Delhi, 26 November (H.S.):

After three consecutive sessions of decline, Indian equity benchmarks staged a powerful rebound on Wednesday, with the Sensex and Nifty closing near their all-time highs and adding roughly ₹5.46 lakh crore to investor wealth in a single trading day.

The S&P BSE Sensex surged 1,022.50 points, or 1.21 percent, to settle at 85,609.51, while the NSE Nifty 50 climbed 320.50 points, or 1.24 percent, to close at 26,205.30.

Drivers of the sharp rally

Market sentiment was buoyed by growing expectations of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, renewed foreign portfolio investor buying, robust performance by heavyweight stocks, and a decline in international crude oil prices, all of which combined to fuel broad-based buying across sectors.

These positive triggers helped domestic benchmarks erase early losses and sustain strong momentum through the session, allowing the indices to close within striking distance of their lifetime highs.

Market breadth and sector performance

All major sectoral indices ended in the green, with metals leading the rally and the metal index jumping more than 2 percent, followed by strong gains in banking, oil and gas, IT, consumer durables, capital goods, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, public sector enterprises, realty, and FMCG.

The broader market also participated in the uptrend, as the BSE Midcap index advanced about 1.32 percent and the Smallcap index gained roughly 1.23 percent by the close.

Market capitalisation and breadth

The combined market capitalisation of all BSE-listed companies rose to around ₹474.87 lakh crore, reflecting a single-day increase of well over ₹5 lakh crore in investor wealth.

Market breadth was firmly positive, with a clear majority of traded stocks on both the BSE and NSE ending in the green, underscoring the strength and breadth of the rally across large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap counters.

Index intraday movement and key movers

The Sensex opened mildly lower but quickly reversed course as aggressive buying emerged, propelling the index more than 1,100 points above its intraday low before it settled at 85,609.51, just below its intraday high of 85,644.19.

The Nifty 50 also recovered sharply from a weak start near 25,843 to test levels above 26,215 intraday before closing at 26,205.30, comfortably above the psychologically important 26,200 mark.

Top gainers and laggards

Among frontline stocks, JSW Steel, HDFC Life, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, and Jio Financial Services figured among the top gainers, reflecting strong buying interest in metals and financials.

On the flip side, Bharti Airtel, Adani Enterprises, Eicher Motors, SBI Life Insurance, and Asian Paints were among the few notable laggards, ending modestly lower despite the broad market surge.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar