Nifty, Sensex retreat from 52-week highs; midcap profit-taking weighs

The Nifty 50 closed higher on Thursday but slipped from intraday peaks as weakness in midcaps capped broader gains, even as heavyweights Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank drove the benchmark indices to fresh 52-week highs.

The NSE Nifty 50 rose 139 points to close at 26,192, while the S&P BSE Sensex climbed 446 points to 85,633. Both indices briefly touched new 52-week highs during the session but remained a few points shy of lifetime records.

Broader markets underperformed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 adding just 14 points to 60,964, after hitting a record intraday high earlier in the day. Market breadth stayed weak, as midcaps and smallcaps saw profit-taking, leaving decliners ahead of gainers on the NSE. The Nifty Bank index also cooled off from a record high to finish 132 points higher at 59,348.

Reliance and HDFC Bank were the biggest contributors to the benchmarks’ rise, helping offset weakness in select pharma and telecom stocks. More than 30 Nifty constituents closed in the green, led by gains in Eicher Motors, Bajaj Finserv, and Reliance Industries.

Two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp climbed 2% to a 52-week high after securing its second brokerage upgrade in as many days. Cummins India gained 3% following a positive brokerage note, while NBCC advanced over 2% after receiving a ₹2,966-crore order from the Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

In the wider market, PhysicsWallah staged a sharp recovery, rising 20% from the day’s lows to close in positive territory. M&M Financial Services and Mahindra Holidays surged 5% each after the Mahindra Group issued a strong outlook for its financial and hospitality businesses.

Among laggards, Biocon fell 4%, extending Wednesday’s losses after Citi double-downgraded the stock. Vodafone Idea slipped nearly 5% on profit-taking. Groww extended its slide for a second straight session, falling 18% over two days and pushing its market capitalisation below ₹1 lakh crore.

Top midcap gainers included Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), Hitachi Energy India, and Glenmark Pharma, which rose between 3% and 5%.Read about our editorial guidelines and ethics policy