The Indian benchmark indices witnessed significant gains on Wednesday as the Sensex closed trade at 83,688.29 rising over 237 points and the Nifty ended at 25,804.15 rising 78 points at 3:30 PM.
In the 30-share BSE Sensex, the top gainers included stocks like Kwality Walls, Tata Steel, ITC, Axis Bank and Mahindra and Mahindra. Meanwhile, the laggards included stocks such as ICICI Bank, Maruti, HDFC Bank, Asian Paint and IndiGo.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Smallcap 50 rose 0.60 per cent as volatility remained high. Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index gained 1.33 per cent and the Nifty IT index fell 1.21 per cent.
Previously, during the morning session, the BSE benchmark opened the session above 83,400, slipping almost 30 points, and the NSE Nifty50 started the day around 25,700, inching down 15 points, as of 9:15 AM.
IT And Services Stocks Weigh On Markets
Shares in the IT and services space exerted pressure on the broader market, with analysts cautioning that turbulence in the segment may persist.
“The volatility in IT stocks may continue, in response to incoming news relating to the sector. Overall, IT stocks may remain weak since uncertainty surrounding the sector is huge and large institutional investors are unlikely to invest big time in IT stocks, unless valuations become compelling,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
He added that portfolio reallocations could favour sectors offering stronger earnings clarity. “There can be churns away from IT towards other sectors like banking and financials, automobiles, telecom, pharmaceuticals etc where there is good earnings visibility,” he noted.
Global Cues And Institutional Flows
Asian equities delivered a mixed performance. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded more than 1 per cent higher, while exchanges in China, Hong Kong and South Korea remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
Overnight in the United States, markets finished in positive territory on Tuesday, lending some support to global risk sentiment.
On the domestic front, institutional participation stayed constructive in the previous session. Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 995.21 crore on Tuesday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also bought equities worth Rs 187.04 crore.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, inched up 0.22 per cent to $67.59 per barrel.
Benchmarks Post Second Consecutive Gain
On Tuesday, the Sensex climbed 173.81 points, or 0.21 per cent, to close at 83,450.96. During the session, it traded within a narrow band, touching an intraday high of 83,598 and a low of 82,987.43.
The Nifty added 42.65 points, or 0.17 per cent, to settle at 25,725.40, indicating a steady recovery despite mixed global signals.
