Mumbai, Jul 23: The Indian stock market settled in positive territory on Wednesday following buying in banking, financial services, automobiles and healthcare sectors amid positive global cues surrounding the US-Japan trade pact.

Sensex closed at 82,726.64, up 539.83 or 0.66 per cent. The 30-share index opened with a decent gap-up at 82,451.87 against last session's closing value of 82,186.81. The index soared further to hit an intraday high of 82,786.43, following buying interest in heavyweights like Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank.

Nifty 50 closed at 25,219.90, up 159 points or 0.63 per cent.

"The day was characterised by robust performance across key sectors such as Banking, Financial Services, Automobiles, Healthcare, and Information Technology. In contrast, pockets of weakness persisted in Realty, Media, Consumer Goods, and Metals, reflecting a sectorally bifurcated landscape," said Ashika Institutional Equities in its note.

On the global stage, investor sentiment soared following optimistic developments surrounding the US-Japan trade pact, igniting expectations for further international agreements shortly.

Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj FinServ, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Eternal, Asian Paints, and SBI were top gainers from the Sensex's stocks. Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, and Ultratech Cements ended the session in red.

Meanwhile, 37 stocks advanced and 13 shares declined from Nifty50.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Bank settled 454 points or 0.80 per cent higher, Nifty Auto surged 203 points or 0.85 per cent and Nifty IT closed 92.60 points or 0.25 per cent up. Nifty FMCG declined.

Broader indices followed the gaining momentum as well. Nifty Net 50 surged 159 points, Nifty 100 rallied 0.55 per cent or 142 points, and Nifty Midcap 100 ended the session up 203 points or 0.34 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 settled flat.

Rupee traded flat in a narrow range near 86.40, with marginal movement of 0.01 per cent against the dollar. The dollar index also remained steady around 97.40 as markets awaited further cues.

"Domestic capital markets gained 0.65 per cent, while Fed Chair Powell’s recent speech kept the dollar range-bound. Attention now shifts to next week’s U.S. interest rate decision, which will be a key directional trigger. Rupee is expected to trade within a range of 85.80–86.70," said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities.

(IANS)

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