Weekly Recap: Nifty Hits New Highs, Top Stock Picks & Key Insights
Markets kicked off 2026 with a bang as the Nifty reached a new all-time high. Get the weekly roundup of major stock movements, sector trends and our outlook for the next week.
Markets wrapped up the first week of 2026 on a historic note, as the Nifty 50 reached a new all-time high. Here's our take on this week gone by, some stories you might have missed out on and our thoughts on what to do going ahead, in your weekly report.
New Year, New Highs
- The markets kicked off 2026 with strong momentum, as the Nifty surged over 1%, hitting fresh all-time highs – its biggest weekly gain in two months.
- Not to be left behind, the Nifty Bank and Mid-Cap indices also hit new all-time highs.
- The rally was powered by strong auto sales and positive earnings expectations, with geopolitical tensions and ongoing FII selling taking a backseat.
The Big Stories
- In a major milestone, India has overtaken Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP.
- Over in the US, the December FOMC minutes revealed debates on potential rate cuts, hinting at caution for investors as future easing will depend on economic data.
- Flash PMIs showed that the G4 economies (US, Eurozone, Japan, UK) continued to expand for the eighth straight month in December.
The Winners
- NTPC grabbed the top gainer spot, soaring nearly 9% after Jefferies picked it as their top power sector pick, highlighting expectations of a sector rebound.
- Tata Steel also had a solid run, rising 8%, following the government's announcement of a three-year safeguard duty of up to 12% on select steel imports, expected to offer better pricing protection for domestic producers.
The Losers
- The FMCG sector emerged as the biggest laggard of the week, dropping 3.7%, mainly due to sharp declines in heavyweight stocks like ITC.
- The stock took a significant hit, falling over 13%, after the government imposed a new excise duty on cigarettes, set to take effect next month. Several brokerages downgraded the stock, citing concerns over its impact on earnings growth.
Meanwhile
- China’s manufacturing PMI bounced back to 50.1 in December, signalling expansion after eight months of contraction.
- Back home, GST collections for December 2025 rose by 6.1% year-on-year to ₹1.75 lakh crore, despite the steep cut in GST rates.
Market Brief
Market Outlook
Our Take
- The markets saw a sharp breakout on Friday, surpassing key resistance levels and soaring to new all-time highs.
- Technical indicators point to continued upside momentum in the short term. As a result, we expect Nifty to remain in a bullish trend next week, likely trading in the range of 26,100 to 26,650.
- However, some initial volatility cannot be ruled out due to geopolitical tensions between the US and Venezuela.
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