The BSE Sensex slipped 32 points, or 0.04%, to close at 85,188.60, while the NSE Nifty 50 edged up 17 points, or 0.06%, to settle at 26,146.55, hovering comfortably above the 26,100 mark.
Here’s how analysts read the market pulse:
The domestic market started the year with a range‑bound session and ended slightly higher amid thin trading due to global holidays and continued FII selling, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, adding that sectorally, auto stocks gained on strong December sales, while value buying supported IT stocks.
“However, overall advances were capped as FMCG stocks declined following the newly imposed excise duty on cigarettes. In the days ahead, Q3 earnings, budget expectations, and global cues such as the India‑US trade deal and potential Fed actions are expected to guide market direction, with earnings growth likely to remain the key driver in 2026,” said Nair.
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US markets
The US market remained closed for the New Year Holiday on Thursday. Wall Street’s major indexes slipped in the final 2025 session but still posted strong annual gains amid Trump’s tariff uncertainties and a surge in AI stocks. The Dow fell 303.77 points (0.63%) to 48,063.29, its eighth straight monthly gain. The S&P 500 dropped 50.74 points (0.74%) to 6,845.50, and the Nasdaq fell 177.09 points (0.76%) to 23,241.99.
European Markets
Major European stock markets remained closed Thursday for the New Year holiday. In the previous session, European stocks slipped modestly but still ended 2025 on a strong note — their best year since 2021 — supported by easing interest rates, Germany’s fiscal stimulus, and a rotation away from expensive U.S. tech names.
The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.1% to 592.19, a minor dip that did little to affect its impressive annual gain of 16.66%. Meanwhile, Wall Street’s S&P 500 was on track to finish 2025 up around 17%.
Tech View
In technical terms, going ahead, for Nifty, the zone of 26200-26240 will act as an important hurdle for the index, said Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, adding that “any sustainable move above the 26240 level will lead to a sharp upside rally in the index upto the 26400 level in the short term. On the downside, the zone of 26030-26000 will act as immediate support for the index.”
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Most active stocks in terms of turnover
ITC (Rs 10,590 crore), Vodafone Idea (Rs 2,472 crore), Hindustan Copper (Rs 1,825 crore), Godfrey Philips (Rs 1,811 crore), RIL (Rs 1,012 crore), Adani Power (Rs 958 crore) and Dixon Technologies (Rs 835 crore) were among the most active stocks on BSE in value terms. Higher activity in a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with the highest trading turnovers in the day.
Most active stocks in volume terms
Vodafone Idea (Traded shares: 214.74 crore), ITC (Traded shares: 28.26 crore), Ola Electric Mobility (Traded shares: 8.53 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 6.57 crore), Adani Power (Traded shares: 6.4 crore), HFCL (Traded shares: 4.99 crore) and Hindustan Copper (Traded shares: 3.46 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.
Stocks showing buying interest
Shares of Transformers & Rectifiers, Vodafone Idea, Ajanta Pharma, Finolex Cables, Adani Gas, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC and Indus Towers were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
52 Week high
Over 144 stocks hit their 52-week highs today, while 87 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among the ones which hit their 52 week highs included Bajaj Auto and Titan.
Stocks seeing selling pressure
Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Godfrey Philips, ITC, CCL Products, Deepak Fertilisers, KPR Mill, AstraZeneca and United Spirits.
Sentiment meter neutral
The market sentiments were neutral. Out of the 4,335 stocks that traded on the BSE on Thursday, 2,024 stocks witnessed declines, 2,145 saw advances, while 166 stocks remained unchanged.
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(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)