Taking Stock: Market ends 2025 on strong note; Sensex jumps 546 pts, Nifty above 26,100

Market Today

• Nifty closed above 26,100; Sensex up 545 points, metals and PSU banks led rally
• IT and telecom lagged; oil & gas index rose 2.5%, most other sectors gained 1%
• Over 120 stocks hit 52-week highs; notable gains for JSW Steel, Tata Steel, ONGC

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The Indian equity markets finished the final trading session of 2025 (first day of January series), on a strong note with Nifty comfortably closing above 26,100. The rally was broad-based and led by sectors such as metal, PSU Bank, oil & gas, while the IT sector lagged behind.

Despite mixed global cues, the Indian indices opened firm and extended the gains as the day progress helped Nifty to touch day's high of 26,187.95, however, amid final hour profit booking the indices finishing near day's high.

At close, Sensex was up 545.52 points or 0.64 percent at 85,220.60, and the Nifty was up 190.75 points or 0.74 percent at 26,129.60.

The broader indices outperformed the main indices with BSE Midcap and smallcap indices adding 1% each.

Also Read: Foreign investors’ equity custody falls, share hits 14-year low

For the month of December, BSE Sensex shed 0.5 percent and Nifty fell 0.3 percent, while for the year 2025 both benchmarks rose 10% each.

Biggest Nifty gainers were JSW Steel, Tata Steel, ONGC, SBI Life Insurance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, while losers included TCS, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Grasim Industries and Infosys.

On the sectoral front, except IT and telecom, all other indices closed in the green with metal, media, capital goods, realty, Private Bank, PSU Bank, consumer durables, power up 1% each, while oil & gas index rose 2.5%.

Index	Prices	Change	Change%
Sensex	75,502.85	938.93	+1.26%
Nifty 50	23,408.80	257.70	+1.11%
Nifty Bank	54,413.40	655.55	+1.22%

Nifty 50 23,408.80 257.70 (1.11%)

Mon, Mar 16, 2026

• 1D
• 5D
• 1M
• 3M
• 6M
• 1Y
• 2Y

Biggest Gainer	Prices	Change	Change%
UltraTechCement	11,099.00	483.00	+4.55%

Biggest Loser	Prices	Change	Change%
Bharat Elec	429.50	-9.90	-2.25%

Best Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty Auto	24599.10	404.00	+1.67%

Worst Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty Pharma	22547.20	-285.00	-1.25%

Also Read - Advance-decline ratio slips below 1 for second month

In stock-specific action, RITES shares added 2% on bagging order of USD 3.6 million, Hindustan Copper, Hindustan Zinc down 2% each on falling silver prices, Privi Speciality Chemicals shares slipped 12% post 9.93% equity change hands, Apollo Micro shares added 4% as arm bags contract worth Rs 420 crore, Shakti Pumps shares jumped 3% on bagging order of Rs 170 crore, Dynacons Systems share price surged 11% on order win of Rs 249 crore.

IFCI shares added 4% on monetising 10% equity stake in NEDFi, ZF Steering Gear shares added 9% on securing orders of Rs 151 crore, Titan Company shares added 2% on appointing Sandhya Venugopal Sharma as chairperson, Solar Industries share price gained 2% on winning additional order worth Rs 1,746 crore from Coal India, Wockhardt shares rose 5% on getting European Medicines Agency assessment to WCK 522, Vodafone Idea shares fell 12% on reports AGR relief package.

Also Read - The A-Z of stock markets: A 2025 guide from Moneycontrol

More than 120 stocks hit 52-week high, including HEG, Craftsman Automation, HPCL, SAIL, BPCL, Bank of Maharashtra, Titan Company, Vodafone Idea, Canara Bank, Indus Towers, among others. Click to View More

Outlook for January 1

Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking

Markets ended the final trading session of the calendar year on a positive note, with the Nifty 50 gaining around 0.74%. The index opened marginally higher and gradually moved towards the 26,200 level during the session. However, profit-taking in the final hour trimmed some of the gains, and the Nifty eventually settled at 26,134. Sectoral participation was broad-based, with energy, metal and auto stocks emerging as the top performers. The broader market outperformed the benchmarks, with both mid- and small-cap indices rising close to 1% each.

Market sentiment was primarily driven by domestic policy developments and stock-specific action. The government’s decision to impose safeguard duties on select steel imports boosted sentiment in the metal space, enhancing earnings visibility for domestic producers. Additionally, notable strength in heavyweight stocks across sectors provided further support to the market. These positives helped offset the impact of continued foreign institutional investor outflows, which otherwise kept overall sentiment cautious.

From a technical standpoint, the Nifty has once again approached the upper end of its prevailing consolidation range near 26,200. A decisive breakout above this level could trigger the next leg of upward momentum, while failure to do so may lead to renewed profit-taking. We maintain a positive yet cautious outlook on the index and recommend a sector-specific approach, with a preference for banking, auto and metal stocks, while remaining selective in other sectors.

Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities

After showing weakness with choppy momentum in the last few sessions, Nifty witnessed sharp breakout on Wednesday and closed the day with healthy gains of 190 points. After opening on a positive note, the market continued with sharp upside momentum for better part of the session. However, there was a minor profit booking seen towards the end and Nifty closed near the highs.

A long bull candle was formed on the daily chart with minor upper shadow. This market action was formed after the formation of doji type candle pattern of Tuesday. Technically, this market action indicates a formation of higher bottom reversal pattern. Nifty has moved up from near the support of ascending trend line. This is positive indication and one may expect more upside in the short term.

The underlying trend of Nifty remains positive. One may expect Nifty to advance towards the crucial overhead resistance of around 26250-26350 levels in the short term before consolidating again at the hurdle. Immediate support is placed at 26000.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decision.