Sensex opens 700 points higher, Nifty above 24,100; Infosys up 4%

Benchmark indices opened sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the previous session's gains, as a rally in information technology stocks and broad-based buying across sectors lifted investor sentiment ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision later in the day.

The BSE Sensex jumped 711.33 points, or 0.93%, to 77,477.25 in early trade, while the NSE Nifty50 rose 200.95 points, or 0.84%, to 24,186.30 as of 9:28 am.

Thirteen of the 16 major sectoral indices traded in the green, indicating broad-based buying. The Nifty IT index climbed nearly 2%, extending its three-day rally, while FMCG, Metal, Auto and Financial Services also posted healthy gains. Realty was the only major laggard in early trade.

Technology stocks remained the biggest contributors to the market's gains. Among Sensex constituents, Larsen & Toubro led with a gain of over 3%, followed by Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance and Mahindra & Mahindra. TCS, HDFC Bank, ITC, UltraTech Cement and Tech Mahindra also traded firmly in positive territory.

Within the IT pack, Coforge rose over 3%, while OFSS gained nearly 3%. Infosys advanced around 3%, Persistent Systems added over 2%, LTIMindtree climbed nearly 2% and TCS, HCLTech and Tech Mahindra also extended their rally.

Broader markets also participated in the upmove. The Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.48%, the Smallcap 100 advanced 0.56% and India VIX slipped 1.5%, signalling easing volatility.

Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said the market's current range-bound phase could eventually give way to an upward breakout.

"The present range-bound construct of the market is likely to be broken on the upside assisted by the fairly valued stocks in the Nifty. Big conviction buys by the FIIs need clarity on the trajectory of crude prices and the progress of the monsoon. The sharp correction in chip stocks in South Korea is an advantage for India," he said.

He added that while the market expects the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged, investors will closely watch the central bank's commentary.

"The Fed's expected policy of holding rates is unlikely to impact the Indian market since it is already discounted. However, if the Fed goes for a surprise early rate hike, it could have slightly negative implications for Indian markets as rising US bond yields may attract FII flows away from emerging market equities," Vijayakumar said.

Crude oil prices, meanwhile, rebounded sharply amid fresh geopolitical tensions after reports of joint US-Saudi strikes in Iraq. Brent crude rose 4.29% to $87.70 a barrel, while WTI crude climbed 4.14% to $82.54.

Benchmark indices opened sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the previous session's gains, as a rally in information technology stocks and broad-based buying across sectors lifted investor sentiment ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision later in the day.

The BSE Sensex jumped 711.33 points, or 0.93%, to 77,477.25 in early trade, while the NSE Nifty50 rose 200.95 points, or 0.84%, to 24,186.30 as of 9:28 am.

Thirteen of the 16 major sectoral indices traded in the green, indicating broad-based buying. The Nifty IT index climbed nearly 2%, extending its three-day rally, while FMCG, Metal, Auto and Financial Services also posted healthy gains. Realty was the only major laggard in early trade.

Technology stocks remained the biggest contributors to the market's gains. Among Sensex constituents, Larsen & Toubro led with a gain of over 3%, followed by Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance and Mahindra & Mahindra. TCS, HDFC Bank, ITC, UltraTech Cement and Tech Mahindra also traded firmly in positive territory.

Within the IT pack, Coforge rose over 3%, while OFSS gained nearly 3%. Infosys advanced around 3%, Persistent Systems added over 2%, LTIMindtree climbed nearly 2% and TCS, HCLTech and Tech Mahindra also extended their rally.

Broader markets also participated in the upmove. The Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.48%, the Smallcap 100 advanced 0.56% and India VIX slipped 1.5%, signalling easing volatility.

Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said the market's current range-bound phase could eventually give way to an upward breakout.

"The present range-bound construct of the market is likely to be broken on the upside assisted by the fairly valued stocks in the Nifty. Big conviction buys by the FIIs need clarity on the trajectory of crude prices and the progress of the monsoon. The sharp correction in chip stocks in South Korea is an advantage for India," he said.

He added that while the market expects the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged, investors will closely watch the central bank's commentary.

"The Fed's expected policy of holding rates is unlikely to impact the Indian market since it is already discounted. However, if the Fed goes for a surprise early rate hike, it could have slightly negative implications for Indian markets as rising US bond yields may attract FII flows away from emerging market equities," Vijayakumar said.

Crude oil prices, meanwhile, rebounded sharply amid fresh geopolitical tensions after reports of joint US-Saudi strikes in Iraq. Brent crude rose 4.29% to $87.70 a barrel, while WTI crude climbed 4.14% to $82.54.