Stock Market Highlights: Sensex, Nifty Record Highest Gains Since Feb. 4; ICICI Bank Leads

India's benchmark equity indices had their best day in 28 sessions on Tuesday, closing higher for the second consecutive day as easing fears over a US recession and improved outlook for China lifted global stocks.

The NSE Nifty 50 ended 325.55 points or 1.45% higher at 22,834.30, while the BSE Sensex closed 1,131.31 points or 1.53% up at 75,301.26.

Intraday, the Nifty surged as much as 1.53% to edge past the 22,800 level, breaking the resistance of 22,600 seen by analysts, while the Sensex gained 1.61%.

The market is currently trading comfortably above the 20-day simple moving average, which also indicates a further uptrend from current levels, according to Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities.

The short-term market outlook is bullish and the Nifty will find support at 22,700, while 23,000 can serve as profit-booking areas for day traders, he said.

Shares of ICICI Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. contributed the most to Nifty's gains in terms of point contribution.

Bharti Airtel Ltd., Bajaj Finserv Ltd., and Tech Mahindra Ltd. weighed on the index the most.

All 12 sectoral indices on the NSE advanced, with the Nifty Media, Realty and Auto rising the most. The Nifty Bank rose 1.99%, the highest since Nov. 25, 2024. It ended higher for the fourth session in a row.

The Nifty Media snapped a five-session losing streak, while Realty paused its three consecutive session of losses. The Nifty Auto, Metal, Financial Services, Pharma and IT closed higher for the second day in a row.

On the BSE, Realty, Industrials and Consumer Discretionary were the top sectors in the green.

The broader indices outperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Smallcap 250 surging 2.66% and the Nifty Midcap 150 up 2.06%.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers as 2,820 stocks declined, 1,214 advanced and 125 remained unchanged on the BSE.