Sensex, Nifty scale new highs; Bank Nifty crosses 60,000 for the first time - What’s driving the rally?

Indian benchmark indices — BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty — touched fresh record highs in early trade on Monday as market participants cheered gross domestic product (GDP) numbers, which surged to a six-quarter high of 8.2% in Q2 FY26. Optimism around potential rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in their upcoming policy meetings further boosted market sentiment.

In early trade, the Sensex gained as much as 452 points to hit a new all-time high of 86,159, while the Nifty50 climbed 123 points to scale a new peak of 26,326.

On the sectoral front, the Nifty Bank index also recorded a new high, crossing the 60,000 mark for the first time ever. The Bank Nifty index surged as much as 0.5% to 60,114, driven by strong volumes in index heavyweights — Bank of Baroda , Kotak Mahindra Bank , State Bank of India, and HDFC Bank.

At the time of reporting, the 30-share Sensex was up 251 points higher at 85,958, while the Nifty stood at 26,270, up 0.26%.

“The upbeat sentiment is largely driven by India’s robust 8.2% Q2 GDP print, which surpassed expectations and reinforced confidence in the underlying strength of the economy. Adding to the optimism are renewed hopes of a 25-basis-point rate cut in the RBI’s upcoming policy meeting, further boosting risk appetite across sectors,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.

On Bank Nifty, he said the index has crossed the historic 60,000 mark for the first time, reflecting strong strength in banking stocks. “The next resistance is seen near 60,500–62,000, while the crucial support band remains at 59,800–59,700.”

Top gainers and losers

In the BSE Sensex pack, 18 out of 30 stocks were trading in positive terrain, with Adani Ports leading the pack by rising 1.60%. It was followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank, which gained 1.25%, while auto major Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors (TMPV), Eternal, BEL, L&T and HUL climbed up to 1%. Reliance Industries, the country’s most valued stock, was trading with a modest 0.36% uptick.

On the flip side, Tata group stocks Trent and TCS were marginally down. Tech Mahindra , Sun Pharma , Asian Paints , Titan , ITC, and Bajaj Finance were among notable losers.

Market breadth remained positive, with 2,083 stocks advancing out of 3,688 stocks traded so far on the BSE. As many as 1,360 stocks declined, and 245 remained unchanged. The first hour of trading also saw 92 stocks hitting fresh 52-week highs, while 79 touched new 52-week lows. Meanwhile, 137 stocks were locked in the upper circuit, and 94 in the lower circuit.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, said this record breaking rally is driven by index heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, RIL, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, L&T, ITC, Infy and SBI, which have 50% weighting in Nifty. Equally important is the fact that 330 stocks in NSE 500 are below their September 2024 peak. Most retail investors’ portfolios are dominated by stocks in this non-performing segment, he pointed out.

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