Taking Stock: Bulls back in action; Nifty above 21,600, Sensex up 496 points

Home First Finance | CMP Rs 1,006 | Home First Finance stock gained 2.24 percent after the NBFC’s net profit grew 34.2 percent growth to Rs 79 crore. Morgan Stanley attributed this growth to higher assignment income and lower credit cost.

The benchmarks indices broke their three-day losing streak and ended on a positive note on positive global cues and buying across the sectors.

At close, the Sensex was up 496.37 points or 0.70 percent at 71,683.23, and the Nifty was up 160.10 points or 0.75 percent at 21,622.40.

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Stocks and sectors

ONGC, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Tech Mahindra and SBI Life Insurance were among the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers were IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Divis Lab and Adani Ports.

All the sectoral indices ended in the green with auto, capital goods, information technology, FMCG, metal, oil & gas and power up 1-2 percent each.

BSE Midcap and smallcap indices added 1 percent each.

A long build-up was seen in REC, IRCTC and Oracle Financial Services Software, while a short build-up was seen in Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Dixon Technologies and IndusInd Bank.

Index	Prices	Change	Change%
Sensex	83,952.19	484.53	+0.58%
Nifty 50	25,709.85	124.55	+0.49%
Nifty Bank	57,713.35	290.80	+0.51%

Nifty 50 25,709.85 124.55 (0.49%)

Fri, Oct 17, 2025

• 1D
• 5D
• 1M
• 3M
• 6M
• 1Y
• 2Y

Biggest Gainer	Prices	Change	Change%
Asian Paints	2,507.80	98.10	+4.07%

Biggest Loser	Prices	Change	Change%
Wipro	240.90	-12.91	-5.09%

Best Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty FMCG	56616.40	762.50	+1.37%

Worst Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty IT	34950.70	-580.40	-1.63%

Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 400 percent was seen in Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals, Nestle India and Atul.

More than 350 stocks touched their 52-week high on the BSE, including Swan Energy, Rail Vikas Nigam, NBCC (India), JK Paper, IRFC, Ircon International, Intellect Design, Imagicaaworld Entertainment, HUDCO, HP Adhesives, GIC Housing Finance, Aarti Industries. Click here for the full list

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Outlook for January 20

Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking

Markets witnessed some respite after 3 days of decline and gained over half a percent. Firm global cues triggered a gap-up start in Nifty, followed by range bound movement till the end. Meanwhile, a mixed trend on the sectoral front kept traders occupied wherein FMCG, metal and energy edged higher while banking continued to reel under pressure. The broader indices maintained their outperformance and gained over a percent each.

Nifty has reclaimed its short term moving average but lacks decisiveness. We reiterate our cautious view citing the prevailing underperformance of the banking and eyeing the 21,700-21,850 zone to act as a hurdle. Traders should continue stock-specific approach and prefer hedged trades.

Jatin Gedia – Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas:

The Nifty opened gap up and consolidated in a narrow range for the day. On the daily charts we can observe that the Nifty is witnessing a counter trend pullback of the fall from 22124 to 21285. The 50% and 61.82% fibonacci retracement levels are placed at 21705 – 21804 where we can expect the selling pressure to resume. The hourly momentum indicator has reached the equilibrium line indicating that the pullback is nearing completion, Overall, we believe that trend is negative, and this pullback should be used as a selling opportunity. In terms of levels, 21705 – 21804 is the immediate hurdle zone while 21570 – 21500 is the crucial support zone

Bank Nifty was comparatively weak today. It gave up most of the gains and ended marginally in the green. Overall, we believe that the Bank Nifty can consolidate in the range 46500 – 45500 from short term perspective. A breach of 45500 can lead to a further decline till 45200 – 45000.

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