Overview:

• A rally in metal stocks led by Hindustan Copper with a gain of 6%, and Hindustan Zinc scaled a 52-week high as global copper prices touched a record high.

• Midcap and smallcap indices performed well with stocks reaching 52-week highs. Kaynes Tech topped the list in terms of volumes in the small-cap space.

• LIC’s stake sale in Adani Ports, Thermax’s rating upgrade, and Honasa Consumer’s acquisition announcement shaped market sentiment.

Indian stock market today showed optimism as both major indices logged gains. Sensex rose 416 points to 85,234.24. Nifty logged an increase of 129 points to 26,027.60. The major stocks that fueled these gains include metal, real estate, and capital goods stocks. However, there was some profit-booking during intraday. Let’s explore individual share movements in stock market today based on Moneycontrol Live Updates.

Top Gainers

Metal stocks were the biggest gainers in the stock market today. BSE metal index rose 1.5%. Hindustan Copper shares led the list with a staggering 6% gain. The stock rose with the record-breaking of MCX December copper at Rs. 1,116.60 per kilogram. Hindustan Zinc stocks also rose by a steep 5%, reaching their 52-week high at Rs. 548.40.

Other top gainers included Vedanta, which rose 1.9%. Tata Steel rose 2%. The company outlined its plan to expand its production capacity for long steel products and build a 2.5 million tonnes per annum facility.

Resilience in Mid-Cap and Small-Cap Stocks 

BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices registered an increase of 0.5%. A number of stocks reached their 52-week high, including Ashok Leyland, Vodafone Idea, and Federal Bank. The active stock among the smallcaps is Kaynes Tech, with an appreciation of more than 5%, and it recorded more than 4 million shares.

Also Read: Best Performing Flexi Cap Mutual Funds for December 2025

Corporate Actions and Brokerage Views

Thermax shares rose 4%, boosted by Kotak Institutional Equities' upgrade to a ‘buy’ recommendation due to margin and valuations. The stock was trading at Rs. 2,895, a bit short of its 52-week high.

Honasa Consumer surged 2% as it plans to acquire a 95% stake in BTM Ventures, parent to luxury men's personal care brand ‘Reginald Men’, for Rs. 195 crore. Allied Blenders and Distillers also rose 1% as JM Financial assigned it a ‘buy’ rating with a target price of Rs. 738.

In the pharma sector, Indoco Remedies rose 2.3% as it received a satisfactory establishment inspection report from the US FDA for its Patalganga unit. However, there were four observations from the US FDA for its USA facility at Piramal Pharma, but these were labeled as Voluntary Action Indicated.

Citi reduced Tata Consultancy Services' target price by 11% to Rs. 2,835 with a ‘sell’ recommendation. It maintained an ‘overweight’ recommendation on Adani Power with a target price of Rs. 181. Nuvama reduced its target price on IndiGo by 5% to Rs. 5,069 due to some short-term operating issues.

IPO Activity

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company IPO received a lukewarm start on its opening day and could muster a mere 0.02 subscription. The company had previously raised Rs. 3,022 crore from anchor subscribers before listing on mainboard. Nephrocare Health Services and Park Medi World were subscribed at 1.18 times and 0.42 times, respectively.

Stake Sales and Block Transactions

LIC India sold a 2.01 % stake in Adani Ports, thereby lowering its stake from 9.35 % to 7.34 %. It included the sale of 38.90 million shares from November 11 to December 10. 2.06 million shares and 3.9 million shares of HDFC Bank and HDFC Life Insurance Co. were also sold.

Currency and Commodity Updates

The rupee broke yet another record and touched 90.55 against the US dollar. It remains Asia's worst-performing currency so far this year. Although oil prices rose due to global supply worries, they still remain a source of concern. Other global markets have shown some recovery, but it continues to be mixed.

Also Read: Stock Market Today: Nifty at 25,794, Sensex Up 0.08% as Tata Steel Rises 1.36%, Hindustan Zinc Jumps 3.39%

Market Outlook

The stock market today showed signs of recovery despite pressures on the currency and foreign outflows. According to technical analysts, the immediate levels of support for Nifty stand at 25,750-25,800. The resistance levels are at 26,000-26,050 levels. Any breakthrough above these levels might take it above 26,300. Analysts leaned towards buying on dips, given market volatility and range-bound action that can be expected in the next sessions.

FAQs

1. Why is Sensex up today?

Sensex rose primarily due to strong buying seen in metal, realty, and capital goods stocks. Global metal prices rose, which boosted market confidence. Also, favourable market updates and strong midcap performance aided the closing session.

2. Which sector made it to the top today?

The metal sector performed best due to rising global copper prices and strong investor demand. Shares like Hindustan Copper, Hindustan Zinc, Vedanta, and Tata Steel showed gains, thus taking the entire market with them.

3. Why is the rupee falling against the US dollar?

The rupee fell amid strong demand for the US dollar in global markets and foreign outflows. As global uncertainties rise, people invest in safer currencies, driving down emerging-market currencies like the rupee. Countries with high inflation rates also have lower-value currencies.

4. What were some of the biggest business moves that impacted the market?

Several major developments at the corporate level have influenced market action today, including an equity stake sale in Adani Ports by LIC, an acquisition at Honasa Consumer, and an upgrade at Thermax.

5. What is the future outlook for Indian stock market?
The short-term scenario remains cautiously optimistic. Experts expect Nifty to scale higher if it holds above key support levels. But changes in the currency and foreign selling could generate market instability. Buy-on-dips strategy should be followed.