Sensex, Nifty at two-week highs as IT stocks soar on Infosys buyback proposal

The stock market ended higher on Tuesday, with benchmark indexes closing at two-week highs, led by a rally in information technology stocks after Infosys announced it would consider a share buyback next week.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.38% to close at 24,869, while the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 314 points to end at 81,101. The Nifty IT index jumped 3%, marking its best session in nearly two months, with Infosys gaining 5% after the company said its board would meet on September 11 to consider a buyback proposal.

Dharmesh Kant, head of equity research at Cholamandalam Securities said the positive news flows around GST cuts and the US interest rate cut was also providing headroom for market investment.

Peers Wipro, Tech Mahindra, HCLTech and Tata Consultancy Services also rose between 2% and 3%, helping lift the broader market sentiment.

Auto stocks extended their recent gains, with Maruti Suzuki and Eicher Motors each rising 1%. Kotak Mahindra Bank rebounded sharply amid reports of potential ₹6,000 crore block deals, while Nifty Bank added 29 points to end at 54,216.

Midcaps outperformed slightly, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index rising 0.18% to 57,464. Market breadth, however, remained neutral, with the advance-decline ratio at 1:1.

Among stock-specific moves, RailTel surged 6% after securing a ₹660 crore order from the Bihar Education Project Council. Prime Focus hit the 10% upper circuit for a third straight session on block deal activity.

On the downside, Voltamp slipped nearly 4% after ₹618 crore worth of block deals, while Bikaji Foods fell 2% after the Enforcement Directorate summoned its managing director.

New-age companies like Paytm, Nykaa and Delhivery dropped 2-3% each. Trent continued to face selling pressure, ending as the top Nifty loser for a second consecutive day.