Closing Bell: Nifty reclaims 23,900, logs longest winning streak since June 2026

Indian equity benchmarks extended their winning run for a fifth consecutive session on Wednesday, with the Nifty reclaiming the 23,900 mark and ending at a two-month high. Buying in heavyweight stocks, including Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank, along with strength in FMCG shares, helped sustain the rally.

The Nifty 50 rose 150 points, or around 0.6%, to close at 23,961, while the Sensex gained 384 points to settle at 77,301. The Nifty Bank advanced 374 points to 55,914, while the Nifty Midcap index climbed 909 points to 59,505.

The latest advance takes the Nifty's gains to more than 5% over five trading sessions, marking its biggest five-day rise in seven months. The index has now closed higher for five sessions in a row, its longest winning streak since June 2026.

Reliance, HDFC Bank and FMCG stocks support the rally

Reliance Industries staged a sharp recovery in the final hour of trade to finish higher, lending support to the benchmark indices. HDFC Bank and FMCG stocks were among the other key contributors to the day's gains.

Market breadth remained firmly positive, with advances outnumbering declines by around three to one. The broader market's performance indicated that buying interest extended beyond a handful of heavyweight stocks.

Q2 results trigger sharp moves in individual stocks

Earnings continued to drive stock-specific action. Alembic Pharmaceuticals surged nearly 13% after reporting strong second-quarter results. Redington, Indo Count

, HEG, Fractal Analytics and Emcure Pharmaceuticals also rallied close to 10% each following their respective earnings announcements.

NLC India gained more than 7% after its quarterly results and developments around the offer for sale in its subsidiary's IPO.

Biocon, however, pared its intraday gains to finish with only modest advances after reporting subdued Q2 numbers. Capital market stocks also came under pressure, with BSE closing 2% lower as investors booked profits ahead of its earnings announcement.

IT stocks remain under pressure; V2 Retail slides

The rally was not entirely broad-based across sectors. IT stocks remained under pressure, with the Nifty IT index slipping 1.5%, making it one of the key laggards in an otherwise positive session.

V2 Retail fell nearly 10% after cutting its same-store sales growth guidance to 5% from the earlier range of 8-10%, weighing on sentiment towards the stock.

In the currency market, the rupee closed at 94.64 against the US dollar, strengthening from Tuesday's close of 94.74.