SENSEX rises nearly 400 points, NIFTY50 above 23,700 led by gains in IT shares

The Indian equity benchmarks staged a gap up opening on Tuesday, May 19, as crude oil prices declined in international markets while rupee remained largely flat against the US dollar. The SENSEX rose as much as 396 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 23,758 powered by gains in information technology heavyweights like Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra.

As of 9:26 am, the SENSEX was up 390 points at 75,705 and NIFTY50 index advanced 103 points to 23,754.

Asian markets were trading on a mixed note after US President Donald Trump’s decision to pause a planned attack on Iran and his claim there was a good chance of a nuclear deal sent oil prices lower.

Japan's Nikkei declined 0.45%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 1%, China's Shanghai Composite index declined 0.2% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.25%.

Back home, IT shares were witnessing strong buying interest for a second straight session after rupee dropped to record low against the US dollar. The measure of IT shares on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), NIFTY IT index, surged 3.75%.

NIFTY Realty, Consumer Durables, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Pharma, and FMCG indices also rose around 0.5% each.

On the flip side, metal and private bank shares witnessing selling pressure.

Broader markets were outperforming their larger peers as NIFTY Midcap 100 index rose 0.71% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.65%.

Infosys was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock rose 4.3% to ₹1,191. HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Adani Enterprises, Wipro, Trent, HDFC Life and Max Healthcare also rose between 1% and 3.6%.

On the flip side, Hindalco, Coal India, ONGC, Ultratech Cement, Eternal, Cipla and Kotak Mahindra Bank were top losers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was positive as 2,082 shares were advancing while 674 were advancing on the NSE.