Top gainers, losers on Indian stock market today 22nd Dec: Sensex jumps 638 points, Nifty above 26,100, defence and IT stocks outperform, Trent, Shriram Finance, Wipro, Infosys lead gainers of Nifty 5

Market Overview - The domestic market closed higher, continuing the year-end rally for the second consecutive session, supported by strong liquidity and positive global cues, with expectations of further US Fed easing in 2026 enhancing risk sentiment [1][2] - The BSE Sensex rose by 638.12 points or 0.75% to close at 85,567.48, while Nifty 50 increased by 206 points or 0.79% to 26,172.40 [3] Sector Performance - All sectoral indices ended positively, except for consumer durables, with the defence index outperforming by rallying over 3% and the IT index gaining over 2% for the fourth consecutive session [6] - The Nifty midcap 100 advanced by 0.84% and the Nifty smallcap index rose by 1.17%, indicating broader market strength [5] Investor Activity - Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net buyers, reinforcing positive market momentum, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also showed significant buying activity [2][16] - The NSE cash market turnover increased by 5% compared to the 10-day average, reflecting heightened participation [4] Stock Highlights - Top gainers in the Nifty 50 included Trent, Shriram Finance, Wipro, Infosys, and Bharti Airtel, while Tata Consumer Products, State Bank of India, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the biggest losers [9] - Defence stocks such as Cochin Shipyard and Solar Industries saw significant gains, with increases ranging from 5% to 8% [9] Technical Indicators - Volatility increased, with the India VIX rising by 9.6%, indicating a cautious market sentiment despite the overall market advance [4] - Market breadth remained positive, with 2,794 stocks advancing against 1,515 declining, and 192 stocks unchanged out of 4,501 traded on the BSE [10]