Stock Market Today: Nifty Slips But Retains 26,000 Level, Sensex Ends Flat; HDFC Bank, M&M Key Drags

• Rupee ends at 90.73 against the US Dollar.

• Rupee hits at record low of nearly 90.80 against US dollar in intraday trade.

• Rupee falls over 2% against the US Dollar in last one month.

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• The benchmark equity indices snapped two-day winning streak.

• Intraday, both Nifty and Sensex had fallen nearly 0.50%.

• Nifty ends 19.65 points or 0.08% lower at 26,027.30

• Sensex ends 54.30 points or 0.06% down at 85,213.36.

• Broader indices also closed mixed. Nifty Midcap 150 ended 0.07% lower; Nifty Smallcap 250 closed 0.36% higher.

• Most sectoral indices fell with Nifty auto leading the decline. Nifty Media and Nifty FMCG ended the day in green.

• The market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers, as 2,020 stocks declined, 2,244 advanced and 197 remained unchanged on the BSE.

• HUL, ITC, IntergGlobe Aviation, L&T and HCLT emerged as the top gainers for the day.

• On the other hand, HDFC Bank, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Eicher Motors and Maruti Suzuki were the worst performers of the Nifty 50 index.

The sharp rally in Praveg Ltd. last year, driven by a series of high-profile tourism catalysts, appears to have lost momentum. The small-cap stock, which had surged on the back of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir inauguration, the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit and the ‘Chalo Lakshadweep’ campaign, has corrected sharply since then. Over the past one year, the stock is down about 57%, highlighting how quickly sentiment has turned as the initial euphoria faded.

Birla Opus in focus —

• Birla Opus remains solid force and is gaining market shares across segments

• In spite of the exit of its CEO, we do not notice any impact on on-ground off-take

• Dealers indicated that the confidence has increased in the brand quality as well as servicing

• Many dealers believe Birla Opus has become the second major brand for them now

India’s corporate earnings are likely to see a meaningful revival in 2026 even as heavy equity supply remains a key overhang, Harish Krishnan, Co-CIO and Head of Equity at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, said.

"We do think earnings growth is likely to be revised upwards and there is going to be a stronger earnings growth coming through, primarily because of the tax cuts as well as the GST cuts, not to mention the rupee depreciation," he told NDTV Profit.