Sensex and Nifty roar to record highs as India’s market rally returns after 14 months

Benchmark indices surged to historic highs on November 27 as Dalal Street’s bullish momentum extended, pushing markets firmly into record territory for the first time in more than a year.

The Nifty50 touched a fresh peak after 14 months, while the Sensex crossed the 86,000 mark — surpassing its September 2024 high — before settling slightly lower in early trade. As of 9:25 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 224.80 points at 85,836.74, and the NSE Nifty gained 60.85 points to 26,266.15.

Market sentiment remained upbeat, backed by expectations of strong earnings performance, favourable institutional positioning and improving global risk appetite.

“With the 320-point Nifty rally yesterday, the market structure has decisively turned bullish,” said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. “A combination of high FII short positions, supportive technical structure and strong earnings outlook for Q3 and Q4 FY26 is driving this momentum.”

Top gainers and laggards

Buying dominated early trade, with most heavyweight stocks in the green. The strongest performers included:

• Bajaj Finance: ↑ 1.03%
• Axis Bank: ↑ 0.83%
• Larsen & Toubro: ↑ 0.76%
• ICICI Bank: ↑ 0.71%
• Asian Paints: ↑ 0.60%

Among key laggards were Eternal (↓0.70%), Titan (↓0.28%) and Maruti (↓0.25%), along with Kotak Mahindra Bank and Adani Ports.

Broader market and sectoral movement

The broader market remained positive, with Nifty Midcap100 up 0.14% and Smallcap100 up 0.07%. Market volatility edged higher as India VIX climbed 0.96%.

Sectoral indices largely mirrored bullish sentiment, with financials, autos, metals and FMCG leading gains. Realty, consumer durables and oil & gas were the only notable laggards.

What’s driving the rally?

A combination of domestic and global triggers is fuelling the rally, including:

• Strong consumption surge in October
• Expectations of strong corporate earnings
• Rising probability of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut
• Improved global sentiment amid hopes of diplomatic easing in the Russia-Ukraine conflict

“If the consumption surge sustains — even with some post-festival moderation — earnings growth will support further upside,” Vijayakumar said, adding that valuations may prevent “a sharp, prolonged breakout.” He noted that Bank Nifty remains structurally strong and may be poised for fresh records.

With momentum clearly favouring the bulls, analysts say the coming sessions will test whether markets consolidate at record levels or attempt another vertical leg of the rally. For now, optimism continues to outweigh caution — and Dalal Street is celebrating.