Markets start week on firm footing despite late

The Indian stock market began the week on a strong note, hitting fresh all-time highs in early trade on Monday. However, by the close, the Sensex was down 64.77 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 85,641.90, while the Nifty slipped 27.20 points, or 0.10 per cent, to settle at 26,175.75. Advertisement The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended flat. The Midcap index declined 0.19 per cent, while the Smallcap index edged up 0.05 per cent. The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms remained broadly steady at ₹474 lakh crore. Among sectors, Nifty Bank—after touching a record high of 60,114.30—fell 0.12 per cent to close at 59,681.35. Nifty Financial Services slipped 0.27 per cent. The Realty and Healthcare indices also dropped around 1 per cent each. The Nifty Auto index gained 0.79 per cent, while the Metal index advanced 0.58 per cent. Banking and financial heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance and SBI emerged as major drags on the benchmark indices. UltraTech Cement (up 3.56 per cent), Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (up 1.88 per cent) and Maruti Suzuki India (up 1.42 per cent) were the top gainers on the Nifty50. On the losing side, 25 stocks ended in the red, with Max Healthcare Institute (down 2.67 per cent), InterGlobe Aviation (down 2.19 per cent) and Bajaj Finance (down 1.71 per cent) topping the list. Out of 4,455 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,836 advanced and 2,405 declined, while 214 remained unchanged. As many as 151 stocks hit their 52-week highs, and 197 touched their 52-week lows during intraday trade. Prominent stocks hitting new highs included Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Ports, Bank of Baroda, Hero MotoCorp and Vedanta. Those touching 52-week lows included United Breweries, Trent, Page Industries, Deepak Nitrite and SJVN. The Indian rupee fell to a record low of 89.7575 during the session before closing at 89.5475, down 0.1 per cent for the day. Shares of fintech major Paytm saw renewed buying interest, closing 3.6 per cent higher at ₹1,368. Intraday, the stock rose to a four-year high of ₹1,371. Auto stocks such as Hyundai Motor India, Force Motors, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Hero MotoCorp also rallied over 2 per cent. ENDS