Sensex, Nifty close at all-time high led by rally in auto and metal stocks

Benchmark stock market indices closed at all-time highs fuelled by a rally in metal and auto stocks.
The S&P BSE Sensex added 666.25 points to end at 85,836.12, while the NSE Nifty50 gained 211.90 points to close at 26,216.05.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said that China’s recent economic stimulus announcement has greatly enhanced investor confidence, resulting in significant positive momentum in global markets, especially within Asian indices.
Maruti Suzuki was the top gainer with a notable rise of 4.48%, followed by Grasim Industries, which increased by 3.19%. Tata Motors saw a gain of 2.83%, while Shriram Finance and Bajaj Finserv recorded increases of 2.78% and 2.59% respectively.
On the downside, Cipla had the largest drop, falling by 1.47%. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) slipped by 1.24%, while Larsen & Toubro (L&T) declined by 0.89%. Hero MotoCorp dropped by 0.80%, and NTPC closed the list of top losers with a decrease of 0.60%.
“Moreover, the market is maintaining an optimistic outlook in response to stable U.S. economic data. Concurrently, the Indian market is reaching new highs, anticipating a strong recovery in corporate earnings for the H2FY25, fuelled by expected government expenditure. Notably, this rally is led by large-cap stocks, which are more fairly valued compared to mid and small caps, which are exhibiting signs of fatigue,” added Nair.
The Nifty Midcap100 index remained nearly flat, showing a marginal gain of 0.01%. This suggests stability in the mid-sized company segment.
However, the Nifty Smallcap100 index faced some pressure, declining by 0.50%. This indicates that smaller companies experienced some challenges in today’s trading session.The India VIX, often referred to as the fear index, saw a significant drop of 7.12%.
The auto sector led the gains, with Nifty Auto surging by 2.26%. Nifty Metal also performed strongly, rising 2.13%. The banking sector showed resilience, with Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Bank advancing by 1.02% and 0.51% respectively.
Nifty FMCG saw a notable increase of 0.97%.
Financial services indices demonstrated strength, with Nifty Financial Services 25/50 up by 0.86% and Nifty Financial Services gaining 0.67%. Nifty Private Bank added 0.41%.
The IT sector also participated in the upward trend, with Nifty IT rising by 0.48%. Nifty Media increased by 0.41%, while Nifty Realty and Nifty Oil & Gas saw modest gains of 0.10% and 0.29% respectively. Nifty Healthcare Index edged up by 0.17%, and Nifty Pharma remained nearly flat with a slight increase of 0.01%.