Market opening: NIFTY50 opens above 26,000, SENSEX rises 538 points as IT stocks rally; Infosys, HCLTech lead gains

Nifty IT surged nearly 2%, leading sectoral gains, boosted by Infosys (3%), HCL Technologies (2.09%), and Persistent Systems (2.06%), following the US government’s announcement of new H-1B visa fee guidelines.

The $100,000 fee imposed by the Trump administration on new H-1B visa petitions will not apply to applicants seeking a "change of status" or "extension of stay", according to fresh guidelines.

The investors’ sentiment was also optimistic, as report suggested that India and the United States are nearing the conclusion of a long-pending bilateral trade agreement that could lower tariffs on Indian exports to around 15–16% from the current effective rate of about 50%.

The broader market, however, was seen mixed in the early session, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 0.27% while the Nifty Smallcap 100 lost 0.11%.

According to exchange data, on Tuesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth ₹96.72 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities worth ₹607.01 crore on a net basis.

Globally, most Asian stocks were trading lower, led by declines in Japan and China, as Washington reportedly reignited trade tensions with Beijing.

Japan's Nikkei was down 1.39%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng also slipped 0.06%, South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.32%, and the Shanghai Composite also declined 0.66%.

On Wall Street, major indices fell on Wednesday as fresh moves from Washington deepened investor concerns over US-China trade ties.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 334.33 points, or 0.71%, lower at 46,590.41; the S&P 500 fell 0.53% to end at 6,699.40, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.93% to settle at 22,740.40.

As many as 2,788 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which 1,595 advanced, 1,112 declined, and 81 shares remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market's breadth is favourable towards advances.

Meanwhile, 92 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while only 9 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 47 stocks hit their upper circuits, while 17 hit their lower circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading at 11.96 levels, rising 5.81%.

As many as 41 stocks advanced while only 9 declined in the opening session on the NIFTY50 index.

Infosys was the biggest contributor, surging 3.04%, followed by HCL Technologies (2.45%), Tech Mahindra (1.78%), Tata Steel (1.53%), and Kotak Mahindra Bank (1.52%).

On the flip side, InterGlobe Aviation (-1.01%), Cipla (-0.72%), Eicher Motors (-0.61%), Dr.Reddy’s (-0.43%) and Eternal (-0.22%) were the top losing stocks on the 50-share index.