The Indian benchmark indices rose on Wednesday as the Sensex inched up over 53 points to settle trade at 82,279.32 and the Nifty ended more than 50 points higher closing at 25,475.20.
In the 30-share BSE Sensex, among the top gainers were stocks such as HCLTech, Tata Steel, TCS, IndiGo and Sun Pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, the laggards included Asian Paint, Bajaj Finserv, Trent, Bajaj Finance and HDFC Bank.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Smallcap 50 gained 1 per cent as volatility remained high. Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index jumped 2.70 per cent and the Nifty PSU Bank fell 0.39 per cent.
Previously, during the early morning session, the BSE benchmark started the session near 82,700, climbing 473 points and the Nifty50 surpassed 25,550, nearly 150 points, around 9:15 AM.
Global Cues Support Domestic Equities
Firm trends across international markets offered support to Indian equities. Key Asian benchmarks, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, China’s Shanghai SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, were trading sharply higher.
Wall Street had also closed Tuesday’s session in the green, lifting overall risk appetite.
Institutional Activity And Crude Movement
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 102.53 crore on Tuesday, as per exchange data. In contrast, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) remained net buyers, picking up shares worth Rs 3,161.22 crore and providing some cushion to the market.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.76 per cent to $71.31 per barrel, keeping energy prices in focus.
Sensex, Nifty Slide Over 1% On February 24
On Tuesday, the BSE Sensex plunged more than 1,000 points to close at 82,225.92, ending a two-day rally. During the session, it had slumped 1,359.93 points, or 1.63 per cent, to touch an intra-day low of 81,934.73.
The Nifty fell 288.35 points, or 1.12 per cent, to settle at 25,424.65. Intra-day, it had dropped 385.40 points, or 1.49 per cent, to 25,327.60.
Market breadth remained negative on the BSE, with 2,802 stocks declining, 1,422 advancing and 143 unchanged. Among Nifty constituents, 32 stocks ended lower while 18 closed in the green.
IT Stocks Weigh On Market
Technology shares bore the brunt of the selling pressure, amid concerns that rapid developments in artificial intelligence could disrupt conventional outsourcing models and squeeze margins for large IT services companies.
“A nosedive correction in the IT index triggered by mounting concerns over AI-led disruptions, along with low expectations of a US Fed rate cut due to strong US job data and unemployment rates, dampened investor sentiment,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited.
