Sensex, Nifty trade near record highs; why are stock markets rising today?

Stock market rally today: Sensex index jumped over 1,000 points today, while the Nifty50 added around 300 points.

Stock markets rising today: Market bulls run amok on Dalal Street on Wednesday, taking equity benchmark indices – BSE Sensex, and NSE Nifty – higher by 1 per cent.

 

The 30-stock Sensex index jumped 1,059 points or 1.25 per cent to hit an intraday high of 85,644.19 on November 26, 2025. The index’s all-time high stands at 85,978 – barely 368 points away from today’s closing level of 85,609.5.

 

The 50-stock Nifty index, meanwhile, soared 330 points (over 1 per cent) to hit a high of 26,215.1 during the day. The index closed 1.24 per cent higher at 26,205, just 70 away from its record high of 26,277.

 

Both the benchmarks last claimed their all-time highs in September 2024.

 

Meanwhile, in the broader markets, the Nifty MidCap index, and the Nifty SmallCap index added over 1 per cent each in a broad-based rally.

 

Top gainers today

Trent, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, L&T, Tata Motors PV, TCS, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, Tech M, Maruti Suzuki, SBI, and Infosys added between 1 per cent and 2 per cent on the Sensex today.

 

Barring Bharti Airtel, all other 29 stocks on the index were trading with gains.

 

Meanwhile, on the Nifty50, JSW Steel, HDFC Life, IndiGo, Coal India, Shriram Finance, Jio Financial Services, Nestle India, and Max Health were among the top gainers, rising up to 3.3 per cent. 

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Why are stock markets rising today? Key reasons behind Sensex, Nifty rally:

Rate cut hopes

Investors have their eyes peeled for an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during its December meeting.

 

Despite inflation being low, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra believes there is scope for further rate cuts, though the timing will be decided by the rate setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

 

“In the October MPC meeting, it was communicated that there was room for rate cuts. Since then, based on all the economic and macro indicators, we do not see any signals suggesting that this space has diminished,” RBI Governor said in a recent television interview.

 

Markets are looking forward to another round of rate cut as the central bank’s measure to spur economic growth. The RBI MPC is scheduled to meet on December 3-5.

 

Global rally on Fed rate cut expectations, new Fed chairman

The optimism in global markets entered its third day on Wednesday after statements from US Federal Reserve officials hinted at a rate cut next month.

 

As per CME FedWatch tool, markets are discounting a more than 84-per cent chance that the Fed would cut rates in December. The expectation gained momentum after New York Fed President John Williams said last Friday that there was room to lower rates “in the near term.”

 

Separately, a Bloomberg report claims that White House National Economic Council Director, Kevin Hassett, could be appointed as the next Fed chair.

 

Investors see Hassett as a ‘dovish’ candidate, who could aggressively push the US economy toward a lower-rate environment. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, too, said in a TV interview on Tuesday that there was a “very good chance” that US President Donald Trump could name a new Fed chair before Christmas.

 

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225, and South Korea’s Kospi jumped nearly 2 per cent each, Australia’s ASX200 added close to 1 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained about 0.2 per cent.

 

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index advanced 1.43 per cent on Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 0.91 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.67 per cent.

 

Short covering

As per the rollover data, following the Nifty50’s monthly expiry of the November F&O (derivatives) series on Tuesday, Nifty Futures initiated the December series with an Open Interest (OI) base of approximately 14.5 million shares, marking a reduction of over 6.18 lakh shares alongside a marginal price contraction of 0.2 per cent, indicative of long unwinding.

 

Conversely, Bank Nifty Futures saw a decline in OI base by 4.82 lakh shares, accompanied by a 1.0 per cent price appreciation, pointing towards potential short covering. Notably, the Nifty Bank index has extended its rally today, hitting an all-time high of 59,515 during the day.

 

The Bank Nifty index is up over 1 per cent on Wednesday.

 

That said, the Nifty November series rollover retreated to 68.8 per cent on Tuesday, trailing the previous expiry’s 75.8 per cent and falling significantly short of the three-month and six-month averages of 80.7 per cent and 79.4 per cent, respectively. This, as per Axis Securities, signals a cautious approach by traders as fewer positions are being carried forward.

 

“Bank Nifty recorded a rollover of 70.4 per cent, which, while lower than the preceding expiry’s 79.6 per cent and the three-month mean, remains notably above the six-month average of 65.3 per cent, suggesting that underlying sentiment in the banking index is relatively more resilient compared to the broader benchmark,” it said.

 

Overall, market-wide rollover activity remained robust at 94.76 per cent, marginally below the prior expiry and three-month average but surpassing the six-month mean of 94.0 per cent, indicating that aggregate market participation remains stable despite localized volatility in key indices, the brokerage said.