The Indian stock market closed in the green on Wednesday, with benchmark indices recovering some momentum by the end of the session. The Sensex settled at 80,567.71, up by 0.51%, while the Nifty closed the day at 24,715.05, higher by 0.55%. The Nifty Bank index also finished positive at 54,067.55, gaining 0.76%.
Here are the five key takeaways from today’s trade:
Top gainers: Tata Steel leads the charge
Metal counters dominated the leaderboard, with Tata Steel jumping nearly 6% and powering the rally. Other strong performers in the Sensex pack included Titan, M&M, Trent, and ITC.
Key laggards: IT majors under pressure
Not all stocks shared the cheer. The drag came from heavyweights like Infosys, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, TCS, and Power Grid, which slipped into the red.
Steel stocks rally: China curbs lift sentiment
The real story of the day was the sharp surge in metal stocks. Tata Steel hit an intra-day high of Rs 167.75, up nearly 6%, while Jindal Steel and SAIL both gained around 5%. JSW Steel advanced 3.4%, with Vedanta, NMDC, and Hindalco also climbing between 2-3%.
The buying spree came after reports suggested that China may scale back steel production over the next year.
Top sectors in Wednesday’s trade
The market action today was led by iron and steel, which jumped 3%. Electronics followed with a gain of 2.7%, while mining stocks climbed 2%. Non-ferrous metal players were also in focus, adding 2%, and gems and jewellery names sparkled with a rise of 1.7%.
Best and worst performing business groups
Among business groups, the Anil Ambani Group stole the spotlight with a sharp 4% rise. Close behind, Jindal O P Group and Muthoot Group also posted strong advances of 3.38% and 3.37% respectively.
On the other side, weakness was seen in select groups. Emami Group slipped 0.98%, while Future Group and Nagarjuna Group declined 1.31% and 1.34% each.