Indian equity markets pushed into fresh territory on Wednesday, with the Sensex hitting a morning high of 77,176.51, a gain of over 368 points, while the Nifty scaled by 108 points to as high as 24,097.40, surging past the psychologically significant 24,000 mark. The milestone extended what is now a four-session winning streak if it stays that way, with the Nifty having gained 3.6 per cent and the Sensex advancing 4 per cent over the previous three sessions alone.
The main reason for the rally? Brent crude dropped 0.49–0.5 per cent to around $78.44–$78.6 a barrel on Wednesday, after tumbling more than 5 per cent in the previous session to close at a three-month low.
The decline follows the US–Iran peace deal that has raised the prospect of millions of additional barrels of supply entering global markets, with a senior US official confirming that Washington will waive sanctions on Iranian oil under the agreement.
The IT sector provided additional tailwinds, rising approximately 0.8 per cent ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest-rate policy decision, the first under new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who is widely expected to hold rates steady.
TCS, Infosys, and Wipro gained 1 per cent each, while Trent, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Tech were also among the top Sensex gainers.
Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, and Adani Ports were among the session's laggards.
Eleven of the 16 major sectors advanced, while small-caps rose 0.4 per cent and mid-caps edged up 0.3 per cent.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) had returned to selling on Tuesday, offloading equities worth ₹749.18 crore after a single day of net buying.
