Indian stock markets showed mixed performance on Thursday morning, with BSE Sensex falling 118.84 points or 0.15% to 77,535.76 at 10:30 IST, while Nifty50 lost 19.75 points or 0.09% to 24,230.45. According to Business Standard, the broader market indices also declined with BSE 150 MidCap Index falling 0.37% and BSE 250 SmallCap Index dropping 0.66%. Despite the morning weakness, market breadth remained strong with 1,525 shares rising and 2,059 shares falling on the BSE, while 218 shares remained unchanged. The previous session had seen strong gains with Sensex ending at 77,655, up 889 points or 1.16% and Nifty50 closing at 24,250, gaining 265 points or 1.10%.
The Nifty IT index continued its impressive rally, climbing 2.01% to 31,747.95 and soaring 11.26% over the five consecutive trading sessions. As reported by Business Standard, Persistent Systems led gains with a 3.55% jump, followed by Coforge at 2.68%, Wipro at 2.65%, Infosys at 2.54%, Tech Mahindra at 2.2%, Mphasis at 2.14%, LTM at 1.90%, Tata Consultancy Services at 1.84%, and HCL Technologies at 1.76%. The sustained momentum in IT stocks has provided significant support to the overall market rally, with heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, L&T, HUL and ICICI Bank leading the gains. Nineteen of the 25 sectoral indices ended in positive territory in the previous session, led by IT and metal stocks, along with telecom and FMCG shares.
Hindustan Unilever emerged as the top performer, recovering most of Tuesday's losses and ending 5% higher. According to CNBC TV18, L&T gained over 2% after maintaining its FY27 guidance. However, Adani Ports, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Bharat Electronics and NTPC ended in negative territory. The strong performance across IT and metal sectors provided significant support to the overall market rally, with heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, L&T, HUL and ICICI Bank leading the gains. HDFC Bank staged a comeback after two days of decline, while Adani Ports closed 3% lower to lead losses on the benchmark index after its Q1 earnings. SML Mahindra surged 20% after the acquisition of Mahindra & Mahindra's truck and bus portfolio, while CarTrade closed 5% lower amid profit booking after its results. Trent, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Steel were among the other top gainers.
IT stocks, including Infosys and HCL Technologies, were among the strongest performers on Dalal Street, supported by India's relative resilience amid the ongoing global selloff in AI-linked stocks. According to The Times of India, South Korea's KOSPI slumped 5.98%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 also closed lower. China's Shanghai SSE Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended the session with gains. India has comparatively fewer large listed companies directly exposed to the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom, providing some insulation as investors increasingly question whether massive spending by hyperscale technology companies on AI will generate adequate returns. The IT index has now gained 8.5% over the last three sessions, extending its strong July rally, with market participants believing investors are rotating into India's software companies as enthusiasm for global AI-linked semiconductor stocks cools.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net buyers after four consecutive sessions of selling, purchasing equities worth ₹2,982 crore, while domestic institutional investors remained net buyers for the fifth consecutive session, investing ₹998 crore, according to BSE provisional data. As reported by CNBC TV18, FIIs bought equities worth ₹17,358.31 crore and sold shares worth ₹14,376.44 crore, resulting in a net inflow of ₹2,981.87 crore. DIIs purchased equities worth ₹18,176.22 crore and sold shares worth ₹17,178.20 crore, translating into net buying of ₹998.02 crore. The rupee appreciated by 0.11% to around 95.62 against the US dollar during the session, as reported by LKP Securities. Jateen Trivedi, Vice President – Research Analyst at LKP Securities, noted that the rupee's strength was supported by sustained buying in domestic equities and improving foreign investor sentiment. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited noted that "Given India's diversified market structure, the case for FII inflows is strengthening with the unwinding of crowded AI trades."
