Mumbai– Defying broader concerns following the Pahalgam terror attack, Indian stock markets continued their bullish momentum for a seventh consecutive trading session on Wednesday, buoyed by strong gains in IT stocks.
The Sensex opened on a robust note, surging 548 points to 80,142 and briefly touching an intraday high of 80,255. However, selling pressure in banking stocks dragged the index into negative territory, dipping to a low of 79,507 before rebounding to close 521 points higher at 80,116.
With this, the Sensex marked a new calendar year high, advancing 8.5% or 6,269 points over the past seven sessions.
The Nifty followed a similar trajectory, opening strong at 24,359 before slipping to 24,120 during the day. The index recovered to end 162 points higher at 24,329, extending its seven-day rally to 8.6% or 1,930 points.
The sharp upswing in IT shares was the standout theme of the session. HCL Technologies soared nearly 8% after reporting an 8.1% increase in net profit and a 6.1% rise in revenue for the fourth quarter, marking its best single-day performance since September 2019. Other IT heavyweights also contributed to the rally, with Tech Mahindra and Infosys climbing 5% and 4% respectively, while TCS added 2.5%.
Beyond the IT sector, companies like Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Nestlé India, and Larsen & Toubro also posted solid gains.
However, banking stocks saw profit-taking, dragging down shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI, and Axis Bank by 1-2%.
In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index rose 1%, while the SmallCap index edged up 0.2%.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT was the top performer, advancing 4.3%. The Auto index gained 2.5%, while Pharma and Realty indices rose 1.4% each.
Market analysts attributed the sustained rally to positive global cues and strong corporate earnings.
“The upbeat sentiment was largely driven by robust corporate results and a rally on Wall Street, where U.S. indices surged after President Donald Trump offered reassuring comments about Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and ongoing trade talks with China,” said Sundar Kewat of Ashika Institutional Equity.
Investor confidence remains high as the markets continue to ride the wave of strong earnings and global optimism. (Source: IANS)
