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Stock Market Closing Bell: The Indian equity market closed on a mixed but cautious note on Thursday, with the BSE Sensex rising 130 points (0.15 per cent) to 84,556.40 and the Nifty 50 inching up 22.80 points (0.09 per cent) to 25,891.40.

After opening strong at 85,154.15, the Sensex touched a 52-week high of 85,290.06 but fell 734 points from the peak as profit booking and selective sectoral weakness pushed it to a low of 84,445.25.

The index managed to recover partially in the last hour of trade, settling modestly higher, reflecting a resilient market amid cautious sentiment.

Sectoral performance showed broad divergence, with IT stocks leading the rally. Infosys (+3.60 per cent), HCL Technologies (+2.43 per cent), TCS (+2.09 per cent), and Tech Mahindra (+1.05 per cent) drove significant gains, supported by optimism over global IT demand and strong quarterly earnings.

Private banks also contributed, with Axis Bank (+1.37 per cent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (+1.24 per cent), and HDFC Bank (-0.23 per cent) showing mixed movements, while PSU banks like SBI (+0.20 per cent) held steady.

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FMCG stocks remained firm, with Titan (+1.06 per cent), ITC (+0.88 per cent), and Hindustan Unilever (+0.45 per cent) contributing to the positive momentum.

Auto and metal stocks posted mild gains, including Tata Motors (+0.97 per cent), Tata Steel (+0.78 per cent), and Larsen & Toubro (+0.64 per cent).

In contrast, select large-cap names faced selling pressure. Reliance (-1.10 per cent), Adani Ports (-1.28 per cent), ICICI Bank (-1.32 per cent), Bharti Airtel (-1.63 per cent), UltraTech Cement (-1.75 per cent), and Eternal (-3.03 per cent) dragged the indices lower.

Midcap and smallcap indices were largely subdued. Nifty Midcap 50 (-0.09 per cent), Nifty Midcap 100 (-0.15 per cent), and Nifty Microcap 100 (-0.47 per cent) ended lower, showing caution among investors in smaller stocks.

Conversely, Nifty Smallcap 50 (+0.16 per cent) managed to hold marginal gains, reflecting selective buying.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT (+2.21 per cent) emerged as the star performer, followed by Nifty FMCG (+0.29 per cent), Nifty Private Banks (+0.49 per cent), Nifty PSU Banks (+0.28 per cent), and Nifty Realty (+0.19 per cent).

On the other hand, Nifty Oil & Gas (-0.57 per cent), Nifty MidSmall Healthcare (-0.64 per cent), Nifty Pharma (-0.15 per cent), and Nifty Healthcare (-0.33 per cent) ended in the red.

The broader market, reflected by Nifty 500 (-0.01 per cent), Nifty 200 (+0.03 per cent), and Nifty 100 (+0.05 per cent), showed mixed performance with a slight negative bias.

Market participants noted that the rally in IT and private banks was supported by a combination of earnings optimism, sectoral strength, and foreign institutional inflows, while selling pressure in oil, telecom, and certain large-cap stocks capped the gains.

The Sensex and Nifty staying close to record levels suggest that investor sentiment remains cautiously positive, though intraday volatility continues.

Overall, Thursday’s session reflected a selective market uptrend, led by IT, banking, and FMCG sectors, while midcaps, smallcaps, and certain large-cap stocks faced profit-taking.

Investors are advised to watch sectoral trends, earnings updates, and global cues as the market navigates near record highs with mixed sectoral momentum.

Anubhav Maurya is a Senior Sub-Editor at Zee Business, focusing on the stock market, personal finance, corporate news, and related sectors.

He has previously worked wi