Sensex flat, Nifty at 25,879; what’s next for stock market?

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty extended their winning streak for a fourth straight session on Thursday, buoyed by optimism around a potential India–US trade agreement and a lift in investor sentiment driven by easing inflation.

At the closing bell, the Sensex rose 12.16 points, or 0.01 per cent, to end at 84,478.67, extending its winning streak to four sessions with cumulative gains of 1,262 points. While the Nifty50 climbed 3.35 points, or 0.01 per cent, to close at 25,879.15.

Asian Paints emerged as top gainer on the Sensex, rising 3.74 per cent to Rs 2,877. ICICI Bank followed with a 1.90 per cent gain, while Power Grid, L&T, Bajaj Finserv, and Bharti Airtel advanced 1.16 per cent, 1.16 per cent, 0.90 per cent, and 0.73 per cent, respectively.

Five stocks, namely, ICICI Bank, L&T, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel and Power Grid, contributed heavily to the Sensex’s rise.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Consumer Durables index gained 0.86 per cent to end at 62,072.96, while the BSE Metal index climbed 0.36 per cent to close at 35,059.99.

Overall, out of 4,367 actively traded stocks on the BSE, 1,849 ended higher, while 2,368 declined, and 150 closed unchanged. During the session, 131 stocks scaled their 52-week highs, whereas 128 slipped to 52-week lows. Meanwhile, 176 scrips were locked in their upper circuits and 203 in lower circuits.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said domestic equities ended flat after a positive start, as profit-booking wiped out early gains despite supportive global and local cues.

“Sentiment was buoyed by Trump signing a short-term funding bill to end the U.S. government shutdown and hopes of tariff relief for India. The record-low October inflation prints reinforced expectations of an RBI rate cut, making rate-sensitive sectors like metals and realty attractive to investors. However, amidst continued outflows from FII and a weak rupee, profit-booking emerged at elevated levels ahead of the Bihar election results, which left the benchmark indices largely unchanged by the close," Nair said.