Market at record highs | Sensex crosses 86,000 & Nifty 26,300 for the first time

The share market hit fresh record highs on Thursday but failed to hold on to those levels, ending largely flat as profit-taking emerged in several recent outperformers and sectoral moves turned mixed.

The Sensex briefly crossed 86,000 for the first time and the Nifty topped 26,300, but the gains cooled as broader participation faded. The Sensex ended 111 points higher at 85,720, while the Nifty closed 10 points up at 26,216.

"Until 26,100 levels on the Nifty aren’t broken, until we don’t see a close below those levels, at least for this weekly expiry for Nifty or until December 9 – next weekly expiry – for the next two weeks, Nifty is in the clear uptrend and we have a target of 26,500 now going forward. Eventually the target comes to 26,800 for the December series and the logic for that would be that we have seen a good rollover happening overall marketwide but that has been a good short unwinding by the FIIs and whenever we have seen these kind of short covering happening, generally Nifty has gone up by 1,000-1,500 points," Jay Thakkar, Head Derivative and Quant research, ICICI Securities told CNBC-TV18.

Market breadth turned neutral with the advance-decline ratio settling at 1:1.

Midcaps outperformed once again. The Midcap index added 51 points to 61,113, while the Nifty Bank rose 209 points to 59,737. Midcap IT stocks strengthened, with LTIMindtree, Coforge and KPIT rising around 2% each.

Auto stocks were mixed. Commercial-vehicle makers outshone the pack as Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors’ CV business surged 6% each, while two-wheeler names lagged, with Eicher Motors and Bajaj Auto slipping up to 3%.

Electronic manufacturing services (EMS) counters saw sharp declines. Kaynes Technology, PG Electroplast and Amber Enterprises fell 3–4%, extending the pressure on the segment. Several recent outperformers, including Indian Bank, Hitachi Energy and RBL Bank, also faced selling.

Among midcap gainers, Samvardhana Motherson rose around 4%, continuing its strong run. MCX extended its upward streak, climbing closer to the 10,500 mark and ending 1% higher on the day.

In corporate-driven moves, CarTrade fell 4% after the company said its planned acquisition of CarDekho and BikeDekho had been called off.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals edged 1% higher after receiving VAI (Voluntary Action Indicated) status from the US FDA for its Monroe manufacturing unit.

State-run miner GMDC gained another 5%, supported by news that the government has approved a scheme focused on rare-earth magnets, keeping investor interest elevated.