Sensex rises 350 pts, Nifty tops 25,750 as U.S. trade hopes lift mood

Indian stocks opened higher on Wednesday, with financials and IT stocks leading gains on the Sensex and Nifty, as renewed optimism over a potential trade deal with the U.S. and expectations of an end to the government shutdown in the U.S. boosted investor confidence.

The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.52% to open at 84,310.96, up 439.64 points, while the NSE Nifty 50 advanced 0.52%, or 132.45 points, to 25,827.40. At around 9:35 AM, Sensex traded 352 pts or 0.42% higher at 84,227, whereas Nifty50 rose 101 pts or 0.39% to 25,796.

On the 30-stock Sensex, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Bharti Airtel, Eternal, and Infosys led the gains, advancing between 1% and 1.5%.

The Nifty IT index climbed 1.2%, lifted by more than 1% gains in TCS, Tech Mahindra, and Infosys after U.S. President Donald Trump said the country “needed skilled workers from abroad,” even as his administration continues to tighten visa rules impacting global technology firms.

Broader markets also firmed up, with both the small-cap and mid-cap indices rising about 0.6%.

Investor sentiment was further buoyed by exit polls in Bihar projecting a win for the ruling alliance.

Expert views

Sentiments have turned for the better with news of an India-U.S. trade deal getting finalised soon and the exit polls indicating a decisive victory for the NDA in Bihar, said Dr VK 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,” said Vijayakumar.

From the fundamental perspective, there is room for optimism since GDP growth is robust and earnings growth for FY27 appears bright, Vijayakumar said, adding that financials, consumption and defence stocks have the potential to lead the next leg of the rally.