As optimism grows over a potential US-Iran peace deal, domestic equities extended their gains in Wednesday’s session, March 25, with key indices rising over 1.7%, providing a much-needed boost to Dalal Street investors.
The Nifty 50 ended the session with a 1.72% surge at 23,306, taking its two-day rally to 3.55%. The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 75,273, up 1.63% from the previous close. The broader markets also delivered a similar performance, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 2.3% and 2.6%, respectively.
Sector-wise, the Nifty Consumer Durables index topped the gains with a 3.51% surge, while the Nifty Realty, Nifty Chemicals, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Metal, and Nifty Auto indices all advanced over 2%. The Nifty IT index was the only sector to close with a modest gain of 0.08%.
Media reports indicated that the US is seeking a month-long ceasefire in its conflict with Iran and has presented Tehran with a 15-point proposal, raising hopes of a potential de-escalation.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Washington was making progress toward negotiating an end to the conflict. A source also confirmed the delivery of the settlement proposal to Tehran, Reuters reported.
PCBL Chemical tops gainers; gains spread across consumer durables, PSU banks and realty
PCBL Chemical was the top performer among Nifty 500 stocks, surging 13.7% to ₹265 apiece, marking its biggest single-day gain in recent years. Meanwhile, Triveni Engineering, OneSource Specialty Pharma, Godfrey Phillips India, Balkrishna Industries, GE Vernova T&D India, and Sagility all rallied over 6.5%.
In the consumer durables space, Kalyan Jewellers shares jumped 5.4% to ₹391.8 apiece. It was followed by Voltas, Amber Enterprises India, Blue Star, Titan Company, Havells India, and PG Electroplast, which gained between 3% and 5.3%.
The PSU banking pack also closed higher, led by Indian Bank, whose shares advanced 4.5% to ₹911 apiece. Similar gains were seen in Union Bank of India and Central Bank of India, which rose 3.7% and 3.2%, respectively.
EMS stocks such as Kaynes Technology and Amber Enterprises India also gained 6% and 4.6%, respectively. Real estate stocks, too, witnessed renewed buying, with Signatureglobal (India), Brigade Enterprises, Oberoi Realty, and Phoenix Mills closing higher by 3.6% to 4.5%.
Extending its winning run for the second straight session, Reliance Power shares surged another 6% to ₹22.7 apiece.
