Indian shares pause after three-day rally

BENGALURU: Indian benchmark indexes ended little changed on Wednesday after a three-session rising streak, while robust earnings propped up some key constituents.

The Nifty 50 rose 0.07% to 25,953.85, while the BSE Sensex shed 0.05% to 84,233.64.

Both benchmarks had risen nearly 1.2% in the last three sessions, driven by optimism surrounding the U.S.-India trade deal. The broader small-caps and mid-caps had gained about 2.6% and 2%.

However, while the Nifty and the Sensex opened higher on the day, they gave up their gains by mid-day, turning flat.

“Optimism around the interim India–U.S. trade framework and robust earnings is lending near-term support to domestic equities, but caution prevails as the Nifty nears the 26,000 mark, a level that has repeatedly acted as resistance,” said Aakash Shah, technical research analyst at Choice Equity Broking.

“Given this setup, the market is likely to enter another phase of consolidation around current levels.”

Twelve of the 16 major sectors logged gains on the day. The broader small-caps and mid-caps were little changed.

The IT index lost 1.8% after U.S. retail sales data suggested the economy may be softening. IT companies earn a significant share of their revenue from the U.S.

The index dropped 12.6% in 2025 and has lost about 7.4% so far in 2026 due to fears about artificial intelligence-driven disruption intensifying.

“Routine work in Indian IT services, which accounts for roughly 30%-40% of overall application services workflow is likely to be replaced or significantly compressed,” said Vinay Menon, research analyst at Monarch Networth Capital.

On the day, hospital chain Apollo Hospitals and automaker Eicher Motors jumped 4% and 6.5% respectively, after posting quarterly profit beats, with Eicher also powering the auto index 1.3% higher.

State Bank of India climbed 3.4%, taking its post-earnings gains over three sessions to 11% and surpassing IT major Tata Consultancy Services in market capitalisation.