Banking shares drive early rally as foreign inflows rise

On Thursday, Indian shares opened in the green, with the Sensex gaining 103.82 points to 77,576.76 and the Nifty adding 69.85 points to 24,277.60. The surge was anchored by robust demand for banking equities, propelling the Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Metal indexes to the top of the day’s gainers list. Broad sector participation was evident as Nifty Infra, Energy, Defence, PSE, Healthcare and Commodities all finished higher. Mid‑cap and small‑cap segments followed suit, with the Nifty Midcap 100 up 265.50 points (0.41%) and the Nifty Smallcap 100 up 61.65 points (0.31%). Leading gainers in the Sensex basket were Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, BEL, Asian Paints, Infosys, TCS, M&M and L&T. On the flip side, HDFC Bank, Power Grid, NTPC, HUL, SBI, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel and UltraTech Cement were the main decliners. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) pumped in ₹502.63 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) added a hefty ₹6,425.16 crore, underscoring strong domestic appetite despite ongoing geopolitical concerns.