Market Retreats After Scaling New Heights
The Indian stock market experienced a sharp pullback on November 27 after touching record highs earlier in the trading session. Both benchmark indices opened strongly, following positive cues from Wall Street, and achieved fresh peaks for the first time in 14 months before profit-taking activity trimmed their gains.
The Nifty 50 index reached an intraday high of 26,310 before closing with a marginal gain of 0.03% at 26,233 points. Similarly, the S&P BSE Sensex hit a record high of 86,055 during the session but settled with a modest increase of 0.02% at 85,704 points.
Sector Performance and Key Drivers
Banking stocks faced significant profit booking pressure, which contributed to the market's retreat from its peak levels. However, the overall sentiment remained bullish due to several positive factors supporting the market.
Among the sectoral performers, Nifty Media emerged as the top gainer, rallying 0.6% during the session. This was followed by strong performances in Nifty Private Bank, Nifty IT, and Nifty FMCG indices, which all surged between 0.17% to 0.40%.
On the losing side, Nifty Realty bore the brunt of selling pressure, declining 0.78%. The Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty Oil & Gas indices also closed with losses exceeding 0.60%.
Economic Backdrop and Market Outlook
Market analysts attributed the underlying positive sentiment to multiple factors driving investor confidence. Expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut in December, returning foreign institutional investors, improving domestic macroeconomic indicators, and anticipated earnings recovery have all contributed to the Indian market catching up with its Asian peers.
Investors largely ignored near-term concerns about higher US tariffs on Indian imports, focusing instead on the economy's solid long-term fundamentals. According to analyst estimates, the Indian economy is projected to have grown nearly 7% in the July-September quarter and is expected to expand at 6.8% in the current financial year ending March 2026.
Notable gainers in today's session included Ashok Leyland, Ather Energy, Bajaj Finance, Emami, and Tejas Networks, which were among the top performers despite the overall market consolidation.
