Sensex Slips Marginally, Nifty Around 26,150 as Auto Shares Rise, FMCG Weighs

Indian equity benchmarks began 2026 on a flat note, with the Nifty closing near the 26,150 mark amid mixed sectoral cues.

The BSE Sensex slipped 32 points, or 0.04 per cent, to settle at 85,188.60 on January 1, 2026, while the NSE Nifty edged up 16.95 points to end at 26,146.55.

Despite the muted headline performance, market breadth was positive. Twenty-two of the 30 Sensex stocks closed in the green. NTPC, Eternal, Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid Corporation, and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the top gainers, rising up to 1.94 per cent. On the flip side, ITC, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, BEL, ICICI Bank, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, and HDFC Bank featured among the laggards, shedding up to 0.08 per cent.

The broader markets traded mixed, with the BSE MidCap index gaining 0.27 per cent, while the BSE SmallCap index slipped marginally by 0.02 per cent.

On the sectoral front, most NSE indices ended higher. The Nifty Auto index jumped 1.03 per cent, Nifty IT rose 0.76 per cent, Nifty Media advanced 0.26 per cent, Nifty PSU Bank gained 0.45 per cent, and Nifty Consumer Durables climbed 0.15 per cent. However, Nifty Pharma declined 0.40 per cent, while Nifty FMCG was the worst performer, plunging 3.17 per cent.

In global markets, most major exchanges remained closed due to the New Year holiday. US stocks ended lower on the final trading session of 2025, though benchmarks still posted strong annual gains. The S&P 500 rose around 16 per cent in 2025, buoyed by sustained optimism around artificial intelligence, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite also recorded double-digit gains for the year.