Nifty ends firm as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank rally to record highs

The benchmark indices ended higher on Wednesday, led by gains in large-cap banks and auto stocks, while midcaps underperformed. Investor sentiment remained firm as HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank extended post-earnings rallies to hit record highs.The NSE Nifty 50 rose 159 points, or 0.63%, to close at 25,220, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 540 points, or 0.66%, to settle at 82,727. However, the Nifty Bank index underperformed, slipping 454 points to end at 57,210, while the Nifty Midcap 100 shed 204 points to close at 59,307.
HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were among the top contributors to the Nifty, each scaling fresh record highs as investors continued to cheer their earnings momentum. Reliance Industries also added nearly 1%, boosting overall index gains.
Nearly 40 Nifty constituents closed in the green. Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel and Shriram Finance led the gainers, while Tata Consumer Products fell over 2% ahead of quarterly results and was the top Nifty loser.Auto stocks advanced on optimism over potential easing in U.S. tariff discussions, with the Nifty Auto index ending 1% higher.

Among key movers, Infosys fell sharply in the final hour of trade to close at the day’s low, ahead of its quarterly earnings. Colgate-Palmolive (India) slipped 4% after reporting a weak set of Q1 results.SpiceJet surged more than 6% after the Supreme Court dismissed a plea by Kal Airways, owned by Kalanithi Maran. Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) gained over 3% after the company said it expects strong disbursements in the second quarter.

Dixon Technologies rose nearly 3% following in-line Q1 earnings, while SRF reversed intraday losses to end 2% higher after reporting stable quarterly results.

Among laggards, Macrotech Developers (Lodha) fell over 7% after a 1% equity stake changed hands via block deals. Oberoi Realty declined more than 2% after block deals involving over 3% equity.

AB Real Estate and Sky Gold dropped 6% each following their earnings announcements.

Broader markets were mixed. Bombay Dyeing, SML Isuzu, Greenpanel Industries and MRPL rallied 8–14% on strong volumes, while overall market breadth remained neutral, with the advance-decline ratio at 1:1.