FX.co ★ Sensex Extends Rally Into 9th Day

India’s BSE Sensex closed about 1% higher on Wednesday at 81,879.4, its strongest finish since late February and the ninth straight session of gains. Sentiment remained buoyant, underpinned by subdued crude oil prices and optimism over continued foreign portfolio inflows.

The advance was broad-based, led by banking and automobile counters, while technology and healthcare stocks underperformed amid selective profit-booking and a rotation into domestic cyclical sectors.

Among the top gainers, Mahindra & Mahindra rallied 5.3% and Maruti added 2% on optimism around festive-season demand. Banking majors also traded firmly, with Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank rising between 1.6% and 2.1%.

Other notable performers included IndiGo (up 4.4%), Trent (3%), Tata Steel (2.2%), ITC (2.2%), Bharti Airtel (2%) and Power Grid (1.9%).

On the downside, Adani Ports slipped 1.7%, while Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and ICICI Bank each declined around 1%–1.3%, emerging as the session’s major laggards.