Benchmark indices staged a smart rebound on Wednesday to snap a three-day losing streak. Auto, IT, and pharma stocks led the recovery, and the broader markets also ended higher.
At close, Sensex was up 410.19 points, or 0.51%, at 81,596.63, and the Nifty was up 129.55 points, or 0.52%, at 24,813.45.
BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose by 0.90% and 0.51%, respectively. The cumulative market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 441 lakh crore from Rs 438 lakh crore in the previous session.
On the Nifty50, nearly 37 stocks ended higher, with BEL up 5.26%, Tata Steel 1.93%, and Cipla 1.83%, emerging as the top gainers.
While IndusInd Bank was down 1.98%, JSW Steel fell by 1.07%, and Kotak Mahindra Bank declined 0.84%, closing as the top losers.
Among the sectors, barring Nifty Consumer Durables, which was down 0.49%, all sectoral indices ended higher. Realty was up 1.72% and Pharma with 1.25% spike registered significant gains.
Further, Nifty Bank rose 0.36%, while the PSU Bank and Private Bank indices climbed 0.67% and 0.11%, respectively, and the Nifty Financial Services index rose 0.56%.
Bajaj Finserv rose 2% after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the acquisition of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, and Bajaj Allianz Financial Distributors.
On the BSE, around 76 stocks hit their 52-week highs in intraday trade. These included Bharat Electronics (BEL), HDFC Life Insurance Company, Max Financial Services, and APL Apollo Tubes.
Contrary to this, Aether Industries and Lasa Supergenerics were among the 25 stocks that hit their 52-week lows during the session on the BSE.
It is to be highlighted that the global brokerage firm Morgan Stanley has forecasted that India’s benchmark Sensex could touch the 89,000 mark by June 2026, implying an 8% upside from current levels.