Stock Market Today: Sensex Rises 360 Points; Nifty Trades Over 21,550. IT, Banks Lead

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Wipro, TCS, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, UltraCemco, TechM, Reliance were trading in the green

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.7 per cent each.

Source : Getty

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday began trading with gains, tracking positive global sentiment. At 10.20 am, the BSE Sensex rose 362 points to 71,799. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 21,562, up 109 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Wipro, TCS, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, UltraCemco, TechM, Reliance were trading in the green. On the downside, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, and M&M emerged early losers.

Around 2,163 shares gained, 841 declined, while 74 shares unchanged.

#ABPStockMarketWatch | Sensex and Nifty began trading with gains, on Wednesday
At 10:08 AM, #Sensex rose by 354 points to 71,791 & #Nifty by 105 points to 21,559

Here's a look at the stocks in focus:#ABPLive #MarketWatch pic.twitter.com/U1vlNwkjj0

— ABP LIVE (@abplive) December 20, 2023

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.7 per cent each.

Sectorally, all the indices are trading in the green, with bank, IT, oil & gas, and power advanced 0.5-1 per cent.

"Despite concerns such as a spike in oil prices and FIIs selling shares, Dalal Street maintains its optimism for fresh highs. Positive catalysts include gains in Dow Jones and Nasdaq, a weakened US dollar, lower US treasury bond yields, and the ongoing Fed rate cut bets," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

In the global market, overnight the US markets ended with near the highs of the day, with gains of up to 0.7 per cent as the Fed rate-cut hope rally continued. In the Asian markets, Nikkei was up 1.7 per cent, Hang Seng 1.25 per cent, Kospi 1 per cent, and ASX 200 0.5 per cent. Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong quoted in the positive territory, while Shanghai traded lower. The US markets ended in the green on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.10 per cent to $79.15 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 601.52 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

In the previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 122 points to 71,437, while, NSE Nifty50 settled at 21,453, up 34 points.

Meanwhile, the rupee jumped 4 paise to 83.14 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday as robust buying in domestic equities boosted investor sentiment. Forex traders said a weak greenback against major currencies overseas weighed in favour of the local currency amid concerns over oil supplies due to geopolitical situation.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at 83.17 and gained further to trade at 83.14 against the greenback, registering a rise of 4 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the domestic currency settled at 83.18 against the dollar.