India’s BSE Sensex rose about 0.5% to close at 74,336.45 on Wednesday, snapping a two-day losing streak. The rebound came amid some relief from easing crude oil prices, even as geopolitical uncertainty remained elevated. Sentiment was still cautious, however, given continued foreign portfolio outflows and the looming US Federal Reserve decision, with an expected 25 bps rate hike weighing on Indian assets.
Banking and payment stocks led the gains after the government announced the introduction of the first-ever Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on select UPI transactions. State-owned SBI climbed 2.2%, while Axis Bank gained 1.9%, Kotak Mahindra Bank 1.3%, HDFC Bank 0.8%, and ICICI Bank 0.5%. FMCG and other heavyweight counters also advanced.
ITC added 2.5% after reports that the diversified conglomerate had once again raised cigarette prices, a key driver of its earnings. On the downside, IT names and select financials underperformed, with TCS falling 2.6%, Infosys 1.4%, Tech Mahindra 1.3%, Bajaj Finserv 1%, and NTPC 0.9%, marking the session’s steepest losses.
