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Informist, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025

By Anjana Therese Antony

MUMBAI – The domestic equity market hit its new one-year high during the Muhurat trading session Tuesday and closed slightly higher, extending its winning run for the fifth trading session. Investors booked some of their profit towards the end of the session and the market had fallen slightly before recovering. The trading volume and the quantum of gains were sharply lower as traders are away on account of Diwali holidays Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Gains were limited as concerns about India's expensive valuation persists. "US policies are still uncertain and we don't know when earnings (domestic) will catch up even though the expectation is it will happen in the next few quarters," a head of research and quant strategist at a domestic broking firm said. There is no good entry point at this moment, except for a few banks and information technology stocks, he said.

The Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex closed 0.1% higher each at 25868.60 points and 84426.34 points, respectively. The near-term support for the 50-stock index is pegged at 25750-25700 points and resistance at 26000-26100 points.

The market is just 2% lower than its record high hit in September last year. The domestic stock market has seen almost a year of muted gains due to its expensive valuation, sharp foreign outflows, worries and uncertainty about the US' trade policies, and slowdown in corporate earnings growth. However, the strong inflows from domestic investors have supported the market from a major fall. 

The Nifty 50 and the Sensex reached their new one-year high of 25934.35 points and 84665.44 points, respectively. These indices were down around 0.1% each for a brief time a few minutes before the market's close. The weakness in banking and financial services stocks limited the market's gains. The Nifty PSU Bank ended 0.1% lower at 7853.30 points. 

Information technology stocks were among the top gainers which supported the market Tuesday, though the quantum of upside was limited. Analysts said that valuations of large-cap companies have reached reasonable levels as these shares have fallen in the last three months due to worries about US policies, tight spending on IT by US clients, and muted earnings. However, the latest quarter results have provided some positive cues, such as strong deal wins and ramp ups. 

Among specific stocks, Cipla extended its gains for the fifth session in a row and closed 1.5% higher at INR 1,663.60 as the top gainer in the Nifty 50. The stock gained amid optimism for pharmaceutical stocks, primarily after the US said it will not impose tariffs on generic drugs. Among other gainers were Tata Investment Corp. and Ather Energy, which closed almost 9% and 6% higher, respectively, as the top performers in the Nifty 500 index. 

On other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank snapped a three-day winning run and closed almost 1% lower at INR 2,197 as the worst-hit Nifty 50 constituent. The second-biggest laggard was Asian Paints, which snapped a four-day winning streak and closed nearly 1% lower at INR 2,500. 

Ola Electric Mobility closed almost 3% lower at 53.43 after media reports said the Bengaluru police booked the company's Chief Executive Officer Bhavish Aggarwal and other senior executives with respect to the suicide of one of the company's employees. Media reports also said this employee had accused these executives of harassment. However, the company said this employee had never raised any complaint regarding his employment during his tenure. 

On Tuesday, stock exchanges held a one-hour Muhurat trading session between 1345 IST and 1445 IST. Diwali day marks the start of the new Samvat year, or the Hindu calendar year. There are expectations that gains from the equity market in the coming year will be better than the previous year. This will likely be supported by better earnings growth, an ease in trade tensions between the US and its trading partners, and a better pick-up in the government's capital expenditure. 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 30 rose and 20 fell
* Of the Sensex stocks, 13 rose, 16 fell, and 1 was unchanged

* On the NSE, 2,213 stocks rose, 710 fell, and 116 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 3,023 stocks rose, 954 fell, and 210 were unchanged

* Nifty Media: up 0.6%; Nifty Metal: up 0.4%; Nifty PSU Bank: down 0.1%

BSE                                                NSE

Sensex: 84426.34, up 62.97 points or 0.1%         Nifty 50: 25868.60, up 25.45 points or 0.1%

End

US$1 = INR 87.92

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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