Indian equity benchmarks ended marginally higher on February 4, tracking mixed global cues and cautious investor sentiment. While frontline indices moved in a narrow range, broader markets continued to outperform.
The Sensex rose 79 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 83,817.69. The Nifty 50 gained 48 points, or 0.19 percent, ending the session at 25,776.
Mid and small-cap stocks remained in demand, extending their recent outperformance.
Here are ten takeaways from the markets today:
Markets saw largely stock-specific action as investors awaited further clarity on the India–US trade deal and assessed the sustainability of the recent rally. Weak global cues and a sharp sell-off in IT stocks capped gains in the benchmark indices.
Broader indices continued to shine:
BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 0.61 percent
BSE 250 SmallCap Index gained 0.54 percent
This reflected continued risk appetite outside large-cap stocks.
The total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies increased to nearly ₹469 lakh crore from about ₹467 lakh crore in the previous session, adding close to ₹2 lakh crore to investor wealth in a single day.
Out of the 50 stocks in the Nifty index, 38 closed in the green, indicating broad-based participation despite muted headline gains.
Top gainers included:
Trent: up 5.18 percent
Eternal: up 4.90 percent
ONGC: up 3.50 percent
IT stocks came under heavy pressure, weighing on overall sentiment.
Top losers in the Nifty 50 were:
Infosys: down 7.37 percent
TCS: down 7 percent
HCL Technologies: down 4.58 percent
The sell-off mirrored weakness in global technology stocks after fresh concerns over AI-led disruption.
Sectoral performance was mixed:
Nifty IT plunged 5.87 percent
Nifty Consumer Durables and Oil & Gas rose over 2 percent each
Metal, Auto and Realty indices gained more than 1 percent
Nifty Bank added 0.33 percent, while Financial Services rose 0.46 percent.
The most active stocks on the NSE in terms of traded volumes were:
Tata Silver ETF
Vodafone Idea
GTL Infrastructure
Market breadth stayed supportive, with advances outnumbering declines:
Over 2,700 stocks advanced
Nearly 1,500 stocks declined on the BSE
As many as 24 stocks jumped more than 15 percent on the BSE, including GTL Infrastructure, Valor Estate, Gokaldas Exports, Faze Three, Suven Life Sciences and Ducon Infratechnologies.
Nearly 90 stocks hit fresh 52-week highs, including Adani Ports, APL Apollo Tubes, Ashok Leyland, Bharat Forge and Oil India
Around 90 stocks touched 52-week lows, with names such as Happiest Minds Technologies, KPIT Technologies, TTK Prestige and Newgen Software among them
Overall, the session reflected cautious optimism, with investors selectively betting on non-IT sectors while awaiting clearer global and trade-related cues.