Sensex, Nifty 50 Today: Indian Stock Market Near Record Highs on 20 November 2025

The Indian stock market extended its winning streak on Thursday, 20 November 2025, with benchmark indices trading just a whisker away from their all‑time highs. Strong gains in banking, autos and select IT heavyweights, coupled with upbeat global cues and fresh foreign inflows, kept sentiment bullish even as the rupee hovered near a record low against the US dollar. ^[1]

Market at a glance: Indices hover near lifetime peaks

By late afternoon on Dalal Street:

Nifty 50 was trading a little above 26,200, up around 0.5–0.6% for the day. The index hit an intraday high near 26,246, putting it less than 60 points away from its all‑time peak of 26,277.35 set in September 2024. ^[2]
BSE Sensex climbed roughly 500–550 points to trade around 85,600–85,700, after touching a fresh 52‑week high above 85,450 and moving within about 300 points of its record of 85,978.25. ^[3]
Nifty Bank notched yet another record high, briefly crossing 59,400, driven by heavyweights HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank. ^[4]
Broader indices participated but lagged large caps: Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 were modestly higher (around 0.1–0.4%), while BSE mid- and small‑cap indices also showed only mild gains. ^[5]

Today’s move builds on Wednesday’s rally, when Nifty 50 closed above 26,000 and Sensex gained over 500 points, putting both indices firmly back in “near-record” territory. ^[6]

What is driving the rally? Global and macro tailwinds

1. Nvidia earnings and global tech optimism

Overnight, Nvidia’s latest quarterly results beat market expectations, with the chipmaker reporting strong AI-driven revenue and upbeat guidance. That triggered a rally in global semiconductor and tech shares and helped push Wall Street higher (S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq all closed in the green). ^[7]

Asian markets picked up the baton:

Japan’s Nikkei jumped nearly 2.8%,
South Korea’s KOSPI rose close to 1.9%,
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng traded slightly higher, while Shanghai Composite was marginally in the red. ^[8]

These gains reinforced risk‑on sentiment across emerging markets, including India, where IT and tech‑linked names such as Tech Mahindra outperformed.

2. India–US trade deal hints and Trump tariff moves

Investors also drew comfort from signs of progress on the India–US bilateral trade agreement (BTA). Officials have indicated that the first phase of the deal is “nearing closure”, with a focus on easing reciprocal tariffs imposed in recent years. ^[9]

Adding to the positive mood, the US has removed tariffs on over 200 food items, including key Indian exports such as tea, coffee and spices, a move expected to benefit India’s agricultural exporters and improve market access. ^[10]

Taken together, hopes of a more favourable trade framework and lighter tariff burden have boosted appetite for India’s export‑oriented and consumption‑linked plays.

3. Stronger domestic macro narrative

Domestic macros are still doing a lot of heavy lifting:

A recent SBI research report projected Q2 FY26 GDP growth at 7.5% or higher, supported by robust festive demand, improving investment activity and better rural consumption. ^[11]
After a period of sustained selling, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net buyers on Wednesday, purchasing equities worth about ₹1,580 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) added another ₹1,360 crore, according to exchange data. ^[12]

Market strategists argue that the earlier narrative of “strong macros but weak micros” is gradually morphing into “strong macros and improving corporate earnings,” especially in large caps. ^[13]

Rupee stays weak even as equities surge

The one big macro headwind remains the Indian rupee.

On Thursday, the rupee eased to around 88.7 per US dollar, slipping about 0.15% and trading close to its record low near 88.8. The weakness followed hawkish US Federal Reserve minutes and reduced market expectations of a near‑term rate cut, which pushed US Treasury yields and the dollar index higher and weighed on Asian currencies. ^[14]

Currency pressure is a double‑edged sword for equities:

Import‑heavy sectors (oil marketing companies, airlines, select manufacturing) face higher input costs.
Exporters, especially IT and pharma, gain from better rupee realisations, partly explaining the continued interest in large IT names. ^[15]

So far, traders expect the RBI to step in if the rupee threatens to break decisively below its previous lows, keeping extreme volatility in check. ^[16]

Sector check: Banks, autos and oil & gas in focus

Banking & financials: Nifty Bank at a record

The Nifty Bank index hit a fresh lifetime high around 59,412, powered by gains in frontline private lenders: ^[17]

HDFC Bank gained roughly 1.3–1.4%,
Axis Bank advanced close to 1%,
ICICI Bank also edged higher.

Analysts link the banking strength to:

improving credit growth trends,
benign domestic macro data, and
expectations that any eventual US Fed cuts in 2026–27 will ease global funding costs without derailing India’s growth. ^[18]

IT: Nvidia glow plus Infosys buyback

IT stocks continued to ride the optimism from Nvidia’s AI‑driven earnings beat and a weaker rupee. ^[19]

Tech Mahindra climbed around 1.5–1.7%, emerging as one of the day’s major index gainers. ^[20]
The Nifty IT index was modestly higher, even though HCL Tech saw mild profit‑taking after its recent rally. ^[21]

The big talking point in IT, however, was Infosys’ ₹18,000‑crore share buyback, which officially opened today:

Buyback price: ₹1,800 per share, at a near 20% premium to the announcement‑day close.
Total size: 10 crore shares, about 2.41% of paid‑up equity.
Entitlement ratio: 2:11 for small shareholders and 17:706 for the general category, with November 14, 2025 as the record date. ^[22]

Infosys shares traded largely flat to marginally lower through the afternoon as investors digested the buyback maths and short‑term arbitrage possibilities. ^[23]

Autos & consumer: Eicher races ahead, paints and jewellery lag

In the auto and consumer space, the market sent a mixed signal:

