Taking Stock: Nifty above 26,000 and Sensex rallies, Nifty Midcap hits year high

Adani Enterprises, Power Grid Corp, NTPC, Adani Ports, JSW Steel were among biggest gainers on the Nifty, while losers included Dr Reddy's Labs, Bharat Electronics, Eternal, M&M, Coal India.

Among sectors, autos ended down 0.7 percent, while others including metal, oil & gas were higher by up to 2 percent.

Also Read: Metal index hits record high amid Fed rate cut expectations

In stock-specific action, HDFC AMC, 360 One WAM, Motilal Oswal fell as much as 7 percent on proposed changes to MF fee structures by Sebi, MMFSL shares added 5 percent on profit growth, TVS Motor shares dropped on earnings, Novartis India shares rose a percent on higher Q2FY26 profit, Blue Dart Express shares surged 20 percent after Q2FY26 profit grew 29 percent, while Suzlon Energy shares added 3 percent on appointment of new CFO.

Adani Green Energy shares jumped 11 percent on Q2 earnings cheer, Varun Beverages share price rose 9 percent, InfoBeans Technologies shares surged 10 percent on promoter's plan to consider share sale, while Cohance Lifesciences share price slipped 8 percent on MD's exit.

More than 170 stocks touched their 52-week high on the BSE, including SAIL, Graphite India, IOC, M&M Financial, HPCL, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, SBI Life Insurance, Jindal Stainless, Grasim Industries, among others. Click to View More

Outlook for October 30

Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking

Markets edged higher on Wednesday, gaining nearly half a percent amid upbeat global cues. Investor sentiment remained supported by expectations of a potential U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut and encouraging updates on possible trade deals. After a positive start, the Nifty 50 gradually moved higher throughout the session and closed at 26,053.90. Sectorally, all major indices, barring auto, ended in the green, with energy, metal, and FMCG leading the gains. The broader markets also moved in tandem, with the midcap and smallcap indices advancing between 0.49% and 0.71%.

Participants will first react to the U.S. Fed’s policy outcome in early trade on Thursday, after which focus will shift back to corporate earnings. With rotational buying seen across sectors, we expect the prevailing uptrend to continue, with the Nifty eyeing a fresh record high. Immediate support is placed at 25,800. While improving market breadth adds to the positive undertone, we continue to advise a selective approach, favoring fundamentally strong companies.

Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities

After witnessing high volatility on the day of F&O expiry on Tuesday, Nifty continued its upside momentum on Wednesday and closed the day higher by 117 points. After opening with an upside gap of 46 points, the market continued its upside momentum in the early-mid part of the session. Minor consolidation was seen towards the end and the market finally closed near the highs.

A long bull candle was formed on the daily chart and Nifty is now placed at the edge of moving above the hurdle of previous swing high around 26100 levels. The overall bullish chart pattern indicates a possibility of decisive breakout of recent consolidation movement in the market.

The underlying trend of Nifty continues to be positive. A sustainable upmove from here could open the next upside target of around 26400-26500 levels in the near term. Immediate support is placed at 25800 levels.

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