Sensex jumps nearly 540 points on buying in bluechip banks, oil shares

The Hindu

23-07-2025

Benchmark Sensex jumped nearly 540 points while Nifty closed above the 25,200 level on Wednesday (July 23, 2025) on heavy buying in banking giants and oil shares and a positive trend in Asian markets after Japan secured a trade deal with the U.S.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 539.83 points or 0.66% to settle at 82,726.64. During the day, it surged 599.62 points or 0.72% to 82,786.43.
The 50-share NSE Nifty gained 159 points or 0.63% to settle at 25,219.90 as 37 of its constituents advanced and 13 declined.
Among Sensex firms, Tata Motors rose the most by 2.51%. Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries were also the major gainers.
Private banking giants HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank hit their 52-week high levels intra-day before settling nearly 1% higher.
Value buying in Reliance Industries, following five days of losses, also supported the rally. RIL shares closed higher by 0.83%.
However, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, Bharat Electronics and ITC were among the laggards.
'The Indian equity market demonstrated resilience despite a mixed start to Q1 FY26 earnings. Positive global cues, underpinned by optimism surrounding the U.S.-Japan trade agreement, have supported sentiment. Additionally, progress toward finalising the India-U.K. FTA has further contributed to the constructive outlook.
'Continued advancements in global trade negotiations are expected to alleviate near-term trade tensions and foster greater market stability. While elevated valuations remain a concern, the prevailing market strength indicates potential for near-term earnings recovery. However, the pace and sustainability of this recovery will be critical in shaping the market's forward trajectory,' Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
The BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.24% and smallcap index went up by 0.05%.
Among BSE sectoral indices, telecommunication jumped 1.14%, followed by auto (0.86%), bankex (0.75%), tech (0.74%), financial services (0.70%), healthcare (0.70%) and energy (0.65%).
Realty dropped 2.60%, FMCG (0.46%), capital goods (0.31%) and services (0.20%).
In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 3.51% as U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan, with a 15% tax on goods imported from that country. South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled in positive territory.
'On the global stage, investor sentiment soared following optimistic developments surrounding the U.S.-Japan trade pact, igniting expectations for further international agreements in the near future,' according to Ashika Institutional Equities.
Markets in Europe were trading in the green. The U.S. markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday (July 22, 2025).
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹3,548.92 crore on Tuesday (July 22, 2025), according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth ₹5,239.77 crore in the previous trade.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.45% to $68.29 a barrel.
The rupee stayed weak for the sixth consecutive session and settled with a loss of 3 paise at 86.41 against the dollar on Wednesday (July 23, 2025), amid a strong American currency and outflow of foreign funds.