First-time ever — Nifty ends above 26,000, Sensex closes above 85,000 — scripting fresh record highs

Stock market news: Equity benchmarks on Wednesday ended on a positive note, with both S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 scripting record highs for the fifth straight session.

At close, the 30-share S&P BSE Sensex rose 255.83 points to 85,169.87, while the broader NSE Nifty 50 ended 63.75 points higher at 26,004.15.

Praveen Dwarakanath, Vice President of Hedged.in, said, “Nifty has closed above its all-time high and the psychological level of 26000. With this move, Nifty has continued its walk on the band, technically a sign of bullishness. However, the Options writer's data for tomorrow's expiry shows increased calls and put writing at 26000 levels, indicating a sideways move tomorrow. For tomorrow's expiry, the intraday support is at 25930 levels while the 26000 levels can act as an immediate resistance.”

“The daily candle in Banknifty closed below the Bollinger band, although a green candle, indicated a weakness in the index at the present levels. On the daily chart, the stochastics is forming a possible negative divergence, indicating no further steam on the upside in the index. Immediate support for the index is at the 53700 levels, a break of which can trigger 53000 or even 52200 levels soon. Options writer's data for the next month's expiry shows increased calls and put writing at 54000 levels, indicating a possible halt or reversal from the current levels,” Dwarakanath added.

Earlier in the session, both indices had dipped by as much as 0.2 per cent.

This rally comes after an aggressive US rate cut last week, which heightened investors' risk appetite. Over the past week, the Nifty has hit new highs in every session, with nine of the thirteen major sectoral indices posting gains on Wednesday.

However, broader market indices, particularly small- and mid-cap stocks, which tend to be more focused on the domestic economy, saw a decline. The small-cap index fell by 0.4 per cent, while the mid-cap index dropped 0.6 per cent, as analysts cited a lack of local triggers.

"Sector rotation has fueled buying interest in power, financials, and energy stocks, which have not seen significant gains recently and are currently more attractively valued," explained Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.

The small rally was also bolstered by traders closing out short positions ahead of the monthly expiry, according to Prashanth Tapse, Senior Vice President of Research at Mehta Equities.

Among individual stocks, Power Grid Corporation of India surged 3.9 per cent, extending its gains from the previous session, after securing a transmission project. It was the top performer on the Nifty index.

HDFC Bank , one of the market's heavyweights, contributed significantly to the Nifty's rise with a 0.6 per cent increase. Meanwhile, its smaller rival Axis Bank saw a strong 2.3 per cent uptick.

On the downside, consumer goods major Dabur led losses, tumbling 4.4 per cent following media reports that its top shareholders had pulled out of the race to acquire a stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages.

While the broader markets exhibited some caution, the focus on large-cap stocks and key sectors helped push Indian shares to new records, keeping investors optimistic in an otherwise mixed trading environment.