Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices continued their upward momentum on Wednesday, supported by buying in heavyweights Reliance Industries, Infosys, and Bharti Airtel amid firm global cues and optimism over a possible India–US trade deal.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 464.66 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 84,335.98 in early trade, while the NSE Nifty rose 134.70 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 25,829.65.

Among Sensex gainers were Tata Consultancy Services, Eternal, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, and UltraTech Cement. Major laggards included Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints, ITC, Sun Pharma, and Trent.

“Sentiment has improved following news that the India–US trade deal could soon be finalised and exit polls indicating a decisive NDA victory in Bihar. This may bolster the bulls, though it’s unlikely to trigger a sustained breakout,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. He added that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) may continue selling at higher levels, as a full reversal of foreign fund outflows appears unlikely so long as artificial intelligence–driven trades dominate.

From a fundamental standpoint, Vijayakumar said India’s robust GDP growth and strong earnings outlook for FY27 support optimism, with financials, consumption, and defence stocks likely to drive the next phase of the rally.

Broader Asian markets were mixed, with South Korea’s Kospi and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng trading higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Shanghai’s SSE Composite Index slipped into the red. US markets closed mostly higher overnight.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, edged down 0.23 per cent to USD 65.01 per barrel.

According to exchange data, FIIs offloaded shares worth Rs 803.22 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 2,188.47 crore.

“Bulls took charge on Tuesday as Nifty rebounded strongly, buoyed by optimism over the India–US trade deal, potential Fed rate cuts, and exit polls in Bihar favouring BJP–JD(U). However, concerns persist over the Delhi blast and continued FII selling,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd.

On Tuesday, the Sensex surged 335.97 points to close at 83,871.32, while the Nifty advanced 120.60 points to end at 25,694.95.

With inputs from PTI