The Indian equity benchmarks continued their strong performance with the SENSEX rising 791 points to settle at 78,991.22 and NIFTY50 closing at 24,022, gaining 198 points during Wednesday's trading session. According to Business Standard, the indices closed near the day's high, with both benchmarks gaining nearly 1%. The total market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms stood at ₹476 trillion, up ₹1.3 trillion from the previous session. The positive momentum was led by significant gains in banking stocks, with HDFC Bank rising 2.4% and ICICI Bank gaining 2.7%, while India VIX, which measures volatility in the market, dropped 4% to 13.39, indicating reduced investor anxiety. Market breadth was mixed with 2,168 stocks advancing and 2,101 declining, while Foreign Portfolio Investors were net sellers of ₹1,840 crore and Domestic Institutional Investors were net buyers of ₹3,637 crore.
The market rally was significantly boosted by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra's remarks that it was "premature" to discuss the policy outlook given ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, as reported by Business Standard. Malhotra further said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was keeping a close watch on both monsoon progress and crude oil prices. This development has provided much-needed relief to investors who had been concerned about potential monetary tightening. The FII selling appears to have tapered off, with Foreign Institutional Investors turning net buyers on Tuesday, purchasing equities worth ₹17.86 crore, according to exchange data. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, noted that "The crash in Brent crude to below USD 77 has removed the macro headwinds for India. Rupee has stabilised. FII selling appears to have tapered off. This is positive for the market."
The Nifty Bank index rose 1.7%, with HDFC Bank emerging as the top performer with a 2.4% gain, followed by ICICI Bank which gained 2.7%. According to Business Standard, Banking stocks contributed the most to index gains, with the sector benefiting from the central bank's clarification on Tuesday allowing banks to lend against foreign-currency deposits held by non-resident Indians. The strong performance in banking stocks was supported by easing concerns over disruptions to oil supplies after signs of de-escalation in the Middle East, which boosted investor sentiment across the market. From the Sensex basket, Bajaj Finance Ltd, Shriram Finance Ltd and Infosys Ltd were the major gainers, while Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd, NTPC Ltd, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd were the biggest laggards. The Reserve Bank of India injected ₹1,41,171 crore in transient liquidity into the banking system through a seven-day variable rate repo (VRR) auction on June 23, with the funds infused at a cut-off and weighted average rate of 5.26%.
The Nifty IT index strengthened after Axis Capital upgraded eight IT stocks, adding momentum to the broader market. According to ET Now, Oracle Financial Services Software surged 2.86%, Tech Mahindra gained 2.38%, Infosys rose 1.98%, Tata Consultancy Services advanced 1.63%, Persistent Systems climbed 1.23%, Coforge increased 0.83%, LTM rose 0.71%, Mphasis gained 0.53%, and HCL Technologies added 0.41%. The strong performance in IT stocks reflects renewed investor confidence in the technology sector, with the Nifty option chain for June 30, 2026 expiry showing maximum call OI of 143.2 lakh contracts at the 24,000 strike price and maximum put OI of 152.6 lakh contracts at the same strike price. Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, noted that "While the clarity on the FCNR(B) deposit swap scheme provided momentum to banking stocks, IT stocks gained on reinforcing commentary that Indian vendors remain indispensable implementation partners for enterprise-wide mid- and back-office AI adoption."
All NSE sectoral indices closed in positive territory, with the Nifty IT index rising 2.05% and the Nifty Realty index gaining 2.2%. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, Nifty Realty emerged as the top sectoral gainer, adding 2.2% to 823.35, with Brigade Enterprises (up 4.16%), Phoenix Mills (up 3.26%), Lodha Developers (up 3.07%), Oberoi Realty (up 2.27%), Sobha (up 1.99%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 1.84%), Godrej Properties (up 1.61%), Anant Raj (up 1.23%), DLF (up 0.95%) and Aditya Birla Real Estate (up 0.9%) being the top performers. Tanfac Industries jumped 3.04% after the company's board approved the launch of qualified institutional placement (QIP) for equity shares with a floor price of ₹2,090.43 per share. However, IRFC fell by over 5% after the government announced a 2% stake sale via OFS at ₹91 per share. Downstream oil companies surged while upstream oil companies declined as Brent crude slipped below $76 per barrel, with JSW Infra, M&M Financial Services, OFSS, Exide and HPCL being top midcap gainers. Nifty India Defence was the top losing sectoral index, with MTAR Tech falling over 4%, while Nifty Auto closed in red for the second consecutive session, declining 0.5% with Bajaj Auto and Tube Investments being the worst performers.
