Stock Market Live Updates: GIFT Nifty Indicates Positive Open; Sapphire Foods, ITC Shares In Focus

The Indian equity markets kicked off the first trading session of 2026 on a cautious and consolidative note, with the NSE Nifty 50 managing to extend its winning streak for the second consecutive day.

A fresh uptrend rally is expected only after the dismissal of the 26,200–26,234 zone. Shrikant Chouhan notes that a breakout above this level could push the market toward 26,300–26,350. Aakash Shah of Choice Broking places immediate resistance in the 26,250–26,300 range.

Brokerages have offered mixed views on Devyani International Ltd., (DIL), one of India’s largest and fastest-growing quick service restaurant (QSR) operators, as the merger with Sapphire Foods promise significant scale and synergies.

JPMorgan welcomed the merger as a strategic move, saying that synergistic benefits will accrue with a lag. The brokerage expects economies of scale, a simplified structure, cost savings, and faster decision-making to help Devyani compete more effectively.

Read what other brokerages have to say here.

A slew of brokerages have come out with notes on ITC after the FMCG giant endured its worst session in six years on Thursday, falling almost 10% after the government announced fresh excise duty on cigarettes.

From Feb. 1 onwards, cigarettes are set to attract a tax of 40%, which serves as a major blow for ITC, where the cigarette division serves as a key revenue driver.

In the wake of ITC's sharp fall on Thursday, a slew of brokerages have cut target price on the FMCG counter.

Read more here.

Orient Technologies Ltd. will be on the market radar on Friday as it marks the last session for investors to buy shares to qualify for the bonus issue of shares ahead of the record date.

The IT company will give one free bonus equity share of face value of Rs 1 each for every 10 fully paid-up equity share held. The record date for determining the eligible shareholders to receive bonus equity shares is Monday, Jan. 5.

Under India's T+1 settlement cycle, investors must buy the shares at least one trading day before the record date to be eligible. This means that purchases made on the record date itself will not reflect in the demat account in time.

• Nifty January futures down by 0.02% to 26,291 at a premium of 145 points.

• Nifty January futures open interest down by 0.16%.

• Nifty Options on Jan 6: Maximum Call open interest at 26,000 and Maximum Put open interest at 26,200.