), PSU bank (1.53 per cent), realty (1.46 per cent), metal (1.46 per cent) and auto (1.04 per cent). On the other hand, BSE FMCG emerged as the only loser.