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Key gauges end flat on first trading day of 2026
Jan-01-2026

Indian equity benchmarks pared initial gains and ended flat on the first trading session of the calendar year 2026, due to massive selling in ITC stocks after the government imposed higher tax on tobacco products. Foreign fund outflows also diminished the initial enthusiasm. Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,597.38 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

New market access support intervention to help MSMEs expand globally: Indian government’s support for exporters is continuing and expanding, as it has been seen with a recent launch of the Market Access Support (MAS) Intervention under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM). 

India’s fiscal deficit reaches 62.3% of target: The government data showed the Centre's fiscal deficit at the end of November stood at Rs 9.76 lakh crore, or 62.3 per cent of the annual budget target for 2025-26, compared to 52.5 per cent in the year-ago period.

India-EAEU trade talks expected in February: The report said India and the Russia-led EAEU group are likely to hold the next round of talks for the proposed trade agreement in February. The pact is important as India is looking to diversify its export markets due to high tariffs imposed by the US.

Rupee falls against US Dollar: Indian rupee depreciated against the US dollar on Thursday, as sustained foreign fund outflows and a negative trend in domestic equities dented investor sentiments.

78% Corporate Insolvency cases closed till September 2025: The Reserve Bank of India in its latest report has said that 78.1% or 6,761 Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRPs) have been closed till September 30, 2025 out total of 8,659 CIRPs initiated from December 2016. 

Global front: Asian markets and European markets were closed on Thursday for the New Year's Day holiday. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 32.00 points or 0.04% to 85,188.60 and the CNX Nifty was up by 16.95 points or 0.06% to 26,146.55.       

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 85,451.70 and 85,101.52 respectively. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.27%, while Small cap index was down by 0.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.69%, Utilities up by 1.51%, Power up by 1.14%, Auto up by 0.95% and Realty up by 0.84%, while FMCG down by 2.96%, Healthcare down by 0.15%, Oil & Gas down by 0.08% and Consumer Durables down by 0.07% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.08%, Eternal up by 2.05%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.40%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.38% and Power Grid Corporation up by 1.23%. On the flip side, ITC down by 9.69%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.46%, Asian Paints down by 0.63%, Bharat Electronics down by 0.50% and ICICI Bank down by 0.42% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its December 2025 edition of the Financial Stability Report (FSR) has said that the Indian economy is growing at a robust pace, fueled by strong domestic demand, low inflation, and the healthy balance sheets of banks. The domestic financial system remains robust and resilient, supported by strong balance sheets, favorable financial conditions, and low financial market volatility.

The report, which reflects the collective assessment of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on the resilience of the Indian financial system and risks to financial stability, mentioned that there are near-term risks from external uncertainties - geopolitical and trade-related. The report noted that the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth surprised on the upside in both Q1 2025-26 and Q2 2025-26 at 7.8 per cent and 8.2 per cent, respectively, driven by strong private consumption and public investment. It mentioned growth outlook remains positive, supported by low inflation, favorable financial conditions, above normal monsoon, direct and indirect tax reforms, and the ongoing expansion of digital public infrastructure. 

Further, it said the health of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) remains strong, with solid capital and liquidity buffers, improved asset quality, and robust profitability. It added Macro stress test results affirm the resilience of SCBs to withstand losses under hypothetical adverse scenarios and maintain capital buffers well above the regulatory minimum. Stress tests also confirm the resilience of mutual funds and clearing corporations.

According to the report, the gross non-performing assets ratio of banks will improve further to 1.9 per cent by March 2027 under a baseline scenario. As of September 2025, the key ratio stood at a multi-decade low of 2.1 per cent. The aggregate GNPA ratio of the 46 banks may improve from 2.1 per cent in September 2025 to 1.9 per cent in March 2027 under the baseline scenario.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 26,197.55 and 26,113.40 respectively. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.     

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 2.59%, Shriram Finance up by 2.39%, NTPC up by 1.99%, Eternal up by 1.98% and Wipro up by 1.52%. On the flip side, ITC down by 9.69%, Tata Consumer Product down by 1.57%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.53%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.12% and ONGC down by 1.03% were the top losers.
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