Sensex ends 772 points higher, Nifty above 25,200; IndiGo up 4%

Stock markets ended higher on Wednesday, but well off their day's highs, as investors booked profits after a strong rally in early trade. The Sensex and Nifty had surged more than 1% in the morning, with the Sensex briefly climbing over 1,000 points. However, selling in select heavyweight stocks, particularly IT and pharma companies, pared some of the gains.The Sensex closed at 81,879.40, up 772.75 points or 0.95%. The index had opened at 82,248.68 and touched an intraday high of 82,520.40 before slipping to a low of 81,417.39.The Nifty 50 settled at 25,255.05, gaining 210.40 points or 0.84%. It had opened at 25,337.80 and touched a high of 25,424.35 during the session. The index also fell to an intraday low of 25,095.35.The benchmarks therefore retained their gains for the day, even as the initial buying momentum weakened. The broader market, however, showed greater resilience, with small-cap stocks outperforming the benchmark indices.M&M, INDIGO LEAD SENSEX GAINERS Mahindra & Mahindra was the top Sensex gainer, rising 5.25%. InterGlobe Aviation, the parent of IndiGo, advanced 4.37%, while Trent climbed 3.02%.Tata Steel gained 2.22% and ITC rose 2.15%. Axis Bank advanced 2.14%, while Maruti Suzuki and Bharti Airtel added 2.04% and 2.03%, respectively. Power Grid Corporation gained 1.92%, State Bank of India rose 1.80% and Asian Paints advanced 1.76%. Kotak Mahindra Bank was up 1.67%, while HDFC Bank gained 1.58%.UltraTech Cement rose 1.42%, Hindustan Unilever gained 1.41% and Bajaj Finserv advanced 1.15%. Bharat Electronics climbed 1.09%, while Bajaj Finance added 0.94%.Reliance Industries gained 0.72% and Larsen & Toubro rose 0.53%.On the losing side, Adani Ports fell 1.66%, making it the biggest laggard on the Sensex. Tech Mahindra declined 1.29%, while ICICI Bank and HCL Technologies dropped 0.95% each.Titan fell 0.80%, NTPC declined 0.65% and Eternal lost 0.61%. Sun Pharma was down 0.47%, while Infosys and TCS slipped 0.08% each.SMALL-CAP STOCKS OUTPERFORMThe broader market ended largely higher, with small-cap stocks leading the gains.The Nifty 100 rose 0.86%, while the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 advanced 0.85% and 0.90%, respectively. The Nifty Midcap 50 gained 0.93%, and the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.81%.The Nifty Smallcap 100 outperformed, climbing 1.59%. India VIX, which measures expected market volatility, rose 0.88% to 17.58.PSU BANKS, AUTO STOCKS LEAD SECTORAL GAINSMost sectoral indices ended in the green, with PSU banks and automobile stocks leading the advance.The Nifty PSU Bank index climbed 2.94%, while the Nifty Auto index gained 2.14%. The Nifty Private Bank index rose 1.14%, and the Nifty Financial Services 25/50 index advanced 0.82%.The Nifty FMCG index gained 1.13%, while the Nifty Metal index rose 0.96%. The Nifty Media index added 0.69%, and the Nifty Realty index slipped 0.42%.IT and pharma stocks remained under pressure. The Nifty IT index fell 0.53%, while the Nifty Pharma index declined 0.41%. The Nifty Healthcare index was down 0.32%.Among other indices, the Nifty Consumer Durables index gained 0.73%, while the Nifty Oil & Gas index rose 1.03%. The Nifty Financial Services ex-Bank index advanced 1.37%, and the Nifty MidSmall Financial Services index gained 1.69%. The Nifty Chemicals index rose 2.10%.The Nifty MidSmall Healthcare index slipped 0.17%, while the Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom index gained 0.16%.CRUDE OIL PRICES RISECrude oil prices edged higher during the session. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $87.05 per barrel, up 1.17%, while Brent crude futures rose 1.91% to $93.24 per barrel.WHAT EXPERTS SAYVinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said Indian equities opened higher on positive global cues, tracking gains in US technology stocks. However, hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials and the latest US inflation reading strengthened expectations of a possible rate hike in December, pushing global bond yields higher.Nair said the rupee's recent appreciation, supported by sustained foreign inflows and softer crude prices, had also influenced market movements. However, expectations of higher global interest rates weighed on IT stocks and led large-cap shares to gradually give up their early gains.He added that small-cap stocks helped the broader market outperform, while the shift from defensive pharmaceutical stocks towards automobiles and banks suggested that investors were becoming more willing to take risks.Nair said the sustainability of this renewed risk appetite would depend on upcoming inflation data from India and producer price data from the US, which could provide fresh cues on domestic prices and the global interest-rate outlook.- Ends