CHENNAI: Indian equity markets delivered a turbulent yet ultimately constructive performance during the trading week of 24 to 28 November 2025, marked by a sharp pullback at the start, a powerful recovery in the middle and a muted close as investors paused after record-setting moves. The week began under pressure, with global risk sentiment turning cautious and cyclical sectors facing broad selling.
The BSE Sensex declined by more than 300 points on Monday, while the Nifty 50 breached the 26,000 level on the downside to close just below 25,960, signalling the fragility that had built up after weeks of uneven momentum. Market internals showed clear stress in commodity-linked segments, with metals, real estate, chemicals and other economically sensitive pockets seeing the steepest declines, underscoring the pullback’s cyclical character. In contrast, the IT sector provided a pocket of resilience even on the weakest day, supported by elevated expectations for a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut, a theme that would quickly rise to dominate the week.
At the start of the week, Motilal Oswal Financial Services projected that Indian equities would remain stable, anchored by healthy third-quarter demand growth, a strengthening consumption outlook for the December quarter, steady capital inflows and investors’ preference for building positions during market dips. A senior analyst from the brokerage noted that sentiment was expected to stay resilient. “Any meaningful progress in India–U.S. trade negotiations could act as a pivotal near-term catalyst and provide an additional lift to market confidence,” the analyst said.
From Tuesday through Thursday, sentiment underwent a dramatic recalibration as global cues improved and domestic participants turned aggressive buyers at lower levels. The shift in tone was underpinned by rising conviction that US interest rates were near a peak, which not only stabilised currencies across Asia but also revived demand for Indian equities that had underperformed relative to peers in the preceding fortnight.
This change brought a pronounced relief rally, during which both the Sensex and the Nifty 50 surged to fresh lifetime highs in intraday trade on Thursday. The Sensex climbed beyond 86,000 at its peak, while the Nifty 50 moved sharply above 26,200, reflecting a broad-based advance propelled by financials, diversified large caps and consumer-facing names. The recovery was notable for its improving breadth; a far wider set of stocks participated in the rebound compared to the narrow leadership seen in prior weeks, alleviating concerns that the rally was purely index-driven. Banking and non-bank financial companies benefited from renewed expectations that easing global liquidity could eventually open a window for the Reserve Bank of India to consider its own rate trajectory, even though near-term domestic macro data remained the immediate focus.
By Friday, the emotional arc of the market moderated. After scaling record highs, the indices delivered essentially flat closing prints, with the Sensex and Nifty 50 finishing lower by a few basis points compared to Thursday’s settlement. The negligible movement was not for lack of activity but rather a reflection of calibrated profit-taking, particularly among index heavyweights that had rallied swiftly after Monday’s slump.
The pause was consistent with late-week risk management as traders braced for India’s GDP release and accompanying macro commentary, while keeping an eye on dollar-rupee dynamics and foreign portfolio flows that had only just returned to net buying mid-week. Sector rotation remained visible through the week’s close: defensives such as IT held firm, while participation from the most economically sensitive segments eased as gains were trimmed. The derivative and cash market patterns suggested an investor preference for buying on declines rather than chasing breakouts, a behaviour reinforced by the speed of the mid-week upswing.
The technical configuration emerging from the week placed Nifty 50 support near the 26,050 to 26,100 zone and resistance around 26,300 to 26,330, levels that would hold significance for short-term directional conviction. The overall tone heading out of the week remained cautiously optimistic but anchored in selectivity. Elevated valuations in several large caps, the market’s hypersensitivity to macro triggers and the pronounced whipsaw from Monday’s low to Thursday’s peak all indicated that volatility was likely to persist.
Still, the nature of the recovery — global liquidity expectations, improving participation and clear demand at lower levels — suggested that the week’s weakness had served as a reset rather than the start of a structural downturn. Investors closed the week positioned for event risk, waiting for macro signals to determine whether the consolidation would evolve into a renewed breakout or a more meaningful pullback that could offer better entry points. The decisive market narrative for the week was anchored in global rate expectations and domestic macro vigilance, resulting in a trend that was shaky, surging and then steadying as the week drew to a close.