Sensex, Nifty Rise on Bank Rally; Geopolitics Caps Gains

Indian equities clawed back part of Tuesday's steep losses on Wednesday, led by a rally in bank stocks. The BSE Sensex added 130.49 points, or 0.17%, to close at 77,185.43. The NSE Nifty rose 26.45 points, or 0.11%, to 24,078.50.

The recovery was driven by lenders. State Bank of India, Bajaj Finance, and UltraTech Cement were among the top gainers on the Sensex. Eternal, InterGlobe Aviation, and Asian Paints also moved higher.

Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, and Infosys (INFY) ended lower. Infosys carries an Alpha Score of 57 out of 100, rated Moderate by AlphaScala.

The session started strong. The Sensex jumped as much as 591 points in early trade after U.S. inflation data came in softer than expected, reinforcing bets that the Federal Reserve could slow its pace of rate increases. The rally lost steam in the afternoon as escalating hostilities between the U.S. and Iran triggered profit-taking, traders said.

Foreign institutional investors sold ₹739.69 crore worth of equities on Tuesday, exchange data showed. Brent crude rose 0.9% to $85.50 a barrel.

In Asia, South Korea's Kospi surged 6.24%. Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng also closed higher, while Shanghai's SSE Composite fell. European markets traded lower.

The pullback from intraday highs reflected caution over the geopolitical situation, traders said.