SENSEX rises 889 points, NIFTY50 ends at 24,250 led by gains in IT, FMCG shares

The Indian equity benchmarks started August futures and option series on a strong note on Wednesday, July 29, powered by gains in information technology, metal, FMCG and capital goods shares.

The SENSEX rose as much as 1,000 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 24,284 led by index heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever and ICICI Bank.

The SENSEX surged 889 points to close at 77,655 and NIFTY50 index climbed 265 points or 1.1% to close at 24,250.

"The sharp rally in Indian IT stocks reflects a shift in investor preference rather than a broad-based technology rebound. Following the recent correction in AI infrastructure providers globally, investors appear to be rotating towards IT services companies, which offer attractive valuations and healthy free cash flow yields, with most large-cap names now trading at FCF yields above 5%," said Nevil Dedhia, MD and head of institutional equities at Equirus Securities.

Buying was visible across board as 13 of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended higher led by the NIFTY IT index's 2.3% gain. NIFTY Metal, FMCG, Pharma, Financial Services, Media, Private Bank Healthcare and Consumer Durables indices also rose between 1% and 2.3%.

On the other hand, select auto and real estate shares witnessed a mild selling pressure.

Broader markets also witnessed strong buying interest as NIFTY Midcap 100 index advanced 0.82% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index surged 1.5%.

Among the individual shares, Swiggy rose 7% to close at ₹287 after the company informed exchanges that it has appointed Nandita Sinha as the new CEO of the company’s Instamart business effective from August 3, 2026.

Shares of Tata Capital surged as much as 6.46% to hit an intraday high of ₹377.90 a day after the Tata Sons subsidiary reported its earnings for the April-June quarter of the 2026-27 financial year (Q1 FY27).

The NBFC reported a 56% year-on-year (YoY) surge in its consolidated net profit to ₹1,547.38 crore during the quarter under review, compared with ₹989.89 crore in the first quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal year (Q1 FY26).

Jio Financial Services was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock rose 4.92% to close at ₹249. Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Trent, Bharti Airtel and JSW Steel also rose between 2.13% and 4.8%.

On the flip side, Adani Ports was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock fell 3.03% to close at ₹1,721 after its first quarter earnings failed to impress investors.

Adani Ports and SEZ reported a consolidated net profit of ₹3,620 crore for the April-June quarter, marking an increase of 9% from ₹3,315 crore logged in the same period last year.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto, Bharat Electronics, ONGC, HDFC Life, Grasim and NTPC were top losers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was positive as 2,130 shares ended higher while 1,183 closed lower on the NSE.