Mumbai: The benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty made a strong recovery on Wednesday, propelled by a surge in IT and financial stocks, coupled with ongoing purchases by domestic institutional investors amid rising optimism for an India-US trade agreement. The 30-share BSE Sensex increased by 513.45 points, or 0.61 percent, closing at 85,186.47. Throughout the day, the index peaked at 85,236.77, reflecting a rise of 563.75 points or 0.66 percent. The 50-share NSE Nifty rose by 142.60 points, or 0.55 percent, finishing close to the day’s maximum at 26,052.65, having reached a high of 26,074.65 during trading. Among the leading gainers in the Sensex group were HCL Tech, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma, and Titan.
Conversely, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Maruti, Adani Ports, and Bajaj Finance were among those that lagged. Additionally, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal indicated on Tuesday that positive news regarding the proposed trade agreement between India and the US would emerge once the deal is fair and balanced. Following a brief pause on Tuesday, equity benchmarks recovered on Wednesday, largely due to robust buying in IT stocks, according to Gaurav Garg, Research Analyst at Lemonn Markets Desk. He noted that the rally was primarily driven by IT companies like Infosys and HCL Technologies, with sentiment boosted after Infosys announced its Rs18,000-crore share buyback set to begin on November 20.
Anticipations surrounding a potential India-US trade deal also contributed to improved sentiment, while a global shift away from AI-centric investments redirected more capital toward emerging markets like India. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Ltd, remarked that the IT sector’s rise was fueled by renewed hopes for a Federal Reserve rate cut, bolstered by weak U.S. labor data and favorable currency conditions, while PSU banks benefited from merger-related news and strengthening fundamentals. Market focus is now shifting to the upcoming FOMC minutes for additional policy insights. On Tuesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 728.82 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased stocks totaling Rs 6,156.83 crore, according to exchange data.