The stock market stayed in positive territory for the fourth consecutive session on Tuesday.
At close, the Sensex rose 370.64 points (0.46%) to 81,644.39, while the Nifty gained 103.70 points (0.42%) to settle at 24,980.65.
The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices advanced 1% each. The overall market capitalisation of firms listed on the BSE climbed to over ₹454 lakh crore, up from ₹451 lakh crore in the previous session.
Among sectors, most indices ended higher. Nifty Pharma (-0.34%), Financial Services (-0.06%), and Healthcare (-0.05%) were the only laggards.
On the upside, Nifty Oil & Gas rose 1.66%, Media 1.34%, Auto 1.31%, FMCG 1.05%, PSU Bank 0.98%, and Metal 0.75%. Nifty Bank ended with a modest gain of 0.23%, while the Private Bank index climbed 0.42%.
On the Nifty, 28 stocks closed higher. The top gainers included Tata Motors (+3.62%), Adani Ports (+3.22%), and Reliance Industries (+2.84%). On the losing side, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (-1.40%), Cipla (-1.15%), and Hindalco Industries (-1.03%) were among the major drags.
Market breadth remained strong with 143 stocks hitting 52-week highs, while 65 touched new 52-week lows. Notable names on the highs included Aditya Birla Capital, Ashok Leyland, CCL Products, HBL Engineering, Hyundai Motor India, JSW Steel, Maharashtra Scooters, Maruti Suzuki, Nuvoco Vistas, One 97 Communications (Paytm), and TVS Motor.
On the downside, Flexituff Ventures, Ksolves India, Mercury Ev-Tech, Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals, and Vikas Lifecare were among the notable names at 52-week lows.
Cotton stocks such as Vardhman Textiles, Gokaldas Exports, Ambika Cotton Mills, and Welspun Living rallied 1–8% after the Centre removed the 11% import duty on raw cotton until September 30.
Meanwhile, L&T Finance gained 3%; its shares have surged 7% in the past two sessions following S&P Global Ratings’ upgrade of the NBFC’s stand-alone credit rating.