SENSEX surges 500 points, NIFTY50 reclaims 23,250 led by gains in Reliance, ITC, SBI

The Indian equity benchmarks staged a gap up opening on Wednesday, September 16, defying a weak trend in global markets. The SENSEX rose as much as 502 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 23,281 led by gains in index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank, HCL Tech and Bharat Electronics.

As of 9:28 am, the SENSEX was up 301 points at 74,305 and NIFTY50 index advanced 76 points to 23,198.

Asian markets were trading lower on expectations of a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve and rising crude oil in global markets. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.2%, China's Shanghai Composite index declined 0.32% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.07%.

US stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday as investor sentiment turned cautious on surging bond yields and rising crude prices.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.63%, S&P 500 index tumbled 0.45% and tech heavy Nasdaq index dropped 0.8%.

Higher yields mean everyone from the US government to households to businesses must pay more in interest to borrow money, which slows the overall economy.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures declined marginally but stayed above $107 per barrel as investors assessed supply risks after Saudi Arabia suspended oil loadings at its Yanbu port following an attack on its East-West pipeline ‌to the Red Sea.

Back home, ten of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) were trading higher led by the NIFTY FMCG index's 1% gain. NIFTY PSU Bank, Oil & Gas, Auto, Bank, Financial Services and Private Bank indices also rose between 0.27% and 0.7%.

On the other hand, consumer durables, healthcare, pharma, metal and media shares were facing selling pressure.

Broader markets were underperforming their larger peers as NIFTY Midcap 100 index fell 0.44% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index declined 0.9%.

Among the individual shares, Paym advanced 3% after NPCI introduced a Merchant Discount Rate of up to 0.4% on UPI Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions exceeding ₹2,000. The NPCI Circular shall be effective from October 15, 2026.

Nestle India was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock advanced 1.6% to ₹1,383. Tata Consumer Products, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Hindustan Unilever and ITC also rose between 0.85% and 1.3%.

On the flip side, IndiGo, TCS, Tata Steel, Eternal, Dr Reddy's Labs, Max Healthcare, NTPC, L&T, Tata Motors PV and Bharti Airtel were top losers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was negative as 2,446 shares were trading lower while 616 were advancing on the NSE.