Benchmark indices closed flat after having hit record highs intraday, fueled by last week’s US rate cut. Sensex surged to an all-time peak of 85,163, while the Nifty breached the 26,000 milestone for the first time, touching 26,011. It ended the day at 84,914.04, down 15 points, while the Nifty 50 settled at 25,940.40, up 1 point.

On BSE, Zomato, Apollo Hospitals, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, DMart, Hindalco, Indian Hotels Company, Max Healthcare Institute, Tata Power Company, Trent, TVS Motor Company and United Spirits rose to their new one-year highs during the session.

On Nifty50, Adani Enterprises, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, Hindalco, and Tata Steel emerged as the top gainers. Conversely, Shriram Finance, UltraTech Cement, Grasim, HUL, and SBI Life faced declines. The rally was driven by metal, IT, and auto stocks, while FMCG and banking stocks struggled to keep pace.

Nifty Metal index surged nearly 3%, fueled by a jump in Tata Steel, Hindalco, and Vedanta, following China’s fresh stimulus measures aimed at reviving its economy. Nifty IT gained momentum by 0.6% with Tech Mahindra, HCLTech, and Coforge leading the rebound. Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank snapped their eight-day winning streak and fell by 0.3% each due to selling pressure from Kotak Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, and Punjab National Bank.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index inched up 0.2%, while the Smallcap index remained flat. The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms stood stable at Rs 476 lakh crore.

Reliance Power’s stock surged to hit the 5% upper circuit after the company announced a preferential issue of 46.2 crore equity shares worth Rs 1,524.60 crore. However, shares of the Policybazaar parent fell more than 4% as investors rushed to book profits after a stellar run. Further, the shares of Punjab National Bank dropped 3.2% after the company launched a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) where it offered shares at a discount to its current market price.

Notably, the Chinese central bank’s rate cut and additional stimulus steps have positively influenced global investor sentiment, resulting in gains for domestic metal stocks. Metal stocks surged as much as 6% after China’s central bank announced a slew of measures to boost its ailing economy. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) introduced key initiatives, including plans to lower the reserve requirement ratio, reduce the policy interest rate, and drive down the market benchmark interest rate to stimulate growth.