Market Surge: IT and PSU Banks Propel Nifty Above 26,000

Equity market bounced back on Wednesday after a muted opening, lifted by IT and PSU bank stocks, amid renewed optimisim over an India-US trade deal. Sensex rallied over 85,200 level and NIfty crossed 26,000 mark during the session.

According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, market participants will now watch out for tomorrow’s FOMC minutes for further policy signals.

Following an intraday rally of 710 points, Sensex settled 513.45 points or 0.61 per cent higher at 85,186.47 (scaling to a high of 85,236.77), and NIfty 50 climbed 142.60 pts or 0.55 per cent to 26,052.65 (close to the intraday high of 26,074.65)

Volatility eased as India VIX slipped to 11.84, supporting the market’s recovery.

Markets witness a strong resurgence driven by stabilising earnings, robust festive consumption and renewed foreign investor interest, according to PL Asset Management’s latest report

Corporate earnings downgrades have largely bottomed out, the investment cycle is strengthening across sectors, and liquidity conditions remain favourable, creating a constructive medium-term outlook

“In the near term, the firm expects markets to remain resilient yet range-bound as investors assess Q2FY26 earnings and track global interest rate expectations. However, the medium-term outlook appears decisively constructive,” it said.

As Nifty hovers around the 26,000 level, market participants remain attentive to upcoming global triggers. Key US economic data and clarity on the India–US trade deal are expected to steer sentiment in the coming sessions.

Top gainers and losers today

Large caps led the gains, outperforming the broader market. Midcap 100 index mirrored the performance seen in the frontline indices and settled with a modest gain of 0.21 per cent, while the smallcap 100 index underperformed ended 0.43 per cent lower.

Bank Nifty shrugged off its initial weakness, where it made an intraday low of 58,689, and staged a sharp intraday recovery, even making a fresh high before closing at 59,216, up 0.54 per cent, Sudeep Shah, Head – Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, said.

On the sectoral front, Nifty IT outperformed, ending with a gain of 2.97 per cent, followed by Nifty PSU Banks, which ended with a gain of 1.16 per cent. Meanwhile, healthcare, realty, oil & gas, media and chemicals dipped

IT sector rallied on revived hopes of US Fed rate cut, supported by soft US labour data and currency tailwinds, while PSU banks gained on merger-related news and improving fundamentals, Nair added.

A global shift away from AI-heavy bets steered more flows toward emerging markets like India. This “anti-AI trade” has pushed the Nasdaq off recent highs, contributing to India’s relative outperformance, Gaurav Garg, Research Analyst Lemonn Markets Desk, stated.

PSU Bank index closed 1.16 per cent positive at 8,576.40 after hitting a new high of 8,584.95.

Max Health and IT majors lead Nifty 50

Shares of Max Health, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Wipro, TCS and Hindustan Unilever emerged as top gainers of Nifty 50, while Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Coal India, Maruti, Bajaj Finance and Adani Ports were major laggards.

Infosys shares also lifted the IT index sentiment after the second largest software exporter announced its ₹18,000 crore share buy-back, starting November 20, 2025.

A total of 4,346 stocks were traded on the BSE, of which 1,841 stocks advanced, 2,338 declined and 167 remained unchanged. About 123 stocks scaled to hit a 52-week high, while 205 touched a 52-week low. In addition, 10 stocks hit the upper circuit, while 9 hit the lower circuit.

Top midcap and smallcap movers

Under the midcap segment, Coforge, Persistent Systems, 360 ONE WAM, Sona BLW and Bharat Forge soared 3-4 per cent, while Waaree Energies, Biocon, APL Apollo, HUDCO and Dixon Tech declined 2-3 per cent.

Aditya Birla Real Estate, Cyient, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Deepak Fertilizers and Natco Pharma gained 2-3 per cent among the smallcap stocks, while KEC International and HBL Engineering dragged 9 per cent.

Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking, advised market participants to adopt a selective approach, focusing on sectors displaying strength, with a preference for large-cap and stronger mid-cap names.

South Indian Bank emerged as a standout performer after announcing a hike in its MCLR to 9.65 per cent for one-year tenors, signaling margin expansion and attracting investor interest, Abhinav Tiwari, Research Analyst at Bonanza, pointed out.

Renewed investor confidence in the Adani Group, following lender support for their takeover of Jaiprakash Associates also boosted market sentiment.

Groww, PhysicsWallah, KEC International witness maximum selling pressure

On the losing side, Billionbrains Garage Ventures (Groww) shares locked in lower circuit on the BSE at Rs 169.94, lower by 10%, snapping gains since its listing on November 12.

PhysicsWallah shares witnessed significant selling pressure a day after decent debut, ending 7.51 per cent lower today.

KEC International shares plunged on being excluded from participating in Power Grid tenders for nine months, with no impact on existing power grid projects or its overall operations.

In addition, Sammaan Capital declined due to escalating regulatory investigations and court proceedings, highlighting investor caution toward companies facing legal challenges, Tiwari added.

Currency market

Rupee ended almost unchanged at 88.58 per dollar, reflecting subdued foreign fund activity. With earnings season behind them, investors now look ahead to fresh domestic and global cues to gauge near-term market direction, Vikram Kasat, Head Advisory, PL Capital, said.