By Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -India’s benchmark indexes ended Wednesday at their highest levels in 2025, led by a rally in information technology stocks after HCLTech’s encouraging forecast and hopes of a de-escalation in the U.S.-China trade war.
The Nifty 50 ended 0.67% higher at 24,328.95 and the BSE Sensex added 0.65% to 80,116.49.
The benchmarks logged their seventh straight session of gains, their second such streak in five weeks amid bouts of inflows from foreign investors, easing inflation and forecast for an above-average monsoon.
The possible unwinding of U.S. exceptionalism and dollar weakness may lead to some shifts in assets from the U.S. to the rest of the world, especially Asian equities, said Yi Ping Liao, portfolio manager and senior research analyst at Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity.
“Within EM Asia, we think India is best positioned, as the economic drag from tariffs is limited given India’s large domestic market, and India may also be well-positioned to negotiate a trade deal for lower tariffs.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that he believed there will be a de-escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions, which helped boost investors’ sentiment.
HCLTech jumped 7.7%, the most on the Nifty 50, as the IT services provider’s full-year revenue forecast outpaced analysts’ expectations and the outlook from its peers.
The IT index jumped 4.3%, its best day in nine months, lifted by the forecast and the news on the Sino-U.S. trade war, which has been weighing on the prospects for IT companies.
Meanwhile, financials fell 0.7%, snapping their seven-day rally to record highs due to likely profit-taking.
The broader mid- and small-caps rose 1.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
Among stocks, Waaree Energies jumped 15%, the most on the mid-cap index, after robust fourth-quarter earnings.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Janane Venkatraman and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
