Sensex soars past 80,000 for first time since Dec 2023, powered by IT rally

Indian stock markets continued their upward momentum on Wednesday, with the Sensex reclaiming the 80,000 mark for the first time since December 18, 2023. The benchmark index surged 521 points, or 0.6%, to close at 80,117, while the Nifty advanced 162 points (0.7%) to settle at 24,329. This marks the seventh straight session of gains for both indices — a feat last seen between August 20 and September 2, 2024.

Driving the rally were IT stocks, which staged a strong comeback following revised revenue guidance from HCL Technologies. The Nifty IT index soared 4.3%, its biggest single-day jump since July 2023. Leading the charge, HCL rose 7.7%, Infosys gained 3.7%, and TCS added 2.8%.

HCL's forecast of 2–5% constant-currency growth for the year, while lower than past figures, came in ahead of Infosys’ 0–3% projection — boosting investor sentiment across the tech space.

Meanwhile, banking stocks saw some profit-taking after a solid six-day run that delivered a 10.8% gain. The Nifty Bank index dipped 0.5%.

Market mood was also lifted by external cues. US President Donald Trump’s latest remarks hinted at easing trade tensions with China, as he expressed openness to slashing tariffs “substantially, if not to zero” — provided a trade deal is reached. Trump also reassured markets by confirming he had no plans to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, calming concerns about central bank independence raised by earlier criticisms.

In macro indicators, the dollar index inched up to 99.1, US 10-year Treasury yields settled at 4.29%, and gold prices fell 1.4% to $1,832.1/oz amid a rally in equities and bonds.

According to Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Wealth Management, "Sector-specific momentum is expected to pick up with Q4 earnings. Overall, the bullish trend in Indian markets looks likely to continue, helped by strong domestic cues and developments in global trade."

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers, snapping up stocks worth ₹3,333 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) booked profits, selling ₹1,235 crore worth of shares.

That said, Vinod Nair of Geojit Financial Services warned that a mix of volatile crude prices, mixed Q4 earnings, and recent strong market performance could lead to some short-term consolidation.

Despite these cautionary notes, market breadth remained positive, with 2,028 stocks advancing against 1,949 declines.