| The domestic equity benchmarks ended with minor gains today, extending their winning streak to a fifth straight session. After trading in the red for most of the day, the Sensex and Nifty50 staged a sharp rebound in the final half hour, supported by strong buying in PSU bank stocks. Market sentiment also improved following the NDA’s victory in the Bihar Election 2025. The Nifty settled above the 25,900 level.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex added 84.11 points or 0.10% to 84,562.78. The Nifty 50 index rose 30.90 points or 0.12% to 25,910.05. In five consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex rose 1.61% while the Nifty added 1.63%.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.03% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.03%. The market breadth was negative.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 1.84% to 11.94.
NDA Paints Bihar Saffron:
Counting for the Bihar Assembly Election 2025 is in its final stretch, with clear trends now visible for all 243 constituencies across the state.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) remains firmly ahead—Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading on 94 seats, Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] on 83 seats, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJPRV] on 20 seats, Rashtriya Lok Morcha [RSHTLKM] on 4 seats, and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) [HAMS] on 5 seats.
In the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) camp, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leads on 25 seats, Indian National Congress (INC) on 3, Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] on 1 seat, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on 1 seat, and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation [CPI(ML)(L)] on 1 seat. All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is ahead on 6 seats.
Economy:
The annual inflation rate, based on the All-India Wholesale Price Index (WPI), declined by 1.21% (provisional) in October 2025 compared with October 2024. This negative inflation reading was primarily driven by a decrease in the prices of food articles, crude petroleum and natural gas, electricity, mineral oils, and basic metals.
Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index (up 1.17%), the Nifty Pharma index (up 0.59%) and the Nifty FMCG index (up 0.57%) outperformed the Nifty 50 index.
Meanwhile, the Nifty IT index (down 1.03%), the Nifty Metal index (down 0.89%) and the Nifty Auto index (down 0.52%) underperformed the Nifty 50 index.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.25% to 6.527 from the previous close of 6.513.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 88.7300 compared with its close of 88.7075 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 December 2025 settlement fell 0.84% to Rs 125,685.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.17% to 99.35.
The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.51% to 4.118.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for December 2025 settlement advanced $1.52 or 2.41% to $64.53 a barrel.
Global Markets:
European stocks declined on Friday amid concerns over global growth and diminishing expectations of an additional U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut this year.
Asian markets ended lower, tracking losses on Wall Street, as technology stocks weakened and uncertainty over potential US Fed rate cuts weighed on sentiment.
The South Korean won strengthened against the dollar after the finance minister said Friday that the country’s FX authorities will consult major market players, including the national pension fund and key exporters, on ways to stabilize the won, according to media reports.
According to the report, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol told senior economic officials that steps were needed to tackle the structural mismatch in U.S. dollar supply and demand, amid growing concerns over currency market volatility.
In China, fixed-asset investment, including real estate, contracted 1.7% in the first ten months of the year, deepening from a 0.5% decline recorded in the January–September period.
Industrial output grew 4.9% year-on-year in October, easing from a 6.5% rise in the previous month and marking the weakest annual pace since August 2024.
Retail sales increased 2.9% year-on-year in October, slightly lower than the 3% growth registered in September.
Meanwhile, the region’s gross domestic product rose just 0.2% in the third quarter, following a modest 0.1% expansion in the second quarter, underscoring persistent pressure on economic momentum.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major averages closed lower as investors continued to sell shares of technology companies, especially those in the artificial intelligence trade, amid worries about their valuations. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back 2.29% to close at 22,870.36. |