The Indian stock market experienced mixed signals on Thursday as the Sensex fell by 582.86 points to close at 76,913.50, according to reports from Moneycontrol. Despite this broader market decline, more than 100 stocks from the BSE touched their 52-week highs, hitting their strongest levels over the past year. Such milestones are typically seen as bullish indicators, reflecting strong momentum and the potential for further gains in these individual companies. The market recovery was driven by selective buying at lower levels, though broader market weakness persisted with the Nifty 50 ending at 23,997.55, down 180.1 points or 0.74%. The decline was primarily driven by a sharp surge in crude oil prices, which spiked to multi-year highs amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and concerns over supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz. The Nifty index staged a sharp rebound after opening with a gap down and ended marginally below the 24,000 mark, finding strong support at its 21-DMA around 23,800, as reported by TradingView News.
Lloyds Metals & Energy emerged as the standout performer, reaching a new 52-week high of ₹1,785.45 with a current market price of ₹1,764.55, as reported by The Economic Times. The stock has demonstrated exceptional momentum with a gain of about 39% in the last one month. Hitachi Energy India also achieved a new 52-week high of ₹33,799.95 against its current market price of ₹33,554.85, showing similar strong performance with approximately 39% gains in the past month. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone reached a new 52-week high of ₹1,677 with a current market price of ₹1,655.15, posting gains of about 26% in the last month. Coal India also joined the list of 52-week high achievers, reaching a new 52-week high of ₹490.9 with a current market price of ₹481.35, according to The Economic Times, showing steady growth with gains of about 7% in the last month. Among individual stock performances, Bajaj Auto emerged as the biggest gainer, rising 4.72% after reporting strong operational performance, while RPG Life Sciences rose 13% despite a sharp decline in profitability. Bajaj Finance shares rose 1 percent after the company reported strong operational performance, while Newgen Software Technologies jumped 5 percent on the back of robust Q4 earnings, as reported by TradingView News.
The broader market showed mixed performance with the Nifty SmallCap index falling 0.5% and the MidCap index declining 1%, as reported by Moneycontrol. Among sectoral indices, IT emerged as the biggest gainer, rising 0.37%, followed by Realty (up 1.42%), Telecommunication (advancing 1.28%), Energy (climbing 1.14%), and Auto (adding 1.02%). The Metal index declined the most, falling 2.12%, while PSU Bank, Private Bank, Consumer Durables, and Realty sectors each ended down 1%. Maruti Suzuki rose 2.82% after the country's largest carmaker reported its highest-ever annual consolidated net profit of ₹14,679.5 crore for FY26, representing a year-on-year increase of 1.24%. In individual stock actions, Force Motors shares slipped 5% as its Q4 consolidated profit dropped 35.9%, while HEG Limited declined more than 9% after its consolidated loss widened significantly. Top Nifty losers included Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Hindalco Industries, Eternal, HUL, Axis Bank, while gainers were Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, as reported by TradingView News.
The Indian rupee weakened further to a fresh record low of 95.33 per dollar intraday, breaching its previous low of 95.12 hit in late March, as reported by Moneycontrol. However, it ended marginally lower at 94.92 per dollar versus the previous close of 94.85, driven by strong dollar demand, elevated oil prices, and continued foreign fund outflows. The decline was intensified by Brent crude crossing the $120 per barrel mark for the first time in four years, raising fears of inflationary pressures and macroeconomic instability for oil-importing economies like India. The Fed kept rates unchanged but maintained a firm policy stance, supporting the dollar and tightening conditions for emerging markets. The Nifty 50 ended the day at 23,997.55, down 180.1 points or 0.74%, while the BSE Sensex closed at 76,913.50, down 582.86 points or 0.75%. Markets remained volatile with the volatility index declining by nearly 8% during the week to close around 18. The Nifty found strong support at its 21-DMA around 23,800 and as long as it holds above this level, the pullback is likely to continue, with immediate resistance seen at the 50-DMA near 24,140, as reported by TradingView News.
