Indian equities made slight advances on Wednesday as weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales figures bolstered expectations for imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts.
In the early trading session, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose by 150 points, or 0.2%, reaching 77,450. Meanwhile, the broader NSE Nifty index increased by 22 points, or 0.1%, to 23,580.
Banking stocks exhibited strength, with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and IndusInd Bank seeing gains of 1-2%.
Conversely, some stocks witnessed declines. Shriram Finance, Coal India, Adani Enterprises, BPCL, and Titan Company each fell by 1-2%.
Paytm saw a reduction of 1.2% in its share price following Goldman Sachs' sale of 4.42 million shares worth Rs 183 crore through a block deal.
Indus Tower experienced a sharp 5.5% decline amid reports that Vodafone Group intends to sell a 10% stake in the company for up to $1.1 billion to repay debt.
Raymond's shares dropped more than 1% after the institutional investor Advisory Services recommended shareholders to vote against the reappointment of Gautam Hari Singhania to the board.
Lastly, Gland Pharma declined by 0.8% after a block deal worth Rs 1,815 crore took place on the exchanges.
