Indian benchmark indices continued their upward momentum in afternoon trading on Wednesday, with the BSE Sensex breaching the 80,000 mark. The 30-share index traded at 80,197.59, up 720.96 points or 0.91 per cent from its previous close, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 209.40 points or 0.86 per cent to reach 24,422.70 as of 12.34 PM.

IT majors emerged as the key market drivers, with Infosys surging 3.59 per cent, followed by HCL Technologies at 3.57 per cent and TCS at 3.55 per cent. Defence manufacturer Bharat Electronics topped the gainers’ list, climbing 4.12 per cent, while Adani Enterprises advanced 3.69 per cent.

Banking and financial services stocks showed a mixed performance, with the Nifty Bank index up marginally by 0.34 per cent at 52,384.25. IndusInd Bank led the declines, falling 1.70 per cent. Other major losers included Titan (-1.43 per cent), Cipla (-1.06 per cent), HDFC Life (-1.03 per cent), and SBI Life (-0.93 per cent).

The market breadth remained firmly positive, with 2,822 stocks advancing, compared to 1,017 declines on the BSE. The session witnessed 208 stocks hitting 52-week highs, while only 12 touched their 52-week lows. Additionally, 357 stocks reached their upper circuit limits, with 156 hitting lower circuits.

The Nifty Next 50 index demonstrated strong performance, rising 1.68 per cent to 70,967.10, while the Nifty Midcap Select index gained 1.76 per cent to reach 12,589.80.

The market’s continued strength followed a positive opening, where the Sensex had started 431 points higher, reflecting investor optimism ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting and election results. The rally expanded through the morning session despite concerns about weak second-quarter earnings and potential FY25 downgrades highlighted by market analysts earlier in the day.

Trading activity remained robust with 3,958 stocks being traded on the BSE. The Nifty Financial Services index showed modest gains of 0.30 per cent, trading at 24,200.35 points during the afternoon session.

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