New Delhi, 1 December (H.S.): India's benchmark stock indices hit fresh all-time highs early in the session on Monday before succumbing to profit-booking pressures triggered by weak global cues, rupee depreciation, fears of delayed rate cuts, foreign investor selling, and rising crude oil prices. The BSE Sensex closed 64.77 points or 0.08 percent lower at 85,641.90, while the NSE Nifty settled 27.20 points or 0.10 percent down at 26,175.75 after erasing all intraday gains.

The market opened strongly, with the Sensex surging 359.25 points to 86,065.92 and quickly touching a record 86,159.02 within the first half-hour. The Nifty also debuted at a new peak of 26,325.80, up 122.85 points.

However, selling intensified after 11:30 a.m., dragging the Sensex to an intraday low of 85,489.65—a drop of over 669 points from the high—before a late recovery. The Nifty mirrored this volatility, falling more than 200 points from its peak to 26,124.20 before rebounding modestly.

Sector-wise, auto shares rallied on strong November sales data, while metal, IT, capital goods, public sector enterprises, and tech indices ended in positive territory. In contrast, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and realty sectors faced sustained selling pressure, alongside declines in banking, consumer durables, FMCG, and oil & gas.

Despite the day's weakness, investor wealth rose slightly as BSE-listed companies' market capitalization climbed to 474.48 lakh crore rupees (provisional) from 474.35 lakh crore on Friday, yielding a net gain of about 13,000 crore rupees. Trading volume showed 4,455 BSE stocks active, with 1,842 advancers, 2,401 decliners, and 212 unchanged; NSE saw 2,856 stocks traded, with 1,231 gainers and 1,625 losers. Among Sensex constituents, 16 ended higher and 14 lower; Nifty had 24 gainers and 26 losers.

Top performers included Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd (up 1.96 percent), Bharat Electronics (1.34 percent), Maruti Suzuki (1.24 percent), HCL Technologies (1.15 percent), and Kotak Mahindra Bank (1.09 percent). Leading losers were Max Healthcare (down 3.22 percent), InterGlobe Aviation (1.82 percent), Bajaj Finance (1.58 percent), Sun Pharma (1.32 percent), and Trent Ltd (0.81 percent).

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar