Nifty hits 25K comeback trail: Banks and IT stocks do the heavy lifting

Financial and IT stocks drove a third straight day of market gains as Nifty rose above 25,000 and Sensex ended at 81,790 amid upbeat quarterly updates

Benchmark indices rose for a third straight day on Monday, with the Nifty 50 index ending above the 25,000 mark after nearly two weeks.

 

Banks and financial stocks led the rally following strong quarterly updates, while information technology (IT) stocks advanced ahead of September results.

 

The Nifty 50 rose 183 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 25,077.65, extending its three-day gain to 1.9 per cent. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex added 593 points, or 0.72 per cent, to close at 81,790.

 

Banks and financials lead the rally

 

Top-weight HDFC Bank added 0.9 per cent, while Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 2 per cent after reporting robust growth in loan disbursals for the September quarter.

 

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Bajaj Finance rose 1.9 per cent after announcing that its assets under management increased by approximately 24 per cent year-on-year during the July–September quarter. 

 

“The quarterly business updates from banks and financials reaffirm expectations of a gradual improvement in earnings, supporting a stronger performance in benchmarks after their underperformance relative to other Asian and emerging market peers,” said Alekh Yadav, head of investment products at Sanctum Wealth.

 

Out of the 16 major sectoral indices, 12 rose, with private banks and financials gaining 1.2 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively. 

 

IT stocks rebound ahead of quarterly results

 

The IT index climbed 2.3 per cent, adding 3.2 per cent over three sessions, rebounding from earlier losses due to concerns over the US labour market and the H-1B visa fee hike.

 

“While company earnings are likely to be muted due to demand stagnation, recent price corrections have created an attractive risk-reward setup for investors, with valuations becoming more reasonable,” said Kuber Chauhan and Abhishek Bhalotia, analysts at Axis Securities.

 

The broader mid-cap and small-cap indices rose 0.9 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively.

 

Fortis surges; Trent and Lupin decline

 

Among individual stocks, Fortis Healthcare rose 7 per cent and hit a record high after the markets regulator approved Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare to acquire an additional 26.1 per cent stake in Fortis and its unit, Malar.

 

In contrast, retailer Trent dropped about 1 per cent following slower-than-expected revenue growth in the September quarter.

 

Lupin declined 1.8 per cent after the US Food and Drug Administration classified its Pithampur Unit-2 manufacturing facility as requiring regulatory and/or administrative action.

 

Analysts see further upside in near term

 

Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investment Services, said, “Investors are now looking towards Q2FY26 earnings. Though expectations remain moderate, optimism is rising for the third-quarter results, driven by increased consumer demand.”

 

On a technical basis, the market could be poised for further gains.

 

Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities, said, “A bullish candle on daily charts and an uptrend continuation pattern on intraday charts indicate a further uptrend from current levels.”

 

He added, “On the downside, 25,000–24,950 will serve as crucial support zones, while 25,150 and 25,200 could act as immediate resistance levels for the bulls. However, a decline below 24,950 could render the uptrend susceptible to a correction.”