Nifty Breaks 26,300 as PSU Banks Lead 2026 Open Rally
Nifty Breaks 26,300 as PSU Banks Lead 2026 Open Rally
Markets kick off 2026 with a bullish burst as Nifty tops 26,300 and PSU banks surge, signaling upbeat sentiment ahead of the Budget.
Dalal Street kicked off 2026 on a strong bullish note, with the Nifty surging past 26,300 intraday—the highest since December 1—to a one-month high of 26,314. Broad-based buying prevailed, with a healthy 2.5:1 advance-decline ratio. Nifty Bank soared 380 points, driven by both PSU (Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank at record highs) and private banks (ICICI, Axis, Kotak). Energy (BPCL, HPCL, RIL), Realty, and PSU stocks led sectoral gains. Metals shone—Hindalco and National Aluminium hit record highs—while autos (Maruti, M&M, TVS, Ashok Leyland) rallied post-strong December sales. Renewable financiers (IREDA, REC, PFC) rebounded sharply from multi-month lows. Pre-Budget optimism fuels the momentum across PSU banks, metals, and autos.
The early-year strength indicates a risk-on mood among traders, with investors keeping an eye on policy cues and the upcoming Union Budget. The breadth of gains suggests broad participation beyond heavyweight indices, as mid-cap and sectoral leaders joined the rally. Watchlists for banks, metals, and energy names remain active, while autos benefited from positive counter-seasonality in December data. Market watchers say the challenge for bulls is to sustain the momentum amid global volatility, but the current setup points to a constructive start to 2026 for equity markets.
