The Indian stock market closed in the deep green on Wednesday, snapping a two session losing streak as positive global cues and other factors boosted investor sentiment.
Sensex gained around 444 points to close at 76,922.64, while Nifty 50 rose over 140 points to end the session at 24,005.85 on Wednesday. This came as India VIX, which measures volatility in market, dropped over 3% to 13.19. The sharp gains added over Rs 2 lakh crore to the total market capitalisation of all companies listed on BSE, pulling it up to around Rs 476 lakh crore.
Zomato-parent Eternal shares rallied around 6% to lead gains on Sensex. Asian Paints and Hindustan Unilever shares meanwhile gained around 3% each to follow. Bucking the trend, IT stocks including Tech Mahindra, TCS and HCL Technologies dropped around 3% each to lead losses.
Broader markets however underperformed benchmark indices. Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices are up around 0.3% each. Sectorally, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Realty gained 2% and 4% respectively to lead gains, while Nifty IT dropped more than 2%. Around 1,852 stocks advanced on NSE, while 1,473 declined and 100 remained unchanged.
1) Heavy buying in FMCG stocks
The sharp gains in the stock market were led by heavy buying in FMCG stocks. The Nifty FMCG index jumped more than 2% today, snapping a two-session losing streak. Dabur shares rallied more than 5%, while those of Colgate Palmolive, Nestle India, Emami, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Godrej Consumer Products jumped around 3-4% each.
The sharp gains on Dalal Street comes after Wall Street ended the first half of 2026 ended on a positive note yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record 52,319.20, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.52%.
Japan’s Nikkei gained around 1% while China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.44% South Korea’s Kospi however tumbled over 2%.
Oil prices dropped more than 1% ahead of an expected round of talks between Iran and US. Brent crude futures fell to $72 per barrel, while WTI Crude futures were hovering near $69 per barrel. This is significantly lower than the above $120 per barrel levels it had touched earlier this year following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Why caution is warranted?
Despite the renewed optimism on Dalal Street, some caution is warranted. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, noted that a major concern weighing on the market now is the poor monsoon which so far has been worse than expected. June has ended with a 40% rain deficit and for July, the IMD has predicted below normal rainfall. If this trend continues the actual rainfall this monsoon season may fall below the IMD’s forecast of 90% of long-term average, according to the analyst, who added that the market has not yet discounted this negative trend.
“Investors may fine tune portfolios to discount the potential negative fallout of poor monsoon. Partial portfolio adjustment in favour of fixed income may be considered. Also churning of portfolios in favour of monsoon-proof sectors like health care, pharmaceuticals, power and select fairly valued defence stocks is advisable,” according to Vijayakumar.
The Nifty remained range-bound as the index failed to break out of its recent trading band, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. Over the past few sessions, it has been hovering around the 24,000 mark, indicating a lack of directional momentum, he noted.
“Despite the sideways movement, the short-term trend remains positive, with the index showing resilience throughout the session. However, momentum continues to be subdued. Going forward, the bullish bias is likely to remain intact as long as the Nifty holds above the 23,800 support level. On the higher side, the index may continue its slow but steady upward trajectory, with the potential to move towards 24,200 and higher over the near term,” according to the analyst.