Winners

Eicher Motors jumped just over 3%, topping the Nifty 50 gainer list and contributing meaningfully to index gains. ^[24]
Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance rallied about 2.2–2.4%, reflecting continued investor confidence in premium financials and retail credit growth. ^[25]

Losers

Asian Paints slipped around 1%,
Titan Company, Hindustan Unilever and Sun Pharma also traded slightly lower, suggesting selective profit‑booking in quality defensives after the recent run‑up. ^[26]

Energy, defence and PSU themes

The rally was also supported by:

Nifty Oil & Gas, which gained around 0.7–0.8%,
Nifty India Defence, up close to 1%, as investors continued to favour themes aligned with government spending and energy security. ^[27]

Separately, news that India’s first National Coal Exchange is nearing launch helped keep coal‑linked stocks in focus, as traders bet on greater transparency and efficiency in coal pricing and allocation. ^[28]

Top Nifty 50 gainers & losers today

According to data compiled by ET Now, the key movers on the Nifty 50 on 20 November were: ^[29]

Top gainers

Eicher Motors – up about 3%
Bajaj Finserv – up roughly 2.4%
Bajaj Finance – up around 2.2%
Reliance Industries – gained nearly 1.9%
Tech Mahindra – up close to 1.5%
HDFC Bank – higher by about 1.4%

These names together provided a large portion of the index‑point contribution, underlining the strength in financials, autos and energy.

Top losers

Asian Paints – down about 1.2%
HCL Technologies – lower by around 1.0%
Titan Company – down roughly 0.7%
Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel and Tata Motors (Passenger Vehicles) – all ended with modest losses

The dispersion shows that large‑cap rotation is still in play: money is moving into banks, select autos and energy, while parts of FMCG, healthcare and specific IT names see intermittent profit‑taking.

Big corporate stories on the Street

1. Adani–Jaiprakash deal: lenders choose upfront payout

One of the day’s most closely watched corporate developments was the progress in the insolvency resolution of Jaiprakash Associates (JAL):

The Committee of Creditors has approved a ₹14,535‑crore resolution plan by Adani Enterprises, choosing it over a higher nominal bid by Vedanta due to Adani’s larger upfront payment and shorter repayment timeline. ^[30]
Adani Enterprises has received a Letter of Intent from the Resolution Professional, and the plan now awaits clearance from the NCLT’s Allahabad bench and other regulators. ^[31]

The news sparked interest across the Adani universe and kept Adani Enterprises and JAL‑linked stocks in focus. Shares of Jaiprakash Power Ventures continued their sharp two‑day rally, reflecting hopes of a cleaner balance sheet and better visibility on group restructuring. ^[32]

2. ITC delists from Calcutta Stock Exchange

Another structural change: ITC has voluntarily delisted its shares from the Calcutta Stock Exchange, with the delisting taking effect on 20 November. The move is largely symbolic—ITC’s primary liquidity is on NSE and BSE—but it marks the end of a historic listing relationship dating back over a century. ^[33]

3. Corporate actions & dividends

Traders also watched a flurry of corporate actions:

IRCTC is set to go ex-dividend for a ₹5 interim dividend tomorrow (21 November), marking its 10th dividend since its stock split, keeping the stock active in the F&O and cash segments. ^[34]
ET Now flagged a list of 20 stocks going ex‑date on Friday, including IRCTC, MRF, Oil India and Sonata Software, prompting some pre‑ex‑date positioning and profit‑booking. ^[35]

Market breadth, flows and sentiment

Despite the heavy focus on frontline indices, the broader market tone remained constructive:

On the BSE 500, advancers outnumbered decliners by roughly 280 to 217, indicating positive breadth even if gains were moderate. ^[36]
Earlier data showed an advance‑decline ratio above 1.2:1 on the NSE as well, reflecting steady participation beyond just the index heavyweights. ^[37]

Foreign flows are turning more supportive after a long stretch of selling, while domestic mutual funds and insurers continue to provide a powerful backstop on dips. Analysts point out that global banks and brokerages have been upgrading their stance on India from “expensive but vulnerable” to “fairly valued and buyable,” thanks to resilient growth and earnings upgrades. ^[38]

What to watch in the Indian stock market on Friday

Investors and traders heading into the next session will closely track:

Whether Nifty 50 and Sensex can finally break their all‑time highs
- Options positioning suggests market participants are betting on a new Nifty record around 26,350 as early as next week, but much will depend on global risk appetite and any surprise macro data. ^[39]
Rupee and bond yields
- A decisive break of the rupee below its previous record low could trigger short‑term volatility or prompt RBI intervention, especially if US yields keep rising. ^[40]
Follow‑through in banking and IT
- With Nifty Bank at record highs and Infosys’ buyback window now open, traders will watch for signs of sector rotation or sustained leadership from large private lenders and quality IT names. ^[41]
Adani–JAL resolution and infra stocks
- Any fresh disclosures around the Adani–Jaiprakash deal, timelines for NCLT approval, or clarity on asset monetisation could keep infra and power names in play. ^[42]
Global headlines
- Further reaction to Nvidia’s guidance, evolving Fed expectations, and developments in US–China trade or Trump’s tariff stance will continue to colour global risk sentiment—and by extension, Indian equities. ^[43]

Final word

On 20 November 2025, the Indian stock market today delivered exactly what bulls wanted to see:

Sensex and Nifty 50 near lifetime highs,
Banks, autos and select IT names leading the charge,
Improving foreign flows and resilient domestic macro data,

all this despite a still‑weak rupee and lingering global uncertainties.

For investors, the message from Dalal Street remains nuanced: momentum and macros are aligned in favour of large‑cap quality, but valuations are rich and index levels are stretched. As always, any decisions about buying or selling individual stocks should be based on one’s own research, risk tolerance and, ideally, advice from a qualified financial adviser—rather than short‑term market excitement.

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