Indian stocks saw renewed buying in Wednesday’s session, April 13, amid optimism that the US and Iran are considering another round of peace talks, reviving sentiment towards riskier assets and pushing the key indices to a one-month high.
The Nifty closed 1.63% higher, recovering all of its Monday losses to settle at the 24,231 level, marking its highest level since March 11. The BSE Sensex, too, posted a strong gain of 1.64%, closing at 78,111.
The broader markets mirrored the bullish trend, as both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices closed with gains of over 2%.
Hopes of de-escalation in the US-Iran conflict revived after failed talks over the weekend, as US President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, sending Brent crude prices lower to $96.
The US continues its naval blockade of Iranian oil exports in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran is considering a temporary suspension of shipments through the route to help advance a potential agreement.
RailTel leads rally; IT, realty, and energy stocks see strong buying
RailTel Corporation of India was the top performer among Nifty 500 stocks, surging 18.4% to ₹336 apiece, marking its biggest intraday spike since July 2024, after the company said it had received two Letters of Award from its peer, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL), worth ₹565 crore.
Gallantt Ispat was another top performer in the pack, spiking 16.4%, while Reliance Power, PG Electroplast, Afcons Infrastructure, and Jaiprakash Power Ventures all closed with gains of over 10%.
There was strong buying across technology stocks, as all 10 constituents of the Nifty IT index closed in the green, with Oracle Financial Services, Coforge, Mphasis, Tech Mahindra, and Wipro among the top performers, rallying between 3.3% and 5.3%.
Likewise, realty stocks witnessed a similar trend, as Lodha Developers, Anant Raj, Aditya Birla Real Estate, DLF, and Prestige Estates Properties closed with strong gains in the range of 3% to 5%.
Both wind energy stocks, Suzlon Energy and Inox Wind, gained 7.1% and 6.7%, respectively. Amid further easing in crude oil prices, OMC stocks such as HPCL, BPCL, and IOCL rose by up to 6%.
Meanwhile, metal stocks such as Welspun Corp, Hindustan Copper, Hindalco Industries, Hindustan Zinc, and APL Apollo Tubes gained between 3% and 4.7%.
Select stocks lag despite broad-based rally
Although there was broad-based buying, some stocks failed to participate in the rally, with Acutaas Chemicals and Indus Towers each losing 4.2%. Ather Energy shares came under profit booking, falling 4.1% to ₹871.1 apiece.
Investors appeared to be disappointed with ICICI Prudential AMC’s March quarter results, as the stock closed 4% lower at ₹3,221 apiece. Other stocks such as Oil India, Schneider Electric, Indian Bank, Lenskart Solutions, and CarTrade Tech also ended with losses of over 2%.
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