Indian equities staged a powerful comeback on Wednesday, with benchmark indices snapping a three-day losing streak and delivering one of their strongest sessions in recent weeks.
Robust global cues, expectations of imminent rate cuts, and broad-based buying across sectors fuelled a sharp rally, lifting overall investor wealth by an estimated ₹6 lakh crore in a single day. The upturn was driven not only by heavyweights but also by renewed strength in mid-cap and small-cap counters, signalling improving risk appetite across the board.
The Sensex closed 1,023 points, or 1.21 percent, higher at 85,609.51, while the Nifty 50 jumped 321 points, or 1.24 percent, to settle at 26,205.30. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices advanced 1.32 percent and 1.23 percent respectively. The total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies rose to nearly ₹475 lakh crore, compared with ₹469 lakh crore on Tuesday.
According to analysts, the Nifty’s move beyond 26,000 reflects broad participation rather than a narrow rally. “The sentiment remains constructive so long as the index stays above the 25,800–26,000 zone,” said Ravi Singh of Master Capital Services, while cautioning that intermittent profit-taking may occur at higher levels.
1. What triggered today’s rally?
Short covering after the recent dip, coupled with optimism over possible US Federal Reserve rate cuts in December, strengthened sentiment. Expectations of a 25-basis-point RBI repo rate cut early next month and easing crude oil prices — amid hopes of progress toward peace between Russia and Ukraine — further supported the upswing, noted Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking.
2. Top gainers on Nifty 50
Forty-four of the Nifty 50 stocks ended higher. JSW Steel (up 3.69 percent), HDFC Life (up 2.80 percent) and Bajaj Finserv (up 2.55 percent) were the top performers.
3. Top losers on Nifty 50
Bharti Airtel (down 1.60 percent), Adani Enterprises (down 0.81 percent), and Eicher Motors (down 0.53 percent) were the main laggards.
4. Sectoral performance
All major sectoral indices closed with gains. Nifty Metal, Consumer Durables, and Oil & Gas rose up to 2 percent. Nifty Bank climbed 1.20 percent to 59,528 after touching an all-time high of 59,554.95.
5. Most actively traded stocks
Vodafone Idea (39.22 crore shares), Magellanic Cloud (15.80 crore shares), and Reliance Power (8.7 crore shares) topped the volume charts on the NSE.
6. Those surged more than 15%
Avro India, Best Agrolife, Indo Us Bio-Tech, SVP Global Textiles and Bigbloc Construction were among those soaring more than 15 percent.
7. Market breadth
Of the 4,325 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,800 advanced and 1,371 declined, while 154 remained unchanged — indicating strong market breadth.
8. More than 100 stocks hit 52-week highs
A total of 111 stocks, including Reliance Industries, SBI, Larsen & Toubro and Axis Bank, touched their 52-week highs.
9. 170 stocks hit 52-week lows
Despite the upbeat mood, 170 stocks, including Deepak Nitrite, Stanley Lifestyles and Shoppers Stop, slipped to their 52-week lows, reflecting divergent trends in pockets of the market.
10. Technical outlook for Nifty
Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities said 26,270–26,300 is a crucial resistance band. A sustained move above this could take the index toward 26,500 and then 26,700. Support has now shifted to the 26,050–26,000 zone.
Mishra added that the rebound from the 20-DEMA confirms the prevailing uptrend, and the ‘buy-on-dips’ strategy remains intact unless the index closes below 25,800.
(By arrangement with livemint.com)