Benchmark equity indices hit fresh all-time highs in early trade

Indian equity benchmarks achieved fresh all-time highs in early Thursday trade, with the BSE Sensex reaching 85,372.17 and the NSE Nifty hitting 26,056. The surge extended gains from the previous session, during which the Sensex had closed at 85,169.87, and was predominantly driven by a sharp rally across Asian markets combined with strong buying in information technology stocks.

The IT sector emerged as the primary driver of the rally, with Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, and Tata Consultancy Services among the top ten gainers in the Sensex. Financial services also contributed to gains, with Bajaj Finserv advancing significantly. Maruti, Nestle, Tata Motors, and Bharti Airtel also posted notable gains. Conversely, defensive and capital-intensive sectors lagged, with Power Grid, NTPC, Tata Steel, and JSW Steel trading as primary laggards.

Foreign institutional investor activity remained selective, with FIIs offloading Rs 973.94 crore of equities on Wednesday according to exchange data. However, this selling pressure was more than offset by domestic institutional investor buying, which totaled Rs 1,778.99 crore. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, noted that while FIIs may reallocate capital toward cheaper valuations in China and Hong Kong—markets currently experiencing uptrends—the ample domestic liquidity available in India should absorb such outflows without triggering sharp market declines. Vijayakumar added that the absence of immediate near-term catalysts suggests the market may consolidate at current elevated levels.

The broader regional rally extended across Asia, with Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong all trading substantially higher, though U.S. markets ended mixed on Wednesday. Global oil benchmarks remained relatively stable, with Brent crude advancing 0.08% to USD 73.52 per barrel, reflecting muted energy sector momentum compared to the strength in equities.