NEW DELHI: Indian equities extended their winning streak for the seventh consecutive session on Wednesday, with the benchmark BSE Sensex surging past the crucial 80000-mark for the first time in calendar year 2025. The NSE Nifty also climbed to a four-month high, buoyed by strong IT earnings and optimistic global cues.
The Sensex rose 521 points, or 0.65%, to close at 80,116, while the Nifty gained 162 points, or 0.67%, settling at 24,329 — reclaiming the psychologically significant 24,300 level. Broader markets remained resilient, with the Nifty Midcap 100 jumping over 1% and the Smallcap 100 adding 0.4%.
"The positive undertone was largely inspired by a strong rally on Wall Street, where US indices surged after President Donald Trump delivered comforting remarks about Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the ongoing trade negotiations with China. Trump expressed confidence that a tariff deal could materialise "fairly soon" and hinted at a substantial reduction in the current 145% tariff on Chinese imports, though without specifying the extent," said Sundar Kewat, Technical and Derivatives Analyst at Ashika Institutional Equity.
The IT sector emerged as the star performer, with the Nifty IT index surging 4% — its sharpest single-day gain in nine months — following upbeat quarterly results from HCL Technologies. HCL's shares jumped nearly 8% to close at ₹1,594.40, while Infosys, Wipro, TCS, and Tech Mahindra gained between 3% and 6%. Auto, pharma, and realty indices also posted gains of around 1-2%. However, banking stocks lagged, with the Nifty Bank and PSU Bank indices slipping 0.6% each.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, noted that easing US-China trade tensions and a rally in US tech stocks had bolstered global market sentiment. However, he cautioned that mixed domestic earnings, rising crude oil prices, and the recent market rally could lead to some consolidation in the near term.
The return of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) has also increased confidence among market participants. On Wednesday, they bought shares worth Rs 3,333 crore (net purchase).
Despite the seven-day rally, the Sensex and Nifty remain about 7% below their all-time highs from late September 2024. Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking, maintained a bullish stance on the Nifty, recommending a "buy on dips" strategy with strong support expected around the 23,700–23,800 zone.