Mumbai: Indian benchmark equity indices ended higher on Wednesday after a volatile trading session, supported by gains in banking and financial stocks. The BSE Sensex rose 130.49 points, or 0.17 percent, to close at 77,185.43, while the NSE Nifty gained 26.45 points, or 0.11 percent, to settle at 24,074.85.
Despite weakness in metals, IT and realty stocks, buying in financial counters helped the benchmarks recover from intra-day lows.
24,000 Remains Key
Market experts said the Nifty once again found strong support around the 24,000 mark, highlighting the level as a crucial technical base for the market.
According to analysts, holding above this psychological level could revive bullish momentum and open the door for further gains. A sustained move below 24,000, however, may weaken the ongoing recovery.
Broader Markets Outperform
The broader market continued to outperform the frontline indices. The Nifty Midcap 150 advanced nearly 0.5 percent, while the Nifty Smallcap 250 gained around 0.75 percent, reflecting continued investor interest in mid- and small-cap stocks.
Sectoral Performance
Public sector banks emerged as the strongest performers of the day, with the Nifty PSU Bank index climbing nearly 1 percent on renewed buying interest.
On the other hand, the Nifty Metal index fell more than 1 percent, making it the day's worst-performing sector. IT, realty and FMCG stocks also ended lower, extending their recent weakness.
Pharmaceutical stocks posted gains for a second straight session, while the oil and gas index rebounded after declining in the previous two trading sessions.
What Investors Are Watching?
Analysts said investors remained selective, favouring financial stocks while staying cautious on export-driven and commodity-linked sectors.
Market participants will continue to monitor global cues, corporate earnings, foreign institutional investor (FII) flows, crude oil prices and geopolitical developments for direction.
Meanwhile, the rupee traded largely flat near 96.25 against the US dollar. A softer US inflation reading pushed the Dollar Index below 101, providing support to emerging market currencies. Technically, analysts expect the rupee to trade in the 95.75–96.45 range in the near term.
