Sensex, Nifty close higher for second day; signals of a Santa rally?

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher for the second straight session on Monday boosted by foreign fund inflows and firm global cues. Analysts indicated that this could be a signal that Dalal Street could see a Santa Rally in the last trading days of December. 

Investor wealth rose to Rs 475.25 lakh crore today. Sensex rose 638 points to 85,567 and Nifty gained 206 points at 26,172. With today's rally, Sensex has gained 9% and Nifty has risen 10.23% in 2025.

Of 30 Sensex stocks, 26 ended in the green. Trent, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and BEL shares were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 3.56%. 

As many as 143 stocks hit their 52-week highs today. On the other hand, 129 shares fell to their 52-week lows on BSE. 

BSE small cap index zoomed 571 pts to 51,371 and midcap index rose 400 pts to close at 45,946.

Market breadth was positive as out of 4,501 stocks traded, 2794 stocks were in the green and 1515 shares ended in the red. Around 192 stocks remained unchanged.

Among sectoral indices, BSE Capital goods and BSE IT shares were the top gainers with the indices rising 1097 pts and 744 pts, respectively. Meanwhile, rupee fell 3 paise to close at 89.70 (provisional) against US dollar.

Nandish Shah - Deputy Vice President, HDFC Securities said, "Technically, Nifty has formed a bullish higher-top, higher-bottom structure on the daily chart by closing above the key resistance level of 26058. Nifty could now extend its rise towards the next resistance levels, placed at 26,202 and 26,330. On the downside, the level of 26,000 is expected to act as a near-term support."

Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities said, "We are of the view that the short-term market texture is bullish, but buy on intraday dips and sell on rallies would be the ideal strategy for day traders. On the downside, 26,100/85300 and 26,050/85000 would act as key support zones, while 26,200/85700 would serve as an immediate resistance zone for the bulls. A successful breakout above 26,200/85700 could push the market towards 26,320–26,350/86000-86200. However, below 26,050/85000, the uptrend would become vulnerable."

Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking said, "Looking ahead to the scheduled weekly expiry, Nifty may face resistance in the 26,200–26,300 zone, which coincides with the record-high zone. However, the broader bias remains positive, and participants may look for buying opportunities on dips toward the 25,950–26,050 support zone. With sectoral participation occurring on a rotational basis, we continue to prefer stocks that are leading price action within their respective sectors, while avoiding laggards."

Previous session 

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,830.89 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought equities worth Rs 5,722.89 crore in the previous session.

Sensex jumped 447.55 points or 0.53 per cent to close at 84,929 on Friday. The Nifty climbed 150.85 points or 0.58 per cent to 25,966.40 in the previous session.