Mumbai, Feb 18 The Indian equity benchmarks made considerable gains on Wednesday, even as selling of information technology stocks continued weighing on investor sentiments.
The strength in banking, metal, and FMCG stocks helped counterbalance sharp selling in the IT sector.
At the closing bell, Sensex gained 283 points, or 0.34 per cent to settle at 83,734. Nifty added 93 points, or 0.37 per cent, to close at 25,819.
The broader markets performed in line with benchmark indices, as Nifty Midcap 100 index added 0.50 per cent, while the NSE Smallcap 100 advanced 0.54 per cent. Nifty Next50 surged 0.67 per cent.
All sectoral indices traded in the green except Nifty IT down 1.23 per cent. Nifty FMCG, metal and PSU bank were the top gainers up 1.21 per cent, 1.33 per cent and 1.31 per cent.
Market breadth on the BSE was in the green, with 2,110 stocks advancing against 1,916 declining, while 166 remained unchanged. As many as 94 stocks hit fresh 52-week highs while 82 touched 52-week lows.
Analysts said that persistent DII inflows continued to offer strong structural support, cushioning volatility amid mixed global cues. Overall sentiment remained cautiously constructive, backed by optimism around domestic growth prospects and improving earnings visibility, they added.
Rupee traded slightly weak by Rs 0.02 at 90.66 against the dollar.
Sensex touched the day's low at 83,206 at around 10.40 am and recovered over 585 points to 83,749. The Nifty 50 had regained 183 points to 25,828 in the afternoon session, recovering all morning losses and extending gains for the third consecutive session.
Analysts said that the trend of broader indices indicated rotation rather than broad-based risk appetite, with investors favouring defensives and value pockets over growth-oriented sectors.
Bank Nifty delivered a structurally strong bullish session, opening with a positive bias and maintaining a consistent pattern of higher highs and higher lows. The 61,400 zone acts as a critical support level for potential continuation in the near term, market participants said.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor