Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty’s early Friday trade was a shift from the previous evening’s slight decline, with both gaining points on the back of buying by domestic institutional investors and a rally in blue-chip Reliance Industries.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 158.19 points to 85,346.79 and the 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 55.8 points to 26,202.35.
Friday, January 2, 2026, also marks the 40th anniversary of Sensex, which has delivered a staggering 15,594 per cent return on investments, according to a calculation. Introduced at 549 points in 1986, it has seen annual volatility of as high as 60 per cent over the years.
“Steady domestic institutional inflows continue to provide broader support, helping offset aggressive selling by foreign investors,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Asian Paints, Maruti, Bharat Electronics, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were among the biggest gainers. ITC, Titan Company, HCL Tech and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards.
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Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹3,268.60 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth ₹1,525.89 crore, according to exchange data.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were trading higher, but US markets were closed on Thursday for the New Year’s Day holiday.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.46 per cent to USD 61.13 per barrel.
On Thursday, the Sensex dipped 32 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 85,188.60. The Nifty went up marginally by 16.95 points or 0.06 per cent to end at 26,146.55.
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