Indian equities ended higher on June 2, snapping a four-session losing streak as investors returned to large-cap stocks after recent declines. Strong buying in information technology shares helped benchmark indices recover despite lingering concerns over geopolitical tensions in West Asia and continued foreign fund outflows.
The Sensex rose 383 points (0.52 percent) to close at 74,650, while the Nifty 50 gained 101 points (0.43 percent) to finish at 23,484.
Infosys, TCS, HDFC Bank and HCL Technologies were among the biggest contributors to the day's gains.
The Nifty IT index emerged as the best-performing sector, surging 4.3 percent and extending its two-day gain to nearly 7 percent.
Technology majors including TCS, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Wipro witnessed strong buying interest, helping the broader market recover from early losses.
Auto, FMCG and consumer durable stocks also ended in positive territory.
Pharmaceutical shares remained weak, with the Nifty Pharma index falling more than 0.8 percent. NTPC was among the biggest losers on the Nifty, declining about 3 percent.
Other notable laggards included Axis Bank, Power Grid, HDFC Life, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Bajaj Auto.
The broader market also ended higher but underperformed the frontline indices.
Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.19 percent
Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 0.40 percent
Vodafone Idea was the most actively traded stock by volume during the session, followed by:
JP Power
NHPC
YES Bank
IFCI
JP Power continued to attract investor attention following Adani Power's proposed stake acquisition in the company.
A total of 74 stocks on the NSE hit their 52-week highs. Prominent names included:
Apollo Micro Systems
HFCL
IFCI
Sky Gold
As many as 84 stocks touched fresh one-year lows, including:
Bajaj Electricals
EID Parry
Havells India
ITC
Swiggy
SBI Card
Tata Capital
Market breadth remained favourable.
Advancing stocks: 2,034
Declining stocks: 1,285
Unchanged stocks: 107
Around 124 stocks hit their upper price bands, while 125 stocks touched lower circuits.
Among the notable gainers hitting upper circuits were:
Newgen Software
HFCL
Coffee Day Enterprises
Subex
E2E Networks
India slipped to seventh place in global stock market capitalisation rankings after South Korea's equity market overtook it amid a strong rally driven by artificial intelligence-related stocks.
The market capitalisation of Indian listed companies stood at about $4.86 trillion, compared with around $5 trillion for South Korea.
Technically, Nifty recovered sharply after finding support near the 23,200 level.
Key levels to watch:
Immediate support: 23,420
Stronger support: 23,200
Immediate resistance: 23,600
A decisive move above 23,600 could improve near-term sentiment, while a break below 23,420 may invite renewed selling pressure.