Taking Stock: Santa rally on D-Street; Nifty above 21,300, Sensex up 242 pts

BSE midcap index rose 0.7 percent and smallcap index rose 1 percent.

The market ended higher for the second consecutive session on December 22 with Nifty above 21,300 amid buying across the sectors, barring banks.

At close, the Sensex was up 241.86 points or 0.34 percent at 71,106.96, and the Nifty was up 94.40 points or 0.44 percent at 21,349.40.

After a muted start, the benchmark went higher with Nifty inched closer to 21,400. However, selling in the second half erased all the gains to turn into negative but final-hour buying helped indices to close near the day's high.

For the week, BSE Sensex and Nifty50 were down 0.5 percent each.

The Indian stock exchanges will remain closed on December 25, on account of Christmas.

Stocks and sectors

The top Nifty gainers included Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp and Hindalco Industries, while losers were Grasim Industries, SBI Life Insurance, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank.

Except for bank, all other sectoral indices ended in the green with auto, capital goods, healthcare, oil & gas were up 1 percent each, while Information Technology, metal and realty were up 2 percent each,

Index	Prices	Change	Change%
Sensex	81,207.17	223.86	+0.28%
Nifty 50	24,894.25	57.95	+0.23%
Nifty Bank	55,589.25	241.30	+0.44%

Nifty 50 24,894.25 57.95 (0.23%)

Fri, Oct 03, 2025

• 1D
• 5D
• 1M
• 3M
• 6M
• 1Y
• 2Y

Biggest Gainer	Prices	Change	Change%
Tata Steel	173.21	5.70	+3.40%

Biggest Loser	Prices	Change	Change%
Max Healthcare	1,069.20	-44.00	-3.95%

Best Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty Metal	10277.10	184.15	+1.82%

Worst Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty Auto	26753.10	-15.55	-0.06%

BSE midcap index rose 0.7 percent and smallcap index rose 1 percent.

A long build-up was seen in Gail, Wipro and Laurus Labs, while a short build-up was seen in Polycab India, PVR Inox and Aurobindo Pharma.

Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 900 percent was seen in NALCO, Piramal Enterprises and Indus Towers.

AstraZeneca Pharma, Axiscades Technologies, Balmer Lawrie, Caplin Labs, Castrol, GAIL, JB Chemicals, Kalyani Investment, NLC India, Piramal Pharma, Rane Holdings, Sangam India, Shyam Metalics, Suven Pharma, Transformers and Rectifiers India and Wipro touched their 52-week high on the BSE. Click here for the full list

Outlook for December 26

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services:

The 'buy on dips' strategy continues to drive investors during the subdued week. Mid and small caps remain in the limelight, benefiting from ease in oil prices and the anticipation of a potential rate cut in CY24, supported by slower-than-expected US GDP growth and weakness in the dollar, signalling early rate cuts.

Realty and Auto sectors shine, while PSU banks outperform peers on account of improvements in balance sheets and profitability. Despite a premium valuation, the short-term positive trend persists, supported by a strong revival in FIIs buying & stock specific actions. Heading into the festive season and year-end, we can anticipate a range-bound trade scenario with limited data points.

Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking:

Market traded volatile on Friday but managed to end in the green amid mixed cues. After the flat start, the Nifty oscillated sharply on both sides and finally settled at 21362.50 levels. All the key sectors, barring banking, traded in sync with the move wherein realty, IT and metal were among the top performers. The broader indices also extended gains and closed higher in the range of 0.7%-1.1%.

The last two days of the rebound in the index have eased pressure and it would be a healthy consolidation if Nifty spends some time around the current levels. We are seeing volatility across the sectors, so traders should maintain extra caution in stock selection and overnight risk management. And, we feel it is prudent to stick with index majors over midcap and smallcap counters.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment 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 decisions.