The Sensex opened up 657.85 points, or 0.85 per cent, at 77,423.77 on Wednesday, while the Nifty 50 rose 191.3 points to 24,176.65, led by gains in IT and FMCG stocks.
Infosys topped the gainers’ list with a 3.89 per cent rise, while L&T, TCS, Hindustan Unilever and Tech Mahindra also posted strong opening gains.
The Nifty IT index rose as much as 2.51 per cent and the Nifty FMCG index gained 1.52 per cent, even as several Asian markets remained under pressure.
Power Grid led the decliners, falling 0.67 per cent, while InterGlobe Aviation, Asian Paints, Maruti and Titan also traded lower.
Market breadth was heavily skewed towards gainers, with 1,837 stocks advancing against 550 declining and 103 unchanged on the BSE.
The rally followed a rebound in crude oil prices after a roughly 14 per cent fall over three sessions amid rising US-Iran tensions.
Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth ₹755.33 crore on July 28, while domestic institutional investors purchased ₹1,664.16 crore worth of equities on the same day.
Market participants stayed alert to the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision due later in the day, even as domestic indices posted firm opening gains.
The gains came a day after the Sensex closed flat at 76,765.92 and the Nifty settled at 23,985.35 amid a fragile US-Iran truce.
The India VIX volatility index eased to 12.56 in Tuesday’s session, down 0.79 per cent, as a steadier rupee and cooling US-Iran tensions helped calm market sentiment.
Sustained buying by domestic institutional investors in recent sessions has also been credited with cushioning Indian markets against bouts of volatility driven by global cues.
Market watchers said the rebound in crude oil, after three straight sessions of sharp declines, had eased some of the concerns that had weighed on Indian equities earlier in the week amid the ongoing US-Iran tensions.
(Image: “BSE building at Dalal Street” by BSEINDIA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)
