The S&P BSE Sensex rose 68 points, or 0.08%, to open at 85,788.15, after touching an all-time high of 86,055.86 in the prior session. The NSE Nifty 50 added 17 points, or 0.07%, to 26,232.70, after climbing to a record peak of 26,310.45 on Thursday.
On the 30-stock Sensex, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Tech Mahindra and Titan led the advance, climbing between 1% and 2%.
The broader market was modestly firm, with small-caps and mid-caps opening 0.1% higher.
Both benchmark indices pushed to fresh record highs during the session, with the Nifty rising as much as 0.4% to 26,310.45 and the Sensex gaining up to 0.5% to 86,055.86, before paring gains to finish little changed as foreign investors booked profits.
Expert views
The important takeaway from the new records set by Nifty and Sensex yesterday is that these are new records driven by a narrow rally in a limited number of performing large caps, said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, adding that despite the market at new highs, majority of retail investors, particularly the newbies who rushed into the market after the Covid crash in March 2020, are holding portfolios which show losses. “This paradox is due to the retail investors’ obsession with smallcaps and their belief that smallcaps will outperform irrespective of their valuation. If retail investors have to participate in the rally expected in 2026, to be driven primarily by higher earnings growth, they will have to invest in largecaps and quality midcaps with growth potential,” said Vijayakumar.Even though Sensex and Nifty touched new highs yesterday, the Nifty Smallcap Index is around 9% below its peak, said Vijayakumar, adding that “this huge underperformance is primarily due to the poor earnings growth and high valuations of this segment. Smallcaps, in general, are likely to continue underperforming, in the short- to medium-term.”
