At around 1:30 PM, S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.9% to open at 84,633, up 760 points, while the NSE Nifty 50 advanced 0.92%, or 238.35 points, to a high of 25,931.
Here are the five factors pushing the benchmarks higher:
1. IT stocks surge as Trump softens tone on H-1B visas
IT stocks were among the top gainers, with the Nifty IT index up over 2% after advancing 2.8% over the previous two sessions. The rally followed comments by U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting a softer stance on H-1B visas.
Shares of India’s top IT firms, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and Tech Mahindra, surged over 3% on Wednesday after Trump said the U.S. “needed skilled workers from abroad,” even as his administration continues to tighten visa rules impacting global technology firms.
In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Trump told host Laura Ingraham that the U.S. “needed skilled workers from abroad,” countering her claim that the country already had “plenty of talented people here.” He added, “You don’t have certain talents. And you have to, people have to learn. You can’t take people off, like an unemployment line, and say, ‘I’m going to put you into a factory. We’re going to make missiles.”
2. Optimism over India-U.S. trade deal
Investor sentiment brightened after reports indicated progress in trade negotiations between New Delhi and Washington, alongside growing expectations that the prolonged U.S. government shutdown may soon end.
“Sentiments have turned for the better with news of an India-U.S. trade deal getting finalised soon,” said Dr. V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments.
“This will strengthen the bulls but is not good enough for the markets to stage a decisive breakout and sustained rally. Going by the present trends, FIIs are likely to sell again at higher levels. So long as the AI trade continues, a sustained reversal of FII money appears unlikely,” Vijayakumar added.
Vijayakumar said that from a fundamental perspective, “there is room for optimism since GDP growth is robust and earnings growth for FY27 appears bright,” noting that financials, consumption, and defence stocks could lead the next leg of the rally.
3. U.S. bond rally fuels global risk appetite as rate-cut hopes rise
Global markets took cues from a rally in U.S. government bonds, which surged in early Asia trade after a private survey pointed to softness in the U.S. labour market, raising expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell 3.1 basis points to 4.0791%, while two-year yields dropped to 3.5596%, according to LSEG data. The Treasury market had been shut on Tuesday for Veterans Day.
U.S. firms were shedding more than 11,000 jobs a week through late October, payroll processor ADP said on Tuesday in its latest estimate of job market trends.
Policymakers and investors have been operating with limited data amid the U.S. government shutdown, but expectations for a December rate cut have firmed slightly, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
4. Exit polls in Bihar predict NDA win
Market optimism also got a boost from exit polls in Bihar, which predicted a victory for India’s ruling alliance.
Early projections indicated a clear win for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United), with the opposition Mahagathbandhan (MGB) trailing. The Peoples Pulse Exit Poll 2025 projected the NDA to win 133–159 seats with a 46.2% vote share, while the MGB could secure 75–101 seats with 37.9% votes. Other pollsters, including JVC, Matrize, and Dainik Bhaskar, also predicted a comfortable NDA majority.
“Sentiments have turned for the better with news of exit polls indicating a decisive victory for the NDA in Bihar,” said Vijayakumar of Geojit Investments.
For investors, the focus remains on macroeconomic indicators, corporate earnings, and U.S. monetary policy. But with political uncertainty easing and global cues turning favourable, Wednesday’s rally suggests bulls are firmly in control of Dalal Street, at least for now.
5. RIL leads gains
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) shares were leading the gains on the benchmarks, rising 2% on Wednesday as the conglomerate emerged a key beneficiary of progress in U.S.-India trade talks.
The stock, India’s largest by market capitalisation, has gained about 10% over the past month, reflecting strong investor conviction in the company’s diversified growth prospects across energy, retail, and telecom businesses.
6. Strong earnings momentum lifts domestic sentiment
Robust corporate earnings continued to underpin market sentiment, with several companies posting strong quarterly results as the earnings season nears its end.
Auto components maker Belrise Industries rose 3% after reporting an 82% jump in quarterly profit, while shares of BSE Ltd surged 6% to Rs 2,805 after the exchange operator posted a 61% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit for the second quarter to Rs 558 crore, up from Rs 347 crore a year earlier.
Plenty of other firms also saw buying interest as investors cheered better-than-expected results in the tail end of the earnings season.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)