Nifty Slips Below 25,000 Amid Profit-Booking; Banking and Pharma Stocks Remain Steady

Indian equity markets opened cautiously on Monday following a sharp rally last week, with the benchmark Nifty 50 declining 30.40 points, or 0.12 per cent, to trade at 24,956 by 9:29 am after closing at 24,986.40 in the previous session. The Sensex similarly retreated 60.64 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 80,938.76 as profit-booking emerged across sectors.

Despite the slight dip, select heavyweights held firm. State Bank of India led the gains among Nifty 50 constituents, rising 1.82 per cent to ₹1,034.45 on volumes of 49.10 lakh shares worth ₹506.18 crore. Apollo Hospitals and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories advanced 1.09 per cent and 1.07 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank recorded strong trading volumes, adding 0.99 per cent and 0.91 per cent.

On the losing side, IT and power counters faced the steepest corrections. HCL Technologies fell 1.50 per cent to ₹1,420.40, Power Grid Corporation declined 1.24 per cent, and Bharti Airtel shed 1.21 per cent. Hindalco Industries and Nestle India also traded lower during the morning session.

The current market consolidation follows a robust week where the Nifty surged 8.5 per cent and the Bank Nifty climbed 7.5 per cent. Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Neo, noted that both indices have crossed critical swing levels, stating that periodic corrections towards major moving-average supports would be healthy and could provide fresh entry opportunities.

Foreign institutional investors have supported the recent market momentum, with FIIs pumping ₹13,749.82 crore into Indian equities on November 6. Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, pointed to fair valuations, declining crude prices, improving corporate earnings, and shifts in global fund flows as key drivers for sustained buying.

The Bank Nifty traded at 58,850.65, breaking above its previous major high of 58,706 set in June 2026. Sachin Gupta, VP of Technical Research at Choice Equity Broking, indicated that sustained strength above the upper end is likely to support further upside within the immediate range of 58,500 to 59,500.

Global market cues remained mixed. US indices closed on a varied note on Friday, while Asian markets showed a split trend with Japan's Nikkei 225 up over 1 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI lower by more than 0.50 per cent. Domestically, analysts continue to monitor upcoming economic indicators, including inflation data, for further directional cues.

"Market corrections following a strong multi-day rally are a standard part of market cycles and provide healthy consolidation. While profit-booking has brought the Nifty below the 25,000 mark, the resilience shown by key banking and pharmaceutical stocks indicates underlying market depth. Investors should maintain a balanced perspective, focusing on fundamental corporate earnings and macroeconomic indicators rather than short-term volatility." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes