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Indian benchmark equities opened marginally higher on Friday, led by auto and metal stocks, amid mixed global cues.
Stock Market Today.
Sensex Today: Indian benchmark indices extended their gains on Friday, supported by strength in heavyweight stocks such as HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries, even as global cues remained mixed.
At 9:45 AM, the NSE Nifty 50 was trading at 26,246.90, up 100.35 points or 0.38 per cent, while the BSE Sensex rose 334.68 points or 0.39 per cent to 85,523.28.
Market sentiment through the day is expected to be guided by the final India and US manufacturing PMI data for December, along with forex data for the week ended December 26, 2025.
Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Bharat Electronics, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, NTPC and Tata Steel emerged as the top gainers, rising up to 1.3 per cent. On the downside, ITC slipped 4 per cent to become the biggest drag on the index, while Titan, HCL Technologies, Axis Bank and Tech Mahindra were also trading lower.
In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap 100 index gained 0.31 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was up 0.2 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto advanced 0.73 per cent, Nifty PSU Bank rose 0.7 per cent and Nifty Metal added 0.56 per cent. Nifty FMCG declined 1.2 per cent, weighed down largely by the fall in ITC shares.
Global cues
Asia-Pacific markets began the new year on a mixed note on Friday, but turned positive later, with South Korea’s Kospi scaling a fresh record high. The benchmark index rose 0.21 per cent after touching an all-time high of 4,239.88, while the small-cap Kosdaq outperformed, gaining 1.32 per cent. Several Asian markets, including Japan and mainland China, remained shut for holidays.
Australia’s ASX 200 was trading 0.11 per cent higher. Singapore reported stronger-than-expected economic growth, with GDP expanding 5.7 per cent Y-o-Y in the fourth quarter, led by robust manufacturing activity. This marked an acceleration from the revised 4.3 per cent growth recorded in the previous quarter.
US stock futures edged higher during early Asian hours. On Wall Street overnight, equities ended lower, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.74 per cent, the Nasdaq Composite falling 0.76 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declining 0.63 per cent. Despite the pullback, US benchmarks closed 2025 with solid gains.
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January 02, 2026, 09:24 IST
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