Nifty reclaims 23,400, ends at day’s high; Banks, life insurers lead gains

Indian share market ended higher for the third straight session on Wednesday, closing at their highest level in two weeks, led by strong buying in banking and life insurance stocks. Gains were broad-based, with the market breadth firmly favouring advances.

The benchmark NSE Nifty 50 rose 109 points, or 0.47%, to end at 23,437, while the BSE Sensex added 317 points, or 0.41%, to close at 77,051. Both indices finished at the day’s highs.

The rally was driven by heavyweights in the banking sector, with Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, and HDFC Bank emerging as top contributors to the Nifty's advance. The Nifty Bank index surged 738 points to end at 53,118, while the Nifty Midcap index jumped 371 points to 52,345.

The total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies rose by nearly ₹3 lakh crore, pushing the overall market cap to approximately ₹415 lakh crore.

Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) gained after crude oil prices rose amid optimism around potential progress in U.S.-China trade discussions. Life insurance companies also witnessed strong buying interest following a healthy Q4 earnings report by ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.

Jio Financial Services, Wipro, and HDFC Life closed higher ahead of their upcoming quarterly earnings results.

On the downside, Zydus Lifesciences and Lupin fell between 4% and 7% after the companies lost a key patent litigation case over Myrbetriq to Japan-based Astellas in a U.S. federal court. Among city gas distributors, Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) declined 5% and Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) lost nearly 2% after a reduction of 18–20% in APM gas allocation.

IREDA surged 5% after posting a strong set of Q4 results. Public sector banks were among the standout gainers in the midcap space, with Indian Bank and Union Bank of India climbing 4–5%.

In other movers, Easy Trip Planners slumped 9% and JTPL Industries plunged 20% following reports of Enforcement Directorate (ED) searches.

JBM Auto and Olectra Greentech posted strong gains on media reports suggesting a large government tender for electric buses. GM Breweries extended Tuesday’s gains after the company reported a 200-basis-point improvement in operating margins for Q4.

Market breadth remained positive, with the advance-decline ratio at 5:2, indicating broad investor participation in the rally.