Mumbai– Indian equity markets extended their winning streak for a third consecutive session on Wednesday, led by strong buying in financial stocks—particularly private banks—as well as select oil and gas shares.
The Sensex opened 262 points higher at 76,996 but briefly turned negative, hitting an intraday low of 76,544 amid weak global cues and escalating U.S.-China trade tensions. However, the benchmark rebounded strongly, surging 556 points from the day’s low to touch a high of 77,110 before closing at 77,044—up 309 points, or 0.4%.
With Wednesday’s gains, the Sensex has now climbed 3,197 points over the past three trading sessions.
The Nifty followed a similar trajectory, dropping to a low of 23,273 before rallying to an intraday high of 23,452. The index ended just shy of that peak, closing at 23,433—up 104.60 points, or 0.45%. Over the last three sessions, the Nifty has gained a total of 1,038 points.
Top performers on the Nifty included IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Trent, ONGC, and Asian Paints, while Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finance, and Tata Motors were among the leading laggards.
All sectoral indices ended in the green, except for the auto sector. Media, PSU banks, and oil & gas stocks were the top performers, each gaining between 1% and 2%. The broader market also showed strength, with both the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising by 0.5%.
Meanwhile, Asian markets remained under pressure after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs of up to 245% on Chinese imports, sparking investor concerns globally. The Hang Seng and Taiwan indices each fell by nearly 2%, while Kospi and Nikkei declined by more than 1%.
“On the daily chart, the Nifty has closed above its 100-day exponential moving average (EMA) for the second straight session. Support is now seen at 23,300, and the overall sentiment is likely to remain positive as long as the index stays above this level,” said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee appreciated for a third consecutive day, buoyed by foreign capital inflows, a weaker U.S. dollar, and favorable economic data.
“The near-term outlook for the USD-INR pair is bearish, with support around 85.40 and resistance near 86.05,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities. (Source: IANS)
