In a significant milestone, Adani Power has overtaken IT giant Infosys in terms of market capitalisation, driven by a sharp rally of nearly 68% so far in 2026. Adani Power's market value now stands at approximately Rs 4.85 lakh crore, surpassing Infosys's market capitalisation of around Rs 4.72 lakh crore. Following this reshuffle, Adani Power has emerged as India's 11th most valuable listed company.
Stock Performance
The stock climbed nearly 3% on Wednesday, touching a fresh 52-week high of Rs 252 apiece on the NSE. Adani Power shares have risen over 13% in the last week and delivered returns of 126% over the past year. Over a longer timeframe, the stock has gained 384% in three years and an impressive 1,213% over five years.
Drivers of the Rally
The strong surge in Adani Power shares has largely been driven by expectations of higher electricity demand amid soaring temperatures and forecasts of an intense El Niño year, which is expected to push peak power consumption significantly higher. India is currently battling severe heatwave conditions during what is being described as an exceptionally strong El Niño year. The scale of the ongoing heatwave has also been reflected in global temperature data, which showed an overwhelming concentration of Indian cities among the hottest places in the world. As of May 22, live temperature rankings indicated that 97 out of the world's 100 hottest cities were located in India, while the remaining three were in Nepal. Against this backdrop, electricity demand has surged sharply, boosting sentiment across power-related stocks, including Adani Power, according to an ET report.
IT Sector Struggles
While the intense El Niño conditions and extreme heatwave boosted sentiment around power-related stocks in 2026, IT shares continued to struggle amid multiple challenges. The sharp weakness in technology stocks accelerated earlier this year after AI startup Anthropic introduced plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent capable of automating functions across legal services, sales, marketing, and data analysis. "We call it the 'SaaSpocalypse,' an apocalypse for software-as-a-service stocks," Bloomberg quoted Jeffrey Favuzza from the equity trading desk at Jefferies as saying. While concerns over the long-term future of IT companies amid rapid AI advancements continue to divide market experts, investors initially responded to lower valuations by selectively buying beaten-down technology stocks. However, fresh developments in artificial intelligence later weakened sentiment again.
Infosys Performance
Heavyweight Infosys has seen its shares decline nearly 29% so far in 2026 despite significant depreciation in the rupee, which typically benefits export-focused IT firms. The stock has slipped around 3% over the past week and is down nearly 26% over the last year. Over a longer horizon, Infosys shares have fallen about 12% in three years and 17% in five years.
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