Sensex jumps 400 points, Nifty 50 ends near 26,200— 10 key highlights from the Indian stock market today

The Indian stock market benchmarks ended with decent gains on Thursday, November 20, driven by gains in select index heavyweights, including HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries, amid positive global cues.

The Sensex hit its 52-week high of 85,801.70 and the Nifty 50 scaled its one-year peak of 26,246.65 during the session.

Extending gains to the second consecutive session, the Sensex closed at 85,632.68, up 446 points, or 0.52%, while the Nifty 50 settled with a gain of 140 points, or 0.54%, at 26,192.15.

However, the mid and small-cap indices underperformed, ending in the red. The BSE Midcap index fell 0.13%, while the Smallcap index ended 0.17% lower.

Indian stock market: 10 key highlights from the day

1. Why did the Indian stock market rise?

The market benchmarks are rising amid growing optimism over an India-US trade deal. With valuations of large-cap stocks at comfortable levels, investors are buying select blue-chips, which is driving the benchmarks higher.

HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, and Axis Bank ended as the top contributors to the gains in the Sensex index.

"Indian equities rose on optimism around India–US trade talks and progress on phase-1 agreements, boosting overall market sentiment. Global cues also remained strong, led by tech-driven gains following solid earnings," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, noted.

"Fresh FII inflows and strength in large-cap sectors such as auto, financials, and IT supported the upbeat trend. The near-term outlook remains positive, though investors should stay cautious ahead of key US economic data that may create short-term volatility," said Nair.

2. Top gainers in the Nifty 50 index today

Shares of Eicher Motors (up 3.31%), Bajaj Finance (up 2.30%), and Bajaj Finserv (up 2.29%) ended as the top gainers in the Nifty 50 index. As many as 34 stocks ended higher in the Nifty 50 index.

3. Top losers in the Nifty 50 index

Shares of Asian Paints (down 1.16%), HCL Technologies (down 1.09%), and Titan Company (down 0.84%) ended as the top losers in the index.

4. Sectoral indices today

Nifty Bank hit a record high of 59,440.10 during the session, but closed at 59,347.70, with a gain of 0.22%. Nifty Financial Services rose 0.79%.

On the other hand, Nifty PSU Bank fell 0.89%. The Media index fell 1.54%.

5. Most active stocks in terms of volume

Vodafone Idea (86.78 crore shares), Jaiprakash Power Ventures (71.41 crore shares), and Physicswallah (21.27 crore shares) were the most active stocks in terms of volume on the NSE.

6. Nine stocks jump more than 15% on BSE

Securekloud Technologies, Astec Lifesciences, Premier Polyfilm, and Vaswani Industries were among the nine stocks that surged over 15 per cent on the BSE.

7. Advance-decline ratio

Out of 4,353 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,872 advanced, while 2,304 declined. Some 177 stocks remained unchanged.

8. Over 140 stocks hit 52-week highs

Bharti Airtel, SBI, Titan, and AXIS Bank were among the 141 stocks that hit their 52-week highs in intraday trade on the BSE.

9. Nearly 200 stocks hit 52-week lows

As many as 187 stocks, including UBL, Page Industries, KNR Constructions, Delta Corp, and Nilkamal, hit their 52-week lows in intraday trade on the BSE.

10. Nifty's technical outlook

According to Shrikant Chouhan, the head of equity research at Kotak Securities, the range of 26,100-26,000 would act as key support zones, while 26,250 and 26,400 could be crucial resistance areas for the bulls. However, below 26,000, the uptrend would become vulnerable.

Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, expects the Nifty to maintain its upward bias and could test 26,350, followed by 26,500 in the short term. On the downside, support has shifted higher to the 26,050–26,000 zone, which is likely to act as a cushion for any pullback.

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Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations expressed are those of individual analysts or broking firms, not Mint. We advise investors to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly and circumstances may vary.