Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended Wednesday's trading session in the green, recovering from intraday volatility, though gains were capped by a sell-off in IT stocks mirroring a slump in US technology shares overnight.
Market Performance
The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 123.45 points or 0.21% to settle at 58,234.56, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 38.70 points or 0.22% to close at 17,356.45. During the day, both indices swung between gains and losses as investors weighed global cues.
IT Stocks Drag
IT majors were the top losers on the Sensex, with Infosys falling 1.8%, TCS declining 1.5%, and HCL Technologies slipping 1.2%. The sell-off was triggered by a sharp drop in US technology shares, as the Nasdaq Composite fell over 2% in the previous session amid rising bond yields and concerns over valuation.
Other Sectoral Moves
Banking and financial stocks provided support, with HDFC Bank gaining 0.9%, ICICI Bank rising 0.7%, and State Bank of India advancing 0.5%. Auto stocks also traded higher, with Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra gaining around 0.6% each.
Broader Market
The broader market outperformed benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap index rising 0.4% and the BSE Smallcap index adding 0.3%. Market breadth remained positive, with 1,876 stocks advancing against 1,421 declining on the BSE.
Global Cues
Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 0.8% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.2%. European indices traded lower in early deals as investors remained cautious ahead of key US inflation data later this week.
Outlook
Analysts expect the market to remain volatile in the near term, with focus on global interest rate decisions and domestic corporate earnings. The Indian rupee weakened marginally against the US dollar, closing at 82.45 per dollar.
