Indian Stock Markets Pause After Three-Day Rally
After experiencing a strong three-day rally, Indian equity markets took a breather during Thursday's trading session on November 13, 2025. Key benchmark indices remained largely unchanged as investors adopted a cautious stance while awaiting the outcome of the politically significant Bihar state assembly elections, which could have substantial implications for future government policies.
Benchmark Performance and Sectoral Movement
The markets opened in negative territory but managed to reverse early losses during the first half of the session. However, these gains couldn't be sustained throughout the day, leading to a muted closing. The Nifty 50 index settled 0.02% lower at 25,577 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex ended with a minor decline of 0.01% at 84,447 points.
Sectoral performance showed a mixed picture with clear winners and losers:
- Nifty Metal emerged as the top performing sector, climbing 0.33%
- Nifty Pharma and Nifty Realty followed with gains of 0.30% and 0.26% respectively
- Nifty PSU Bank was the biggest laggard, dropping 0.78%
- Nifty IT, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Media, and Nifty Auto all declined between 0.30% and 0.60%
Global and Domestic Economic Factors
Asian markets generally posted healthy gains after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a funding bill into law, effectively ending the longest federal government shutdown in American history. This development prompted optimism across Asian trading floors as the reopening of the U.S. government meant that crucial economic indicators, including jobs data and inflation figures, would soon be released, providing clearer signals about the health of the world's largest economy.
On the domestic front, India's economic landscape received positive news with October CPI inflation easing to 0.25%. This lower inflation reading has strengthened market expectations that the Reserve Bank of India might implement at least one more repo rate cut during its upcoming monetary policy review, potentially providing additional stimulus to the economy.
Notable stocks that performed well included Ashok Leyland, Asian Paints, Hindustan Zinc, and Hindalco Industries, which were among the top gainers during the session, contributing to the metals sector's strong showing.
