The Sensex rose 539 points to 76,609, while the Nifty 50 gained over 173 points to 23,754. The sharp gains added around Rs 5 lakh crore to the total market capitalisation of all companies listed on the BSE, bringing it to Rs 438 lakh crore.
Stocks such as Infosys, HCL Technologies, TCS, and Tech Mahindra were the top gainers on the Sensex, rising around 3% each. Zomato-parent Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Trent, Adani Ports, IndiGo and others followed, rising up to 2%. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel and Bajaj Finance, however, led losses.
Tracking the sharp gains in IT stocks, Nifty IT was the top sectoral gainer on NSE, rising more than 3%. Nifty Media, Nifty Auto and others followed. 2,351 stocks advanced on the exchange, while 494 declined, and 71 remained unchanged.
Here are the key factors boosting markets today:
1) Oil prices ease
Oil prices declined on Wednesday morning, after a mind-boggling rally which was fuelled by the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz as Iran attacked ships trying to pass through the critical waterway. Brent crude declined more than 1% to trade at $102 per barrel, while WTI crude fell nearly 2% to $94.53 per barrel. Despite the decline, oil prices are still holding above the key $100 per barrel mark, which they had crossed for the first time earlier this month since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine back in 2022.
Today’s fall in oil prices comes after the Iraqi government and Kurdish authorities reached an agreement to resume oil exports through Turkey’s Ceyhan port, providing modest relief to concerns about Middle East supplies.
2) Global markets rise
Wall Street ended higher on Tuesday, as the US Federal Reserve began its two-day policy meeting amid investors’ worries about high oil prices and the Middle East conflict. The S&P 500 climbed 0.25% to end the session at 6,716.09. Tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.47% to 22,479.53, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.10%.
Asian markets mostly remained in the green on Wednesday morning, with Japan’s Nikkei jumping over 2% and South Korea’s Kospi rallying nearly 4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng however fell marginally.
In Europe meanwhile, France’s CAC gained 0.5%, Germany’s DAX rose over 0.7% and UK’s FTSE gained 0.8% yesterday.
3) Bond yield declines
US bond yields on five to 30-year Treasuries declined for the second consecutive session, while two-year yields declined for the third day. The benchmark 10-year yield dipped 2.2 basis points to 4.198%. U.S. two-year yields, which reflect interest-rate expectations, were also down, slipping 1.1 bps to 3.669%. The yield has slid nearly 10 basis points over the last three days, the largest three-day fall since late November.
Notably, markets are actively awaiting comments from the US Federal Reserve which is set to announce the decisions taken during its FOMC meeting later today.
4) Value buying
The ongoing buying spree in Indian markets comes after a massive selloff seen during the first two weeks of March, as the escalating tensions between Iran and US-Israel rattled markets. Sensex and Nifty had crashed up to 10% during that time, wiping off a significant chunk of investors’ wealth.
The sharp selloff may have led to investors resorting to value buying.