Benchmark equity indices ended higher on Wednesday, with the Sensex gaining nearly 444 points and the Nifty reclaiming the 24,000 mark, as buying in financial, auto and consumer stocks outweighed losses in information technology shares.
Falling prices, easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and optimism around an India-US trade agreement supported investor sentiment, although concerns over a weak continued to limit gains.
The BSE rose 443.97 points, or 0.58%, to close at 76,922.64. The NSE Nifty50 gained 140.10 points, or 0.59%, to settle at 24,005.85.
Financials, auto and consumer goods stocks led the advance, while IT stocks remained under pressure. Lower crude oil prices also improved the outlook for inflation and India’s current account, lending support to domestic equities.
The broader market also ended in positive territory. Nifty 100 gained 0.60%, Nifty 200 rose 0.55%, Nifty 500 advanced 0.50%, Nifty Midcap 50 climbed 0.69%, Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.34% and Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 0.36%. India VIX, the market’s fear gauge, fell 2.62%.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Realty emerged as the top performer, gaining 3.58%, followed by Nifty FMCG, which rose 2.08%, and Nifty Media, up 2.07%. Nifty Mid Small Financial Services gained 1.47%, Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank advanced 1.36%, Nifty Auto rose 1.15%, Nifty Pharma gained 0.99%, Nifty PSU Bank advanced 0.99%, Nifty Consumer Durables edged up 0.01%, Nifty Oil & Gas gained 0.49%, Nifty Private Bank rose 0.89%, Nifty Financial Services advanced 0.75% and Nifty Healthcare Index gained 0.21%.
On the losing side, Nifty IT dropped 2.01%, Nifty Mid Small IT & Telecom fell 1.64%, Nifty Metal declined 0.99%, Nifty Pharma slipped 0.57%, Nifty Mid Small Healthcare fell 0.64%, Nifty Chemicals lost 0.54% and Nifty500 Healthcare declined 0.39%.
Among Sensex stocks, Eternal surged 5.71%, followed by Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, Adani Ports, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, ITC, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, BEL, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv.
On the other hand, HCL Technologies fell 3.46%, Tech Mahindra declined 3.06%, Tata Consultancy Services dropped 2.55%, Infosys lost 1.51%, Larsen & Toubro fell 1.24%, Tata Steel slipped 1.59% and HDFC Bank edged lower by 0.28%.
Despite the positive close, investors remained cautious over the weak progress of the southwest monsoon. Market participants fear that a prolonged rainfall deficit could hurt agricultural output, rural demand and corporate earnings in the coming quarters.
The Indian rupee also weakened 0.6% against the US dollar to 95.2475, tracking losses in Asian currencies ahead of remarks from the US Federal Reserve Chair and amid uncertainty over US-Iran negotiations.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said that te domestic markets entered H2CY26 on an optimistic footing as multiple headwinds began to abate, with the anticipated US-India trade agreement, easing Middle East tensions, and benign oil prices emerging as the key drivers of positive sentiment.
‘The recovery was broad-based with an outperformance of large caps due to a favourable valuation and an expectation of a partial reversal of FPI sentiment after the last two years of outflows. While near-term sentiment remains constructive, markets are likely to stay data-dependent, with investors balancing improving domestic fundamentals against evolving global macroeconomic and geopolitical developments,” he added.
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