Indian equity benchmarks settled near the day’s high points on Wednesday, with the Nifty crossing the 26,000 mark and the Sensex surpassing 85,150 level, supported by heavy buying in IT and tech stocks. After making cautious start, indices remained volatile till noon. However, in afternoon session, markets gained traction and traded higher for the rest of the session. Traders took support from a private report that India's economic growth will remain firmly anchored by domestic demand even as external conditions stay uncertain.

Some of the important factors in trade:

India's GDP growth likely to reach over 7.5% in Q2FY26: Traders took support as a SBI research report stated that India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is likely to reach 7.5 per cent or more in the second quarter of the current fiscal (Q2FY26), with the help of robust festive sales triggered by the GST rate cut in late September.

India-US partnership is strong, stable: Sentiments remained upbeat as Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal has emphasised that the India-US partnership remains strong, stable and continuously expanding across strategic and economic sectors.

FIIs outflows: Traders overlooked exchange data showing that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 728.82 crore on Tuesday. 

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in green, as traders took some support after data showed U.K. consumer price inflation eased in October, driven by gas and electricity prices. Asian markets ended mixed as investors awaited Nvidia earnings, the release of minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee meeting held on October 28, and the delayed September jobs report.

The BSE Sensex ended at 85186.47, up by 513.45 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 84525.98 and 85236.77. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.34%, while Small cap index down by 0.39%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.92%, TECK up by 2.21%, Bankex up by 0.57%, Healthcare up by 0.25% and Auto up by 0.23%, while Energy down by 0.47%, Oil & Gas down by 0.38%, Realty down by 0.34%, Industrials down by 0.33%, and Power down by 0.27% were the top losing indices on BSE.  (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Technologies up by 4.32%, Infosys up by 3.74%, TCS up by 2.02%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.60% and Sun Pharma up by 1.43%. On the flip side, Tata Motors Passenger down by 2.77%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.28%, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone down by 0.83%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.67% and Asian Paints down by 0.66% were the top losers. (Provisional) 

Meanwhile, Rating agency ICRA has projected India’s Gross domestic product (GDP) growth to moderate to 7 per cent in July-September period of FY26 (Q2FY26), from 7.8 per cent in the previous quarter, amid lower government spending. Indian economy had expanded 5.6 per cent in the Q2 (July-September) of 2024-25 fiscal.

ICRA said while the services and agriculture sectors would lose some momentum in the second quarter, industrial performance would be strong propelled by manufacturing, construction and favourable base effects. This is expected to underpin the quarter's economic activity.

ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar said a lower YoY rise in government spending is likely to weigh on the pace of the GDP and GVA growth in Q2 FY2026 compared to Q1 FY2026. However, she said inventory stocking related to the early onset of the festive season, enhanced by the GST-rationalisation induced volume pick-up, and upfronting of exports to the US ahead of the tariffs, are expected to boost the performance of the manufacturing sector, and help industry GVA growth outpace that of the services after a gap of four quarters. 

The CNX Nifty ended at 26052.65, up by 142.60 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 25856.20 and 26074.65. There were 31 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Max Healthcare Inst up by 4.27%, HCL Technologies up by 4.23%, Infosys up by 3.68%, Wipro up by 2.15% and TCS up by 1.96%. On the flip side, Tata Motors Passenger down by 2.81%, Coal India down by 1.28%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.02%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.79% and Hindalco down by 0.78% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 8.2 points or 0.09% to 9,560.50 and Germany’s DAX gained 7.97 points or 0.03% to 23,188.50, while France’s CAC fell 21.63 points or 0.27% to 7,946.30.