Flat trading was seen in the domestic stock market on the first day of the year. On January 1, 2026, the BSE Sensex fell 32.00 points (0.04%) to close at 85,188.60. The NSE Nifty 50 index gained marginally, closing at 26,146.55, up 16.95 points (0.06%). Temporary excise duty on cigarettes and other tobacco products has been replaced with permanent duty, resulting in a massive fall of about 10% in shares of tobacco company ITC. This significant decline in the performance of ITC negatively impacted the performance of the Sensex, resulting in the Sensex closing in the red.
Tremendous rise in NTPC shares
On Thursday, the fourth day of the week, 22 out of 30 Sensex stocks closed with gains in the green, while the remaining 8 closed with losses in the red. Similarly, today, 38 out of 50 Nifty 50 stocks closed with gains in the green, while the remaining 12 closed with losses in the red. Among Sensex stocks, NTPC shares closed the most with 2.08 per cent gain, while ITC shares closed the most with 9.69 per cent fall.
Nifty 50 gainers: Buy select big stocks
Shriram Finance, Bajaj Auto, Eternal and NTPC were the top gainers in Nifty 50. All these shares registered a rise of more than 2 percent, which provided support to the index.
Nifty 50 losers: Most pressure on ITC
ITC was among the top Nifty 50 losers. The stock fell heavily by about 9.5% after the news of increase in excise duty. Bajaj Finance, Dr Reddy’s and ONGC also closed with weakness.
Auto gainers: Auto stocks rise
Today tremendous buying was seen in the auto sector. Atul Auto gained a huge 10.4%. Ola Electric, Ashok Leyland and Escorts Kubota also closed with gains.
SINS: Tremendous action in selected stocks
Vodafone Idea was the leader in the SINS category, rising 8.2%. Good buying was seen in Bluestar, as well as Blue Dart, Shakti Pumps and Karur Vysya Bank.
Top Gainers: Broader Market Rally
Antero Healthcare was the top gainer in the broader market, rising 10.2%. Transformers & Rectifiers, Mrs. Bectors Food and Adani Total Gas also recorded good growth.
Top Losers: Heavy selling in some stocks
On the other hand, Godfrey Phillips was the biggest seller, falling about 16.8%. ixigo, Westlife Foodworld and AstraZeneca also closed under pressure.
The stock market opened in the green today. In early trade, Sensex was trading with a gain of around 180 points, while Nifty was trading with a gain of around 50 points. However, there was slight weakness in FMCG and pharma stocks. Auto, media, metal and NBFC indices were trading with gains. On Nifty 50, Eternal, M&M, Reliance, Indigo, Wipro and Shriram Finance were the top gainers. Meanwhile, ITC, Dr Reddy’s, Cipla, BEL, Sun Pharma, Tata Consumer and Trent were the biggest losers. ITC fell by more than 4%.