Equity benchmarks rallied on Wednesday as positive global cues, strong buying in banking and oil stocks, and easing concerns over global trade lifted investor sentiment. The BSE Sensex climbed 539.83 points, or 0.66%, to settle at 82,726.64, while the NSE Nifty surged 159 points, or 0.63%, to close at 25,219.90.
The session saw broad-based buying across heavyweight sectors, led by financials and energy. During the day, the Sensex had touched an intraday high of 82,786.43, up nearly 600 points.
Banking and Oil Stocks Shine
Tata Motors led the Sensex gainers with a 2.51% jump. Other major gainers included Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Reliance Industries.
HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank both hit 52-week highs during the session, ending the day up by nearly 1% each. Reliance Industries recovered from a five-day losing streak and closed 0.83% higher, supported by value buying.
On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, Bharat Electronics, and ITC dragged the index with modest losses.
Sectoral Trends
Among the BSE sectoral indices, telecom rose the most by 1.14%, followed by auto (0.86%), bankex (0.75%), tech (0.74%), financial services (0.70%), healthcare (0.70%), and energy (0.65%).
Realty was the worst performer, falling 2.60%, while FMCG, capital goods, and services also ended in the red.
The BSE midcap index edged up 0.24%, while the smallcap index posted marginal gains of 0.05%.
Global Cues Lift Sentiment
Investor sentiment was buoyed by a positive trend in Asian markets, especially after the U.S. and Japan announced a new trade deal. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 3.51% following the development. Other major Asian indices, including South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai’s SSE Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, also closed in the green.
“Positive global cues, underpinned by optimism surrounding the U.S.-Japan trade agreement, have supported sentiment,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. He also pointed to progress in the India-U.K. free trade agreement talks as a factor driving domestic optimism.
Nair added, “While elevated valuations remain a concern, the prevailing market strength indicates potential for near-term earnings recovery. The pace and sustainability of this recovery will be critical in shaping the market’s forward trajectory.”
Ashika Institutional Equities echoed similar views, noting that the U.S.-Japan trade pact had “ignited expectations for further international agreements in the near future.”
Institutional Activity and Currency
Despite the upbeat market mood, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers, pulling out ₹3,548.92 crore on Tuesday. In contrast, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) continued to support the market, purchasing equities worth ₹5,239.77 crore.
Meanwhile, the rupee extended its losing streak to a sixth straight session, slipping by 3 paise to close at 86.41 against the U.S. dollar. The decline was attributed to a strong greenback and continued foreign fund outflows.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.45% to $68.29 per barrel.
Outlook
Market participants remain cautiously optimistic, with global trade developments and upcoming corporate earnings seen as key triggers. However, elevated valuations and persistent FII outflows could weigh on near-term momentum.
