Stock Market Today: Nifty at 25,944, Sensex Up 0.53%; Reliance Rises 1.64%

Overview:

• Indian stock market today saw Sensex climbing over 450 points and Nifty up 0.5 % on positive global cues and strong sectoral buying.

• This rally was led by pharma stocks on the news of the US Senate passing the Biosecure Act, while IT, realty, healthcare, and oil & gas stocks supported the gains.

• Strong buying by both FIIs and DIIs, along with a firmer rupee and easing global inflation concerns, improved overall market sentiments.

Indian stock market today showed bullish momentum. Sensex traded at 84,933.30, up 451.49 points or 0.53%, while the Nifty stood at 25,944, up 128.45 points or 0.50% at press time. The broader markets have also joined the rally party as BSE Smallcap index jumped 0.44%. Here’s a deep analysis of stock market today based on Moneycontrol Live Updates. 

Market Gains Fueled by Sectoral Performance

Buying across most sectors propelled the stock market today. Following the passage of the US Senate's Biosecure Act, pharma stocks emerged as top gainers, with a number of pharmaceutical companies surging by 5% or more.

Oil & gas and healthcare sectors jumped up by 0.5% each, while realty stocks traded 1% higher. IT stocks continued their winning streak with the Nifty IT index adding 0.04% today.

However, metal stocks snapped their two-day gaining spree and were trading in the red. All sectoral indices except metals moved with positive momentum in the session.

Top Gainers

Individual stocks were led by pharma. Aurobindo Pharma was up by 1.71%, Zydus Lifesciences rose 0.90% and Lupin gained 0.92% following some positive news about the US Biosecure Act. The act prohibits certain Chinese biotech firms from getting federal funding.

IT names too fared well with Infosys up 1.47%, TCS up 1.01%, and Tech Mahindra trading in the green. On the other hand, HCL Technologies lost 1.72% despite agreeing to acquire Hewlett Packard Enterprise's Telco Solutions business for $160 million.

Share Market News: Major Corporate Developments

Reliance Industries was in the news over reports that its FMCG arm, Reliance Consumer Products, had acquired a majority stake in Tamil Nadu-based Udhaiyams Agro Foods. The stock traded at Rs. 1,569.70, up 1.64% and was the most active share on the NSE by trading value at Rs. 813.58 crore.

Bharti Airtel announced the following key leadership changes: Shashwat Sharma is appointed as Managing Director & CEO w.e.f. January 1, 2026. First and Final Call of Rs. 401.25 per share on partly paid-up equity shares. The stock was trading at Rs. 2,088.80.

Ola Electric Mobility’s promoter Bhavish Aggarwal reportedly offloaded 2.83 crore equity shares for Rs. 90.3 crore. The scrip surged 9.97 % to Rs. 34.40, its biggest gain since September 3, despite the promoter stake sale.

Also Read: Top Stocks to Invest $50,000 in Today

Banking and Finance

HDFC Bank was steady at Rs 983.60, up 0.40%, while ICICI Bank was trading marginally lower at Rs 1,356.35. The banking lot settled mixed in the session.

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company had a powerful market debut as it listed at a premium of around 20-22% over its issue price of Rs. 2,165. A successful listing reflected healthy investor demand across all categories.

Currency and Commodity Movements 

The Indian rupee opened stronger at 90.15 per dollar, up 10 paise from the close of 90.25 in the previous session. This rate appreciation has happened due to upbeat global cues and decrease in foreign investor selling.

The price of the yellow metal declined 0.3% to $4,318.19 an ounce following an unexpectedly low US inflation data release. It stayed on track to end the week 0.4% higher. Silver slid 0.5% to $65.10 an ounce after touching an all-time high earlier in the week.

FII and DII Activity

FII's buying spree continued unabated for the second day as they bought equities worth Rs. 595.78 crore on December 18. Domestic Institutional Investors too continued as strong buyers with net purchases of Rs. 2,700.36 crore and thus provided solid support to the stock market today.

The advance-decline ratio on NSE stood positive with 1,759 shares advancing against 986 declining, indicating broad-based buying interest.

Infrastructure and Other Notable Stocks

GPT Infraprojects jumped 7.24% after its joint venture received a contract worth Rs 1,804.48 crore from Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai for the construction of flyovers. Niraj Cement Structurals advanced 8.97% following a work order worth Rs 322.27 crore from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Biocon was up 2.01% after the company said it received an Establishment Inspection Report from the US FDA for its facility in New Jersey.

Also Read: US Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rebounds as Cooling Inflation Revives Rate-Cut Expectations

Market Outlook

Indian stock market today also showed resilience, supported strongly by institutional participation and positive global cues. Lower US inflation strengthened expectations for Fed rate cuts and improved sentiment for emerging markets like India. However, traders need to be very keen on key resistance levels at 26,000 for Nifty and maintain disciplined risk management amid ongoing volatility.

FAQs

1. Why does the Indian stock market rise today?

Positive global cues, cooling US inflation data, and strong buying by FIIs and DIIs pushed the Indian stock market up today. These factors improved risk appetite and encouraged buying across most sectors, especially pharma and IT stocks.

2. Which were the best-performing sectors of today's rally?

Pharma stocks were the biggest gainers after positive news around the US Biosecure Act. IT, healthcare, realty, and oil & gas stocks also attracted steady buying, while metal stocks were the only major sector to trade in the negative during the day.

3. How did the Sensex and Nifty do today?

The Sensex traded at 84,933, up over 450 points; Nifty was at 25,944, up about 128 points. The leading benchmark indices remained strong throughout the trading session.

4. In today's market move, what role did FIIs and DIIs play?

FIIs persisted with their buying for the second consecutive day, while domestic institutional investors continued to be strong net buyers. This unwavering institutional support gave confidence to the market and helped in sustaining this rally across large-cap and broader market stocks.

5. What to watch in the coming sessions?

Investors would do well to keep a close eye on the 26,000 level on Nifty because that level is seen to act as a strong resistance. Global interest rate signals, inflation data, and continued institutional flows would remain important for any further direction in the market.