This is how analysts read the market pulse:
The domestic market started the year on a bandwidth-constrained session and ended marginally higher amid thin trading due to global holidays and continued FII selling, said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments. He added that auto stocks rose sector-wise on strong sales in December, while value stocks supported IT stocks. “However, overall progress was limited as FMCG stocks fell following the newly imposed excise duties on cigarettes. In the coming days, earnings figures, fiscal expectations and global signals such as the India-US trade deal and potential Fed actions are expected to determine the direction of the market, with earnings growth likely to remain the key driver through 2026,” Nair said.
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American markets
The US market remained closed on Thursday for the New Year’s holiday. Wall Street’s major indexes fell in the final session of 2025 but still posted strong annual gains amid Trump’s tariff uncertainties and a surge in AI stocks. The Dow Jones fell 303.77 points (0.63%) to 48,063.29, the eighth monthly gain in a row. The S&P 500 fell 50.74 points (0.74%) to 6,845.50, and the Nasdaq fell 177.09 points (0.76%) to 23,241.99.
European markets
The main European stock markets remained closed on Thursday for the New Year holidays. European shares fell modestly last session but still finished 2025 strong – their best year since 2021 – supported by interest rate cuts, German fiscal stimulus and a rotation away from expensive US tech names.
The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.1% to 592.19, a small dip that had little impact on its impressive annual gain of 16.66%. Meanwhile, Wall Street’s S&P 500 was on track to gain about 17% through 2025.
Technical view
In technical terms, the 26200-26240 zone for Nifty will act as a major hurdle for the index, said Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, adding that “any sustained move above the 26240 level will lead to a sharp upward rally in the index to the 26400 level in the near term. 26030-26000 will act as immediate support for the index.”
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Most active stocks in terms of turnover
ITC (Rs 10,590 crore), Vodafone Idea (Rs 2,472 crore), Hindustan Copper (Rs 1,825 crore), Godfrey Philips (Rs 1,811 crore), RIL (Rs 1,012 crore), Adani Power (Rs 958 crore) and Dixon Technologies (Rs 835 crore) were among the most active stocks on BSE in value terms. Higher activity in a counter in terms of value can help identify the counters with the highest trading turnover per day.
Most active stocks by volume
Vodafone Idea (Shares traded: Rs 214.74 crore), ITC (Shares traded: Rs 28.26 crore), Ola Electric Mobility (Shares traded: Rs 8.53 crore), JP Power (Shares traded: Rs 6.57 crore), Adani Power (Shares traded: Rs 6.4 crore), HFCL (Shares traded: Rs 4.99 crore) and Hindustan Copper (Shares traded: Rs 3.46 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks on NSE by volume.
Stocks that show buying interest
Shares of Transformers & Rectifiers, Vodafone Idea, Ajanta Pharma, Finolex Cables, Adani Gas, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC and Indus Towers were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
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52 Week High
More than 144 stocks hit their 52-week highs today, while 87 stocks fell to their 52-week lows. Bajaj Auto and Titan were among those that hit 52-week highs.
Stocks see selling pressure
Stocks that witnessed significant selling pressure included Godfrey Philips, ITC, CCL Products, Deepak Fertilizers, KPR Mill, AstraZeneca and United Spirits.
Sentiment meter neutral
Market sentiment was neutral. Of the 4,335 shares traded on the BSE on Thursday, 2,024 shares saw a decline, 2,145 rose, while 166 shares remained unchanged.
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(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions expressed by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
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