The equity market finally took a breather on Thursday after a sharp climb to fresh highs in early trade. The Sensex closed at 85,720.38, up 0,13%, while the Nifty ended at 26,215.55, up 0.04%. The Nifty Bank also wrapped up the session at 59,737.30, gaining 0.35%.
Let’s take a look at the key highlights of today’s trading session
Nifty & Sensex hit fresh highs before losing steam
The morning belonged to the bulls as both benchmarks scaled new peaks.
Nifty broke past its earlier record to touch 26,310.45. Sensex crossed 86,000 for the first time, hitting 86,055.86 in early deals.
But the excitement faded by mid-session. Profit-taking dragged the Sensex 582 points lower from the day’s high, while the Nifty slipped about 170 points as sentiment turned softer.
Top gainers
A few heavyweights managed to stay in the green. Names that stood out through the session included Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv among other stocks
Key laggards
Several index majors ended the day weaker, contributing to the market’s cool-off. Notable laggards included Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motors, SBI, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel.
Why the market gave up early gains
After a sharp multi-day rally, traders chose to lock in profits, especially with the monthly derivatives expiry adding to volatility.
A few broader trends drove the late-session slide:
- Most sectors slipped into the red, except banking and financial stocks, which remained comparatively steady.
- Midcap and smallcap indices underperformed, halting their two-day winning streak.
- Even with headline indices at 14-month highs, the broader market struggled to maintain momentum.
Midday movers
Whirlpool of India tumbled over 11% following reports of a large promoter-level stake sale by Whirlpool Mauritius, nearly 95 lakh shares, as per market chatter.
Patel Engineering jumped 16% after announcing two Letters of Intent for excavation and coal-handling contracts at SECL’s Jhiria West OCP in Chhattisgarh.
GMDC surged 9% after the Cabinet approved a Rs 7,280 crore incentive plan for rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing.
Ashok Leyland hit a fresh 52-week high following board approval for the merger of its finance subsidiary with NDL Ventures.
